Sign of the times

Halifax has Barrington Street and Spring Garden Road. In Sackville, Sackville Drive is the "strip". No matter what part of town you live in you will probably go up and down this street at least once a day and when you do you'll see a plain white reader board sign sitting in the same place it has for years, right in front of Sackville Bottle Exchange, a company owned by O'Connell.

Usually these types of mobile signs are used as an advertising tool for a business. A company may be promoting a new product, announcing an upcoming sale or hiring new staff.

On this sign though, you're more likely to find out about fish chowder luncheons, hockey registration and locally produced musicals.

"Originally we did use it to promote the business," said O'Connell. "But one day we put up a message for someone and then I guess people saw it and through word of mouth we started getting calls and we haven't really advertised on it since."

Haiti Relief, Kinsmen, Lions Club and St. Francis by the Lakes all benefit from the sign and pretty much every local sport team has been up there as well, announcing registration and booster nights.

As a matter of fact there are so many requests that the messages have to be changed all the time. O'Connell could pretty much hire someone full time just to change them.

"They turn around pretty quick," he said. "But it usually works out, once the date of one event passes there's another one ready to go up."

Non-profit groups usually have little or no dollars for advertising so they have to rely on alternative ways to get their name out there and the sign is a great way to reach a large number of people at no cost.

Brock Brooks, president of the Sackawa Canoe Club said their club notices the difference when they don't use it.

"A couple of years we forgot," he said. "And we noticed a significant drop in registration."

Right now O'Connell's business looks to be the only one on Sackville Drive offering up his message board on a regular basis at no cost. Turns out not using it for himself has been good for business.

"It's not a big thing," he said. "But I think part of the reason our customers keep coming back is because they know we care."

blhall@eastlink.ca