By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — The huge letter V that’s part of the Kosciusko County Visitor’s Center sign in Warsaw clearly stands for the word Visit, but it might soon stand for vanish.
The sign outside of the visitor’s center along US 30 has been around since 1999, but officials plan to replace it with a modern digital sign.
CVB Executive Director Cori Humes said she realizes the sign has been a unique marketing tool for the county, but thinks they’re missing some marketing opportunities.
“As much as we do love and adore the sign that is currently there, we feel there is an opportunity with advancement in technology … that we can increase our marketing efforts with so much happing in Kosciusko County (and) showcase that to the millions of travelers on US 30,” Humes said.
Hume said the Indiana Department of Transportation estimates eight million vehicles travel on parts of the highway across northern Indiana each year.
The visitor’s bureau has already been preliminarily approved for up to $100,000 in money from the American Rescue Act from the county for the project and will seek $60,000 more through the county innkeeper’s tax revenues to cover the remaining cost.
Humes said the sign will be slightly smaller than Luthern Kosciusko Hospital’s newly constructed digital sign along US 30 to the west.
Money for the new sign will be sought in July and if approved, the new sign could be erected later this year, she said.
She said the staff and CVB board are looking at whether the sign could be preserved and used elsewhere.
“We’re still investigating to see how it may be able to be repurposed,” Humes said.
