I think the new signs are terrible. "Original Fun City".....who voted or approved that phrase??? I'm assuming that the RCSC had their hand in this project because of the color scheme which I also have never liked. Sorry to be so grumpy about this but I think the RCSC is overstepping its bounds by putting these signs off RCSC property. The County would not have come up with these signs on their own. I'd prefer no signs at all to these.
Wouldn't it be funny if the signs were supposed to read "The Original Sun City" and the signs just were a typo error?
Interesting take on the signs gang. Just so we are clear; the tag line is at the top of the sign and the new logo comprises the majority of the signage. Our goal for the past three years has been to brand the community in a consistent and unique way. And so you all have a basic understanding of why we changed the logo to start with: We had contacted Pulte no less than a half dozen times to get approval to use the Del Webb Sun Cities pinwheel they purchased when the bought the Webb Corporation in May of 2001. It never came and we needed to develop a new design with a fresh look. The new logo epitomizes Sun City. It is simple, clean and understated. There is nothing grandiose about it, nothing pretentious or overbearing. It fits the profile and presents us in a way that has clean lines and easy to grasp...if one is willing to look beyond the usual hype of signage that becomes bigger than the community itself. As far as the tag line the Original Fun City, that came from a member of the communication committee and it is spot on. We are and always will be the first Sun City...the community that changed retirement across the nation. We set the standard for what others have tried to be. Sorry you don't like it aggie but I do like the idea of trying to get one of those old signs with the City of Volunteers for the museum. Great idea.
I guess the next questions are who paid for the signs, how many are there and who installed them? Still still a bit stunned that these signs could go up without some input from the Sun City community at large. Sun City is so much more than the RCSC.
I think the RCSC offered to pay for them but seems to me the county put them up at their cost. I would never argue against the idea that Sun City is more than the RCSC. That said, during my three years on the board I lobbied for the RCSC to focus on "big picture" Sun City and we moved markedly in that direction. There is no other organization in the community that has the wherewithal to take that lead. Could we (the RCSC) do better in communicating? Sure, it was one of the things I felt I failed at advancing. Sorry you don't like the signs, but the idea came from a Sun City resident...just as did the signs that said "city of volunteers."
Your comments are interesting Emily. The other day a website on age restricted communities I write on often posted the "best of 2015" communities. Sun City slipped to 18th and I was quite surprised to see that. Virtually everything we are doing and have done are miles ahead of other age restricted communities. Even the ones being subsidized by developers are limited in resources or if they are going whole hog, they cost a fortune. We are a cut above and while some may not like the new signs, the whole point of branding is to create a recognizable identity. It is an ongoing process and one that will pay dividends down the road.
Who gave the RCSC the authority to change the Welcome to Sun City signs which are not on RCSC Property without first conferring with more than just themselves? Speaking only for myself, I liked the old ones better. I understand why the logo had to be changed, but going from "Welcome to Sun City" to "The Original FUN City" looks cheap in my opinion.
I agree with you Jim. My daughter has been coming to visit for 30 years and when her airport van passed the new sign, she and the 3 other passengers commented on how "corny and dorky" the new saying sounded.
Interesting question Jim and one that gets more intriguing when we look at the history of the community. There has been an evolution of sorts that for most residents is lost in the "fun" of living here. The RCSC has played a larger role in the question of "big picture" Sun City over the last three years. That's not an accident, it was a discussion we had often within work sessions and one not everyone favored. From a practical standpoint, there's lots of reasons for the RCSC to do so. With money getting tighter, less volunteers to draw from and a community changing from predominantly retirees to folks still working, we are in a transitional state. The easiest thing would have been to only focus on rec centers and golf courses, but it wouldn't have been the smartest approach for Sun City as a whole (in my humble opinion). Let me give you an example: In the late 90's the Sun City Home Owners Association saw the walls needing paint. Rather than turning to the RCSC to do it, they went out and raised enough money to get the job done themselves (via their foundation). Last year when they (SCHOA) found problems with the wall, they immediately tried to shove it down the RCSC's throat (up to and including threats they were going to go to the press with it by at least one SCHOA board member). Times change, people change and sometimes with change comes things some don't like. But then with 40,000 residents that's always to be expected. The tag line is far less significant than the new logo on the sign. That said, the idea of Sun City being the original fun city is historically spot on. We were the first, the original age restricted community and those early years were all about playing ones remaining years away playing. The reality is the "city of volunteers" slogan came along far after that. If memory serves me, George Hartwell came up with it in the late 90's or early 2000's. I wonder how many people voted on that? Perhaps Jim, you can find that out from the history records at SCHOA, if you guys haven't thrown them out eh? Finally aggie, I get it, you and your daughter don't like the signs.
Riled up isn't all bad E and frankly having differing opinions is essential to both growth and change. My biggest problem is folks want some things and don't want others, for example: The RCSC should take on the expense of the walls (which will cost millions in the coming years) but don't even think about getting involved with new signage. You can't have it both ways. I do agree with Jim's point and have stated so publically for years. We (the RCSC) need be more open in what we do and how and when we do it. They are getting better, but there's still a long way to go in my humble opinion.
I agree discussion of issues is good and everyone can't agree all the time. It just seems to me that the subject of the new slogan and signs should have been in the summaries of the Communications/Outreach Committee Meetings over the past few months. It's not there. Was it mentioned at an Exchange or BOD meeting?
I wasn't involved with the outreach committee last year so I will have to take your word for it. It wasn't mentioned at BOD or Exchange meetings and in part because the whole marketing plan has been in flux for several years now. It should get better with the merger between the RCSC and the Visitor Center. I've played this game before and am a huge fan of it: Ask yourself if you were "king or queen" of the community what you would do to make it a better place to live. It's simple for me, as I lobbied for this while on the board and wasn't successful. I would run at least one interactive website where we would have ongoing discussions regarding events within Sun City. I've offered to be the contact point to respond but most people in organizational structures fear this kind of openness. Secondly I would schedule two town hall meetings a year where we brought forth ideas, plans and long term strategies and just brainstorm. But alas, we don't have the luxury of acting out on our own, we do it in a setting of 9 board members trying to come together. New ideas are almost always viewed with a jaundiced eye. No one wants to fail or screw up, so the tendency is to remain mainstream and safe. So what would you do if you were king or queen?
