March 29, 2005

Sun Sport Signs is a small business that makes a big difference in Midland, Ontario.

Part of the difference comes from the work Sun Sport Signs does – making a wide variety of signs for virtually every need in the community, using state of the art equipment to create the latest looks in all forms of signage, from digital image graphics to building back-lit signs.

The owner of Sun Sport Signs, Mike Cillis, moved to Midland from Alberta, where he had already worked for 4 years in a sign shop.  He immediately saw the need for a professional sign service in his new home, and established his business, in partnership with Richard Winger and with help from the North Simcoe Community Futures Development Corporation.  Mike and Rick give the same level of care and skill to every job they undertake, whether it be turning an entire semi-trailer into a giant moving billboard, or painstakingly lettering a private mailbox.

Satisfied customers testify to this aspect of the difference Sun Sport Signs makes.  For instance, Dr. Darrin T. Groleau of Groleau Family Chiropractic in Midland, says that Mike and Rick did an “awesome job . . . in providing signage for our office building”.  Sun Sport Signs received the “Reader’s Choice Award” from the local newspaper, The Mirror, as the “Favourite Sign Shop” in both 2003 and 2004.

But the difference in Sun Sport Signs goes well beyond mere sign-making.  This business is also changing lives and making the North Simcoe region a better place to live, for everyone.  Hillary Glass, Guidance Department Leader at Midland Secondary School, tells the story of how Mike Cillis turned the life of one teenager completely around.  “Mike Cillis . . . hired a student who proved to be a very dedicated employee,” says Ms. Glass.  “He worked evenings and weekends and eventually earned more responsibility by training other employees much older than himself.  Mike quickly learned that this young hired hand had dropped out of school, was living on his own and was struggling to make ends meet.  Mike saw the potential in this youth and he took the time to explain to him that he could maintain his position at the business only if he attended school full time.”  In Ms. Glass’s view, “Mike’s intervention . . . redirected this adolescent back on the road towards success.  Mike’s personal interest in this boy demonstrates positive employment practices, which are a very rare commodity in this world of part-time hiring.”

Mike helps other workers to re-enter the work force through the active involvement of Sun Sport Signs in the Job Connect Program.  He volunteers his time as a judge for the lip-synching contest that is the major fundraiser for Community Link North Simcoe, and also donates the posters and banners that enable Community Link to thank its other sponsors at the contest.  Sun Sport Signs also supports the Community Safety Net initiative to protect children in the community, under the leadership of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 80 in Midland, and the School Bus Surf Shop competition for youth in Penetanguishene, another community program.

In other words, at every turn, Sun Sport Signs demonstrates that there is no conflict between running a successful business and contributing to the general improvement of the community they live and work in.