To all my friends in the Midwest Sign Association, some final thoughts from the exiting MSA President...

I can't believe how fast two years can go. With all that has gone on in my personal life, as well as my business life, I am incredibly proud of what this Association has accomplished in the last two years. Even through the retirement of our highly respected, long-term Executive Director, Dee Scott, we were able to make so many positive changes. Not only have we had a lot of fun meetings in these last few years since coming back from the time of Covid 19, we are consciously trying new things to continuously improve our member experience. The focus on networking has always been the key. But we have also improved our social media presence and communications, increased the ease in which we can sign up for all events, and started to break some of the old habits of business-as-usual in order to create more pleasant and useful member experiences, to name a few things. 

One of the biggest changes that we have embraced is the signing of our new association management company, AMR. Katy, Jennifer, and the whole team at AMR, have taken us into the 21st century with a lot of perks in technology and changes to the inner workings of our Association. This would not have been possible without the onboarding efforts of Dee Scott, and the entire Board, creating a seamless change in the way the administration works within MSA.

MSA has also purchased the Michigan Signs Specialist Exam Prep training course from Ron Deering. He was the sole person in the State of Michigan that was able to give the required training to sign professionals to qualify them for taking the state exam. With his retirement, there was a risk that Sign Specialist Electricians would become a thing of the past in Michigan. As an organization of sign professionals, with so many of our members that would have been affected, we could not sit idly by and let that happen. The Board worked with Ron Deering and acquired all of his materials, and registered in his place with the State of Michigan. Now, we are the sole organization that is able to train sign professionals in a way that prepares them for taking the state exam to become a Sign Specialist Electrician. We have already qualified many technicians in the last year, and many have gone on to take the exam and successfully become Sign Specialist Electricians. This enables us to solidify ourselves in our industry by training more professionals, furthering our independence to do what we do in the State of Michigan. 

To be clear, these changes and accomplishments were not all the direct result of anything that I have done. They were more a direct result of the hard work and countless volunteer hours spent by our Board of Trustees, our Executive Committee, and many other committee members that have brought these changes to life. I will forever be thankful to all of them for their part in the success of our Association.

In the coming years, there will still be a lot for MSA to accomplish. I am already certain that Daren Bossenberger (our President Elect), along with the rest of the Board and Executive Committee, will take us into the future as we evolve into an even stronger organization. Thanks to everyone for the constant support throughout my Presidency. It has truly been a blessing, and an honor, to serve as the MSA President.

Neil Jeakle
National Illumination & Sign, A Division of Brady Signs
MSA President 2024 - 2025