Hattiesburg Convention Commission

Commemorating History with High-Impact Visuals at Scale

The Challenge: 

Hattiesburg Convention Commission wanted to make a bold, visually impactful statement by creating a unique, commemorative monument to honor African American residents of their city recognized for leadership, service and inspiration. In addition to creating a show-stopping heritage experience with the help of FASTSIGNS, the convention commission’s overarching goal was to increase visitation to the monument and heritage site, which was already a top attraction in the state. 

The Solution: 

This large-scale project took three years of planning and collaboration between the commission and FASTSIGNS, ultimately growing beyond the initial scope to become 77 individual screen panels highlighting contributions made by the African American community. FASTSIGNS custom designed and constructed every element of the entire 370-foot display apart from the masonry brick base. The FASTSIGNS team meticulously fabricated and illuminated the expansive cabinets that span the size of an entire football field. The comprehensive project also included printing, welding the supports and creating dimensional letters for a Nelson Mandela quote along the longest wall. Each unique panel also featured a QR code, linking visitors to the museum’s website to explore community contributions. To create even more impact for the community unveiling, FASTSIGNS had the idea of creating commemorative plaques to present to honorees and family members at the ceremony. A brushed plaque mounted to the brick fascia featured the full Generations Strong commemorative list. 

The Result: 

As evening falls and the illuminated panels take center stage, the site buzzes with amazement as the onlookers take in the full experience. The unveiling event was covered by the local TV station, and the impactful memorial has brought new and steady visitor traffic. FASTSIGNS was honored to have been a part of this bold tourism project that became an even higher-profile destination in the state. 

*This project was completed by FASTSIGNS® of Hattiesburg, MS.