Forcht Group founder agrees to purchase sign for The Arena

Local tourism officials say a Corbin businessman has agreed to purchase a high-tech, LED sign for the Southeast Kentucky Agriculture and Exposition Center in Corbin – a generous gift that will save the city over $130,000 to promote the 5,000-seat venue.

During Monday’s regular meeting of the Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission officials announced that Forcht, President and CEO of Forcht Group of Kentucky, had agreed to buy the sign from AdsLED, Inc., an Austin, TX based company. Members of the Commission had been working diligently for some time to convince him of the importance of the project. Forcht said Tuesday he was happy he could help fill a void at the new facility.

"I have personally ridden by there and I never know what is being featured at The Arena," Forcht said. "I thought it would be helpful to The Arena, and everyone else, if people knew the things that were happening there."

The sign will cost $131,365 entirely paid for by Forcht. It will be approximately 26 feet tall and 17 feet wide. It will feature two large LED screens that will promote events at The Arena in high quality color. Both are about 12 feet wide and five feet tall. Two smaller secondary screens will be utilized to carry information related to Forcht Group companies and the messages that appear on them will be controlled by the Forcht Group of Kentucky.

"I think we have learned the value of providing fresh information to people about our companies," Forcht said. "It is one of the better values we’ve seen recently in regards to the flexibility it gives everyone."

Messages that appear on the screen will be input from remote locations through a wireless signal. Purchase of the sign comes with a seven-year warranty and lifetime technical support. AdsLED will also install the sign.

Jackie Willis, a member of the Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission, and a member of the Board of Directors of Forcht Group of Kentucky, said the idea for the sign is one the commission had been discussing for some time.

"Our chairwoman, Suzie Razmus, brought up the need for it and did a lot of the research on what was needed. I presented it to Mr. Forcht and I think he saw the value in it," Willis said. "I think when you bring people to The Arena you bring money into the community and really help the economy. I think the Forcht Group wants to do everything it can to spark economic growth in the area."

Corbin Mayor Willard McBurney called Forcht’s donation a very "community minded decision" and said assistance he has provided to the city in regards to The Arena is very appreciated. In 2006, Forcht donated 41 acres of property adjacent to The Arena’s original construction site to the city. The gift gave the city 71 total acres worth of land to develop and allowed for additional parking and opens up options for future projects.

"Terry Forcht is a friend to the city of Corbin," McBurney said. "On behalf of all the citizens in the city I want to thank him for generosity. He is a man of action we sure appreciate his willingness to be a partner and share in making the city the best place to live it can be."

"We are thrilled beyond belief," Razmus said at Monday’s meeting. "It is such a gorgeous sign. Terry Forcht is very generous to the city."

In other business, Razmus said that a non-profit corporation entitled "Friends of Col. Sanders" is currently accepting donations to erect a statue of Colonel Sanders in Corbin. The charitable group continues to be tax-exempt.

The Commission is roughly 6 to 8 weeks from receiving a deposit for the creation of the new sign and it should be installed by March. 

Other business discussed by the commission included the need for signage that would direct traffic from I-75 and The Arena to downtown Corbin.

I think we can pull this off without spending a lot of money," Razmus said. "Way finding signage can be done on our own through a local, Corbin sign making shop without finding an outside consultant."

A motion was made to purchase two additional hanging baskets at $250 each for downtown Corbin.

Another motion was also made to purchase three or four Jim Begley prints that will be hung around the tourism desk at city hall. Jim Begley, a local photographer creates High Dynamic Resolution (HDR) photographs of notable locations in Corbin.

The Commission also decided to buy a monthly section in a calendar called "Along the Wilderness Trail." Bell County’s tourism director will design the calendar and the section purchased by the Commission will feature the city of Corbin along with other towns in Southern Appalachia located along the wilderness trail.