By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher | Ever happen to you? Ever fail to see something right in front of you?
Or another time, did you ever give something away, and then later regret your action?
That could be happening to Gwinnett County government these days, as it searches for a new slogan that succinctly identifies the diverse community that Gwinnett has become.
It could be a difficult assignment. And no matter what the sloganeers come up with, someone will question it.
Yet at one time, without investing much time or thought into labeling the county with a slogan, Gwinnett unofficially had a slogan that people enjoyed.
Remember those iconic water tanks alongside Interstate 85 in Norcross just after entering Gwinnett northward? The first water tower simply told the world “Gwinnett Is Great.” That’s a simple slogan easily remembered and one closely identified with the way Gwinnett has grown since World War II.
Later on the county added on a second water tower, a phrase the Gwinnett Chamber had been promoting, “Success Lives Here.”
People all around Atlanta were familiar with the slogans as they passed by on Interstate 85. People knew they were in Gwinnett, and that Gwinnett took pride in what was going on in the county, and among its people.
So what happened? Something we often hear about these days, called “unintended consequences.”
Gwinnett’s Water and Sewer Authority found that maintaining the two relatively small water towers was inefficient, and in the Department view, costly. After not much discussion, and little public input, the order came to dismantle the water towers, so that the continuing maintenance of the tower could be eliminated.
Solid decision, so many in the Water Department thought. Good move, so that the county could save some money, and anyway, the towers were small, and didn’t store that much water.
Few questioned the decision.
But soon, people, even out-of-towners, began missing the water towers and their slogans. People from away had not followed the story, and simply asked: “What happened to the water towers? We always knew we were welcomed to Gwinnett when we saw them.”
It was perhaps an informed decision. But essentially, it meant that all of a sudden, Gwinnett was without this towering identity. People, in and out of Gwinnett, missed the water towers and slogans. That long-standing identity was lost, perhaps forever.
Well, not necessarily so. Remember those children’s inflatables you see at many parties?
Just how much would it cost to sew together some heavy fabric in the shape of a water tower, attach an air hose to it, and erect two new fabric water towers with those familiar slogans on them? The power to run the air would be small, certainly cheaper than having to re-paint the metal water towers every few years. And Gwinnett would have its slogans back, welcoming passers-by to our county. There would be no need to compensate some creative people for dreaming up a new slogan. The old ones were in the public domain, after all, all these years!
Who knows? The county might let kids come pay to jump and play in the inflatables, earning some operational monies. And the kids dancing on the inflatables would give the slogans a jerky, attracting motion.
If no inflatables, Gwinnett might at least erect signs at edges of the county, proclaiming: “Gwinnett Is Great … Success Lives Here.” That would be easy.
Those two slogans still look mighty strong. Why look around for new slogans, when you have something distinctive, time-worn, and we feel, even truthful, staring you in the face?
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