Monroe County’s Tourist Development Council and the Village of Islamorada are discussing a “new” method of promoting local businesses recovering from Hurricane Irma – sign spinners. The dialogue comes after the tourist council’s decision to request monies be rolled over from unallocated capital projects funds to advertising. The proposed plan originated from a new grassroots initiative – Local Advertisement Manufacturing and Energy (LAME).
The proposed “army of spinners” will be deployed along U.S.1 from the 18-Mile Stretch down to Lower Matecumbe. An array of bright and seizure inducing color schemes have already been agreed upon, leaving it now to local sign makers to make them look “as annoying as humanly possible” said one TDC representative.
“We can really kill two birds with one stone,” said a county source close to the initiative. “The spinners will provide great entertainment for those stuck in the Upper Keys congested traffic — and we are providing jobs to those desperately seeking employment after the storm.”
Ad space and spinners can be reserved via the TDC and Village’s new joint website, spinerz.com. Rates for a single spinner cost about $5.50 per hour. Background checks, drug testing and formal interviews are all being waived during the first three months or phase one.
When asked where the municipality and county plan to house laborers, the Weekly’s anonymous source (who only would referred to himself as “Sauce 23,”) simply shrugged before saying, “Tents and mangroves. Mangroves and tents. It is what it is.”
While the art of sign spinning isn’t new to the Keys, it’s roots run deep in millennial culture, which often means monetary reward isn’t the biggest carrot used to attract candidates.
“Usually I just spin to raise money to go to dance at music concerts, and to buy…uh…stuff,” said prospective spinner Skylar Tate, 19, with a blank look on his face. “But for me spinning is just who I am. It’s like, life. If that even makes sense to someone like you?”
The Board of County Commissioners will hold a public reading on the L.A.M.E. initiative at its April 1, 2018 meeting. If passed, spinners will initially be stationed at the draw bridge, the top of the 18 Mile Stretch and Mariners Hospital.
