Lubbock, TX - A palpable impression of elegance and good taste envelops you upon stepping into Suite 4, at 6807 Slide Rd. in Lubbock. Last month, amidst lots of gleaming glass and inspirational quotes positioned to draw your eyes upward, Toby and Karen Stephens formally launched their new business enterprise, Elite Sign & Design, LLC, with a well planned and very festive Grand Opening celebration and official ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Held from 3:00 to 5:00 pm, the ceremony was attended by dozens of friends and business associates from the Stephen's professional past, and no less than 10 ambassadors from the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce. They introduced Evelyn Morton, graphic artist for the Company, as well as Kristi Sadler, the new Account Manager for Elite Sign & Design. In all, more than 40 people joined together to celebrate the new Sign business and, reflecting the season, a good time was had by all!
Asked about his vision for his new enterprise, Stephens responded,
"Our primary product is our customer service and we stand behind it. That's why we made sure that one of the first quotes you see when you enter Elite Sign and Design is our favorite, 'Common Vision, Common Goal.'"
The Stephens are the latest members of Sign Biz, Inc., the world's largest network of royalty-free digital sign and graphics businesses, with 180 members across the U.S. and six foreign markets.
Renowned for their formidable industry partnerships, the Sign Biz business development organization provides start-up assistance, one-on-one training and support for their members, all of which are digital sign companies.
With over 220,000 residents, Lubbock was an ideal choice for the Stephen's new business. It is a continually growing community, fueled by a vast agricultural industry and a plentiful variety of manufacturing facilities. Just south of Loop 289, it provides easy access to major transportation routes. The very first order for Elite's visual communications products came from Freitag & Payne, PC (pictured right). It was a good sign of the community's growth and potential, and many other businesses flocked to Elite Sign & Design after that.
"In addition to offering business consulting, complete graphic design services, state of the art visual impact systems, and extremely fast turnaround times, Elite Sign & Design is the only authorized seller of the LobbyPOP system in Lubbock," adds Toby.
The innovative program developed by Sign Biz Inc., the business development partner that guided Toby into business, includes stand alone, wide-format, flat screen TV systems with multi-play DVD players, coupled with professionally produced DVDs that display client products and services in an engaging montage of clips and music. The package is affordable and allows the Stephens to offer their clients, not only a full signage program, but also the tools to recast their waiting rooms in a powerful new role.
Toby and Karen Stephens have been married for 8 years and they have an exuberant 19 month old son. Prior to launching Elite Sign & Design both held positions with Yellow Pages: Toby, formerly a District Sales Manager, and Karen, who is the Senior Account Executive, both enjoy golf, swimming, travel and Texas Tech football. Their son, Landry, is learning to enjoy them all as well!
In a not-so-hot economy, the Stephen's discipline, taste, and drive all point toward their generating some pretty intense heat in Lubbock. Congratulations, Toby and Karen Stephens, on quickly building a solid foundation for future economic growth!