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Visitors of LaFayette will receive a special welcome from now on thanks to a brand-new welcome sign on Highway 50. On Thursday, city and county officials, members of the LaFayette Main Street and state legislators gathered at the city sign for the reveal of the new welcome sign.

“This is like a town’s welcome mat,” said Bob Fincher, Alabama representative. “It’s the first thing you see … And it’s a great addition.”

The sign, sponsored by LaFayette Main Street (LMS), was funded by a $5,000 grant from the Coosa Valley Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) Council. LMS, an organization that works to revitalize the local economy and beautify downtown, applied for the grant last year. 

The Coosa Valley RC&D is an organization funded by the Alabama state legislature that works to give rural communities resources for development.

This is just the first of four new welcome signs that will be going up around each entry point to the city, according to LaFayette Main Street Director DeAnna Hand.

“Thank you to our legislators,” said Ciara Turner, executive director of Coosa RC&D. “We couldn’t do what we do without our legislators.”

The local representative for Coosa Valley RC&D, Chris Langley, said projects that help revitalize rural cities like this are the goal of the RC&D. 

“I’m proud to be able to help the city of LaFayette, to be able to help my hometown,” Langley said. 

Craft Master Sign company built the new black-and-yellow sign. City of LaFayette Street and Sanitation Superintendent George Green and his department put the sign in place. 

Senator Randy Price, Chambers County Commissioner Doug Jones and Chambers County Development Authority Director Chris Busby also spoke at the sign reveal. 

LaFayette Mayor Kenneth Vines thanked LaFayette Main Street for their work on this project.

“Welcome to the city of LaFayette,” Vines said.

“Each and every day that we are here, we are trying to grow,” he added. “Great things happen when everyone comes together.”

LaFayette’s former sign, a blue and white wooden sign, had been in need of a refresh as the paint was chipped and washed out. Hand said that this project has been at the top of their list for a long time. 

Last year, delegates from Main Street Alabama came to LaFayette to tour downtown and give feedback based on their tour as well as a community survey. One of the main focuses that the group shared was the need to update the city’s signage.