Patti Reeves operates Island Displays, a billboard company with 16 structures on Turks and Caicos in the Carribean.    The eye of hurricane Irma passed right over Turks and Patti’s billboards survived  to winds of 160 miles an hour.  Insider talked with Reeves about the experience.

Are your Island Displays employees ok?

Yes, thank you!  In fact, there was no loss of live through Hurricane Irma.  (NOTE – Currently we are waiting on Hurricane Maria to pass through, but hoping it will veer to the north and east).

Any damage to boards from the hurricane?

Some damage caused by Hurricane Irma, but not nearly as bad as it could have been.  Two of the structures had damage to the LED Backlit boxes.  We are in the process of trying to plan a trip there to evaluate the damage.

How about your vinyls?

A few of the vinyls became either wrinkled or torn. We are able to straighten the wrinkled ones, and will replace the others.

Did you take hurricanes into account when you built your boards and is that why they seem to have survived so well?

Yes, absolutely.   Back in 1989 when Hurricane Hugo hit Charleston SC, I was the Market Manager for 3M National Advertising there.  We had over 100 monopoles come down in that storm, and it made a huge impact on me.   I will never forget seeing so many billboards come down in my life.

When we built these structures in the Turks and Caicos Islands, we built them to withstand 150 mph winds, as well as to accommodate digital faces on all structures for future growth.  We hired the best — Selective Structures — to come down to the islands  and build them for us, and I have no question it was worth every penny.

Any advice for billboard operators on dealing with a hurricane?

Don’t skimp on what you build!  You will long forget what you paid to build the structures when they are still standing after a storm!

Fingers crossed for Maria.

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