What’s in a name? – Silverdale’s north entrance sign will get a facelift and new slogan

Sure, Silverdale may not be a city, but soon it too will have its own slogan. “Welcome to ratty Silverdale is what I saw,” said Mary Earl of the deteriorating welcome sign at the north entrance on Silverdale Way. “Something had to be done.”

By Kristin Okinaka • February 11, 2011 4:33 pm
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Farron Hakanson (center) and others from the USS John C. Stennis Beach Detachment dig dirt for a roadside culvert along Silverdale Way Tuesday. The project is part of making the area by the Silverdale sign nicer as a new sign is to be placed with the community’s slogan. A Silverdale slogan contest is underway by the Clear Creek Trail Task Force and the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce.
Farron Hakanson (center) and others from the USS John C. Stennis Beach Detachment dig dirt for a roadside culvert along Silverdale Way Tuesday. The project is part of making the area by the Silverdale sign nicer as a new sign is to be placed with the community’s slogan. A Silverdale slogan contest is underway by the Clear Creek Trail Task Force and the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce.

Sure, Silverdale may not be a city, but soon it too will have its own slogan.

“Welcome to ratty Silverdale is what I saw,” said Mary Earl of the deteriorating welcome sign at the north entrance on Silverdale Way. “Something had to be done.”

The Central Kitsap Community Council member and Clear Creek Trail Task Force member has been true to her thoughts. Not only will Silverdale’s north end sign and surroundings get a makeover, Silverdale will be branded with a new slogan. The Task Force has teamed up with the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce to provide a slogan for the community that will be placed on the new sign. Any resident in Kitsap County is eligible to submit a slogan entry to either the Chamber or the Task Force by March 31.

“Most people know Reno as the biggest little city,” said Angela Sell, the Chamber’s president. “It’s just a way for the community to be recognized.”

A group made up of individuals from the Task Force, Chamber and other community members will select the winning entry and honorable mentions the first week of April, Sell said. Soon after the selection, the winning slogan will be added to the new sign, she added.

The idea to have a slogan came to life after Earl saw a sign in Winnemucca, Nev. that read, “Butch Cassidy left here rich … So can you.”

“It was catchy,” Earl said. “I want to do something like that, that brings people in.”

Although the community’s slogan will not be selected and revealed until April, work on fixing up the sign and surrounding area near the Silverdale Dog Park has already begun. The signage that had been flapping in the wind was removed, and a roof was added to the sign’s structure at the end of January. Earl and other Task Force members were out Tuesday digging up soil for the roadside culvert with USS John C. Stennis Beach Detachment sailor volunteers. Last week the group helped clear nearby blackberry bushes.

Community members and U.S. Navy volunteers are not the only ones helping to revamp Silverdale’s sign. Commissioner Steve Bauer has made a $450 contribution.

“It’s important to have a good entrance to the community,” Bauer said.

While the sign continues to look better week by week and slogan entries are gathered, Earl has been brainstorming one of her own: Silverdale — the city that isn’t.

Silverdale slogan contest:

Slogan submissions can be e-mailed to Dionne@SilverdaleChamber.com or ClearCreekTrail@yahoo.com. Entries can also be submitted in person at the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce, 3100 NW Bucklin Hill Road. All Kitsap County residents are eligible to submit an entry by March 31.

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