By Kara Rhodes
kara.rhodes@timesnews.com

An unofficial Erie welcoming committee is reaching sky-high to say hello.

Jason Mumford is hoping airplane passengers swooping in for a landing at Erie International Airport will smile at the 8-foot salutation he's painting along a 180-foot concrete wall at the base of a cliff overlooking Lake Erie.

The sign, when completed, will be punctuated with a yellow smiley face. It will say "Welcome to ERI," a nod to Erie's airport code.

The code has been popularized in recent months with the airport's giveaway of about 30,000 oval ERI bumper stickers.

The concrete wall is owned by Jim Berlin, whose home is at the top of the cliff at the foot of Glenruadh Avenue in Millcreek.

Airport Executive Director Kelly Fredericks said that about 80 percent of the planes landing at Erie International use the flight path that takes them over the top of Berlin's home.

Berlin, the chief executive for Logistics Plus and owner of Union Station, said the heavy airplane traffic over his home gave him the idea for the sign.

"I thought it would be a neat landmark for pilots and passengers," he said.

Berlin is paying for the paint for the project. Mumford, who owns Patriot Murals, is volunteering his time.

Mumford started work Friday and still has about a week's worth of painting to go, he said. Mumford has also painted the mural on the Team Hardinger Transportation building as well as the murals on the 14th Street bridge underpasses at Peach and Sassafras streets.

"In some small way, this creates a better image for the town," Mumford said.

Fredericks agreed.

"A lot of people are going to see this sign," he said. "It's going to look great and make people happy to be home or visiting Erie."

KARA RHODES can be reached at 870-1858 or by e-mail.
 

courtesy of the Erie Times-News