There’s just something special about seeing your name or a thank you message spelled out across the lawn in large, colorful letters. It brings a smile to those being celebrated and allows those passing by to be part of the festivities.
“The reactions we get are why we do what we do,” says Lawn Letters owner Angela VanGroll. “Seeing the joy of people realizing that someone thought of them and did something special for them…that’s definitely my favorite part - being able to bring that happiness to a variety of people.”
Angela brought Lawn Letters to the Evans area in 2017. She says, “The overall concept of putting the letters in yards is not my original concept. My friend and I had seen this in Texas, and I got into this business in 2015 when my family and I lived in Oklahoma.”
“We relocated to the Augusta area in 2016 because of my husband’s job. After being here for about nine months, I knew that I wanted to bring this concept to the area.”
There are many occasions to celebrate throughout the year, but birthdays tend to be the first that come to mind. “Birthdays are a very large portion of our business,” explains Angela. “I actually call myself the birthday fairy, and we use the hashtag #birthdayfairystrikesagain because we do set up at night for that [element of] surprise.”
The standard mode of operation for Lawn Letters is to place signs in yards after dark the night before the big day, but sometimes the celebration is a bit more spontaneous.
“Babies keep us on-call,” says Angela, “because you don’t always know when exactly a baby will be born or when baby and mom are coming home.”
Spelling out celebrations isn’t limited to just birthdays and babies. Angela and her staff also help with other occasions such as graduations, anniversaries, family days for corporations, and events at schools.
“We do lots of school events,” says Angela. “We’ve done open houses, welcome back, teacher appreciation, fall festivals, and spring carnivals. Some fun ones we’ve done are when the teachers will celebrate the principal’s birthday; that’s kind of fun when the whole school gets to see it’s the principal’s birthday.”
For Angela, some events stand out more than others. “I did one that I remember I loved,” she says. “It was someone who put up words of encouragement for her friend who was participating in the Iron Man here in town.”
This past spring turned out to be an especially memorable time for Angela and her staff. “During COVID, because people all of a sudden couldn’t have birthday parties and celebrations, this became a way to be able to celebrate.”
In mid-March when the COVID crisis struck, Angela was disheartened and wanted to do something to help encourage others. She started by discounting her prices to allow for more people to enjoy celebrating with Lawn Letters. Then, she reached out to encourage front-line workers.
“I really wanted something at the hospital to show appreciation to the front-line healthcare workers,” she explains. “My friend put me in touch with the president of the University Foundation, and we were able to work it out and do it for University.”
No matter the occasion, Lawn Letters gives us all an easy and simple way to celebrate. It can convey the perfect message for a special person or occasion or show appreciation for those making a difference in the world.
To view the Lawn Letters photo gallery, check pricing, and book an event, visit LawnLetters.com.