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Where There is Love at Every Corner: The Town of Wise Unveils Love Sign

Tori Villiard
Town of Wise officials and Chancellor with Love sign
From left, Wise Town Manager Laura Roberts, Town Events Coordinator Natasha Proulex, Council Member Jeff Dotson, Mayor Teresa Adkins, UVA Wise Chancellor Donna Henry and Council Member Robin Dotson.
Photo by Mark Robertson-Baker II

On Sunday, the Town of Wise hosted the unveiling of artwork that the University of Virginia’s College at Wise absolutely loves. 

Members of the community crowded around for the big reveal. Once the covering was removed, a new LOVE sign in the Gateway Gardens was revealed, with the “V” being the College’s athletics power V.

The LOVE sign is the result of a RALLY SWVA grant project, in collaboration with the Town of Wise, the College, the Wise County Career-Technical Center and Union High School. 

Rally SWVA, which stands for “Real Action Leadership Learning Yay!” is a strategy of the Opportunity SWVA initiative, put in place as an action learning mini-grant program that engages community leaders in working together to make their community a better place for small businesses. The project provides positive coaching, leadership development activities and facilitated discussions that emphasize goal setting based on a shared vision, consensus building, outcome measurement and moving from talk to action.

The LOVEwork sign concept originates from the iconic “Virginia is for Lovers” slogan by the Virginia Tourism Corporation. There are over 300 locations across the Commonwealth displaying the lovely words. There is a LOVEwork map featured on virginia.org, with LOVEwork road trip suggestions based on the specific regions of Virginia. The Town of Wise is thrilled to become a stop on the LOVEwork road trip route.

“The Rally SWVA project made it possible for members of the College, the community and regional partners to work together in a meaningful way,” said Shannon Blevins, vice chancellor for administration, government relations and strategic initiatives at UVA Wise. “We have a tremendous relationship with the Town and the LOVE sign was the perfect project to bring us all together.”

The ‘E’ in LOVE features illustrations of important landmarks within the Town of Wise, from the Wise Inn to the Big Glades Community Square & Amphitheater. The artwork was done by Union High School art teacher, Lisa Davis and her art students.

The Mayor of the Town of Wise, Teresa Adkins, felt it was integral to incorporate the College into the LOVE sign. “The relationship between the town of Wise and the College is vital. We need the College, and the College needs us,” said Adkins. “We are grateful for the college community and enjoy seeing students and the local community interacting with one another.”

The Town of Wise invites members of the community and fellow travelers to stop by and take a picture with the LOVE sign any time.