Merry Christmas billboard effort deemed a success

The Merry Christmas billboard campaign will have a sequel.

Five area women raised enough money to pay $2,800 for four billboards last month, and still have $1,600 remaining.

“We’re not going to go away,” said Joanne Brown of Poland.

That means a bigger splash for Christmas 2008.

First, the women hope the money in the bank will help them afford higher-profile locations for their messages, which encourage people to say “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays.” The women are hoping for spots near the Southern Park and Eastwood malls.

Second, they are talking with people in other regions who are interested in starting similar billboard campaigns.

Finally, the local women are considering going beyond billboards, such as distributing buttons that promote a Merry Christmas greeting.

“The more we talk about this and the more we hear about this, the more we realize how important this is,” Brown said.

The women — including Pat See of Canfield, Linda Bennett of Niles, Judi Hanna of Boardman and Laurie Kramer of Youngstown — think the Happy Holidays greeting takes away from the religious significance of Christmas.

The women had no idea their effort would grow this big.

For more, see Tuesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com