Bermuda Run Trying To Establish Identity

Published 12:00 am Friday, June 1, 2012

By Jim Buice
Enterprise Record

BERMUDA RUN – Davie County’s newest town is trying to establish its identity in more ways than one.
As part of last Tuesday night’s monthly town council meeting, the board approved a proposal to enter into an agreement with CCL Branding to launch the town’s brand and graphic identity.
This would involve establishing a logo, motto and icon for signage and other pieces to make sure that anyone entering the town will know exactly where they are.
“If you think of it terms of a halo, if you will, around the town of Bermuda Run, we want anyone entering this area to know they are in the town of Bermuda Run,” said David Cassels of CCL.
It has been a recurring problem for a town that has only been incorporated for 13 years.
Town Manager Lee Rollins said a subcommittee was created to look at town character and town identity after the comprehensive plan was adopted last month.
“Certainly for those who have been long-standing residents of Davie County, if you go to Bojangles’ and ask where you are, typically it’s the Bermuda Run/Hillsdale/Advance Metroplex,” Rollins said. “With that said, I think it was certainly wise for this subcommittee to look at how to begin enacting strategies moving forward with our comprehensive plan.”
The proposal with CCL Branding for recognizable brand identity is not to exceed $12,480. Accomplishing the first step in the plan brought on other thoughts regarding the identity of the town.
“One of my pet peeves is when I opened a bank account in a bank here in town, I couldn’t use Bermuda Run as my address because it wouldn’t accept it, and it said Advance,” said councilman John Guglielmi.
The U.S. Postal Service recognizes Advance, NC 27006 as the unique zip code for the area. Advance is an unincorporated community, whereas most community names associated with a zip code are towns or cities, he said.
“We recently went to the Postal Service requesting a unique zip code but were not successful,” said Mayor Ken Rethmeier. “But they did assure us that we had a privileged use of 27006, meaning that theoretically companies should be able to automatically adopt this.”
Rollins said that more conversations would be needed with the Postal Service.
“We’ll need to work with them to help leverage a comfort level with banks and other businesses,” said Rollins, who added that …