Wall’s vision leads to new sign in Hampton

Motorists driving down Highway 34 through Hampton can’t help but notice a nice, new, very tall purple electronic sign board on the edge of town, thanks in large part to Denny Wall and his wife, Beverly.
The long-time Hampton resident and Hawk alumni approached school officials several years ago about installing a new sign, then decided to help make it happen by pledging a donation toward the project. After a long delay caused by the pandemic, the sign was finally installed last week, with Wall getting his first glimpse of it over the Easter weekend.
“I guess I came up with the idea because a lot of schools have a sign of some kind,” Wall said. “I thought we should have one, too.”
Wall suggested the idea to Supt. Holly Herzberg, who saw it as an opportunity to help promote the school as well as the town.
“He stepped into the school one day and said he had a vision, that he wanted to donate some money toward a messaging sign that would be connected with the school and the community, just to be able to increase communication for everyone in Hampton,” she recalled.
Herzberg said she began researching the logistics of the idea, but rather than place the sign on school grounds suggested that it might have a greater impact on Highway 34.
“When we started talking about it with Denny, I really felt like the need for the increased communication would be better placed down on the highway where there is more traffic, versus people who were driving all the way down to the school to pick up their children or attend a ballgame,” she said. “Those people already kind of know events that are going on, so having it more visible down on the highway will give us the opportunity to increase communication and raise awareness about what is going on at the school and in the community.”
Forced to pause the project when COVID hit, Herzberg said plans eventually resumed. She applied for and received a $10,000 grant from the Hamilton Community Foundation, noting that the school agreed to cover the remaining costs, as well as committing to on-going operations and maintenance. The school district leased a small site just north of Highway 34 and a crew installed the large structure last week.
“It will be main events that will be put on the sign, based on the fact that the Department of Roads really regulates how long a message has to stay on there,” she explained. “It’s all driven by their guidelines.”
As for updating the content, that task will be handled by the school’s digital media class, using a laptop to program the sign board remotely.
“I’m super excited about it,” Herzberg concluded. “I think it’s a great thing for our community just to increase the communication. It’s really not just about the school. It’s about the community and our connection, our school/community connection, and how we can keep all of us really informed on what’s going on.”
Family members shared that Wall is extremely proud of his Hampton heritage, having graduated from Hampton High and watched as all of his five children, several grandchildren and now the next generation of great-grandchildren attend Hampton Public School. He is known to be very supportive of his church (St. Peter’s Lutheran) and his community.