by charlee beasor
BROWNSBURG — Jason Gibson calls himself an “equal opportunity offender.”
The certified public accountant works out of office space at 701 N. Green St. here and changes the sign in front of the office weekly with new sayings that support local sports teams or make general commentary on current events.
One recent sign, “Man will ultimately be governed by God or tyrants,” resulted ins a woman calling in to complain.
“That’s a quote from Benjamin Franklin,” Gibson said. “I put some Bible verses up. They’re usually short and to the point. I’ve never had any complaints on those, just always the founding fathers’ quotes.”
Another quote that caused a passerby to call in and complain was a quote from Mike Ditka.
“It said ‘You can’t win a derby with a donkey,’” Gibson said. “But that’s just about how you can’t win a football game with a bad team.”
Gibson shares the office space and sign with his mother, Teresa Ray, owner of The Payroll Department, and Shane Ray, owner of 1610 WXRB Radio Brownsburg.
Each of them has their own space on the sign. Gibson takes the side that greets drivers coming from the south on State Road 267. Shane Ray takes the other side, greeting drivers from the north. Teresa Ray’s advertisement is at the top of the sign on both sides.
Shane Ray’s board advertises the radio station and will sometimes include quotes from famous people about radio.
“I just basically want everyone to know to quit calling the radio station or the Payroll Department because of the attention he’s been getting,” Shane Ray said.
Gibson is happy that passersby pay attention to the sign.
“Thank you for looking at my sign,” he said. “Keep it up. Just always follow traffic laws and regulations (when looking at it).”
Gibson said the responses he gets on his sign are usually positive.
“Outside of the few people on the fringe, the response to me has been overwhelmingly positive,” he said. “Anything I’ve put that’s political is not tied to one particular party. If you’re an elected official and if you’re playing games, you deserve criticism.”
One of Gibson’s main reasons for putting up different sayings on the sign, aside from attracting attention and business, is to get people to think differently.
“It’s to stimulate thought and make sure people don’t buy into (what the news stations are saying),” he said. “Don’t believe everything you hear on FOX or MSNBC. Think for yourself.”
To contact Gibson, call 679-8558.
charlee.beasor@flyergroup.com
