Signs and T-shirts: JWC has arrived

And now for something really important.

T-shirts.

As in, I have them.

It was never my intention to own a business. I’d collected a paycheck from someone else all my adult life and saw no reason to do anything different. 

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Just Wright Citrus changed all that. I developed a business, the community supports it, I fend off Social Security, and here we are.

Until this week, there was only one thing missing.

I wanted my business to have a T-shirt.

You see, I’m a T-shirt guy. From my earliest memory, I’ve collected T-shirts. Wore them in high school, college, and since then. 

The Just Wright Citrus dress code is a little loose and undefined. Should I wear dress shirts? Polos? Tees?

I decided on the Tim "Tool Man" Taylor approach. Tim was the dad in TV’s “Home Improvement” who wore T-shirts of Michigan sports teams and colleges because his fictional life was based in the Detroit area.

I’m not wearing Ferris State University shirts, but if it’s a weekday and I’m sporting a T-shirt, it’s from Citrus County. Here’s a sample:

• Floral City Strawberry Fest. I also have a Floral City History shirt.
• “Respect the Locals” features a Crystal River manatee.
• Schoolhouse Hustle.
• Lecanto High and Citrus High School shirts. I need a Crystal River Pirates shirt.
• “Juiced for Citrus.” A friend in county government gave me this T-shirt, part of a former campaign to attract businesses. It’s one of my favorites.
•  Tampa Bay Rays. Our local playoff-bound Major League baseball team.

And now I have one to add.

The Just Wright Citrus T-shirt, complete with this inspiration on the back suggested by a reader:

“...government geeks with a sense of humor.”

Man, does that describe us, or what?

Because I’m really a reporter dressed up like a businessman, my priorities may not be those of, say, actual businesspeople. They think of the bottom line, customer service, and getting shipments out in time.

I think of T-shirts.

(And yard signs. I’ll get there in a minute.)

There is simply something magical about owning a company and wearing a T-shirt with that company’s name attached. When I eventually see someone wearing one of these shirts out and about, well, that will simply be the end of time for me. My ego/pride levels will shoot through the sky.

Mac1 Signs in Homosassa did a great job on the shirts and got them to me in plenty of time to promote shirt sales for the Saturday, Oct. 7 Mike's 65th and Bluegrass open house at Just Wright Citrus World Headquarters.

I’m selling them for $20. Proceeds benefit Club Recovery of Citrus County, a Hernando-based nonprofit that hosts 12-step recovery meetings and activities. Let me know if you want a T-shirt and I’ll get it to you.

(I drove around for a week with a huge box crammed with T-shirts in the back seat. Today the shirts are neatly folded and separated by size, thanks to my friend Steph the Barber, who not only cut my hair Thursday but also took pity on yet another laundry-challenged male.)

We’ll have shirts at the Oct. 7 open house, which is from 1 to 5 p.m. Best way to the World Headquarters is to park at Wallace Brooks Park in Inverness and look for the signs near the Inverness Boathouse. (Click here for details.)

Speaking of signs.

I wanted four or five Just Wright Citrus yard signs. Not just for directional reasons at the open house but to have them. Never know when they’ll come in handy.

I reached out to Mark Baker, owner of Good Signs Fast in Crystal River who was not only a charter sponsor of Just Wright Citrus, but he was also the FIRST. While Mark made the business decision earlier this year to drop his sponsorship, he’s a friend and the first I contacted looking for signs.

Which, of course, he provided to me at a great discount. Not sure he wants this out there, but Mark is really a great guy and tremendous Citrus County community supporter.

T-shirts and yard signs. Two years in business, Just Wright Citrus now looks the part.

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