In 1967 the company manager, Gertrude Adams, purchased the business from Ed Rutledge and the name was changed to Adams Outdoor Advertising. For the next 20 years the company tripled in size to be the largest in the region to offer Outdoor Billboards.

By then, Gertrude’s daughter, Joy Adams Kay, had joined the business and began managing Adams Outdoor Advertising with her husband Jerome. It was not until 1998, that upon the request of Wal-Mart, that the company became a WBE (Woman Business Enterprise) certified by the State of North Carolina. Joy inquired what other companies could benefit from this certification and found that General Contractors were requesting pricing from WBE firms for public projects. With the Adams Outdoor having a background already in the signage industry, the company was given representation rights by many vendors for North and South Carolina regions and a new division of Adams Outdoor Advertising was formed.

Joy successfully built the business into a leader of the ADA Signage industry for the Carolina’s, taking on the full division for supplying and installing all signage required.

In 2003, the company changed its name to AOA Signs and sold off the billboard division to Stafford from Tennessee. This sale enabled the company to expand into their new building to offer state of the art graphics and a more efficient turn around to their customers.

As one of the oldest family-owned signage distributor in North Carolina, AOA Signs continues to grow by adding new product lines. Being in business since 1953, AOA Signs has created many special relationships over the years. These relationships define a philosophy shared with our Contractors and Customers “Making Friends is Our Business”.

From all of us here at AOA Signs, we look forward to helping you build, in both relationship and from Ground Up.