In 2021, Keith Edwards, pictured with Stacey Gagne and Kerri Eady, was named the Sign Association of Canada’s Mentor of the Year. Photos courtesy Media Resources Inc.
By Carly McHugh
For many in the Canadian sign industry, Keith Edwards has become somewhat of a household name. Over his 50-plus-year career, he has been called a mentor, a father figure (literally and figuratively), a partner, a leader, and a legend, sharing his expertise on behalf of Grant Signs and Media Resources Inc.
This year, Edwards decided to begin his transition into retirement, leaving behind a legacy which will continue in the lives he touched throughout the industry. Looking back on the fruitful career of the “godfather” of signs, one is reminded of the immortal words of Frank Sinatra. Truly, through it all, he did it his way.
A legend in the making
Edwards got his start in the industry in the late 1960s, when he spent his summers working with his brother Grant at Grant Signs in Toronto. By 1971, he was working full-time with the company, and shortly thereafter, he became the lead installer.
In the early 1980s, Edwards attended his first board meeting for the Sign Association of Canada (SAC)—an organization he continued to be active with throughout outhis career.
As the ‘90s began, Grant Signs was sold to Deluce Group, spearheaded by the CEO of Porter Airlines, Robert Deluce. The move placed Edwards at the helm as general manager, and later president, of Grant Signs.
Ten years later, Edwards purchased the company with partners Steve Gallow and Cal Courneya. The trio then began working on the expansion of Grant Signs’ install division into British Columbia and Alberta.
After spending his summers working at Grant Signs in the late 1960s, Edwards started working full-time with the company in 1971. Shortly thereafter, he became a lead installer.
From there, the company continued to evolve, adding large-format printing, tri-vision display manufacturing, and 3D prop design and creation to its repertoire. In the mid-2000s, Edwards, Gallow, and Courneya were joined by new partners Will Thomson and Bill Mullin.
The company rang in 2010 with a bang, with the acquisition of Hamilton Digital Designs (HDD) and a complete rebrand as Media Resources. Jeff Rushton and Jim Mitchell were also welcomed into the partnership.
Shortly after the rebrand, Edwards and his colleagues began expanding their company into the U.S., acquiring installation companies in North and South Carolina. Media Resources also saw significant global growth in the digital market between 2011 and 2018. The company further expanded its American operations between 2016 and 2019, to include facilities in Atlanta, Ga., Baltimore, Md., Phoenix, Ariz., and Florida.
While the industry faced some roadblocks throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the growth of Media Resources showed no signs of slowing down. From 2019 to 2021, the company’s manufacturing presence in Ontario grew from one location at 6038 m2 (65,000 sf) to four locations, totalling more than 13,935 m2 (150,000 sf). The company also invested more than $11 million towards a fully robotic light-emitting diode (LED) module manufacturing plant, new procedures and information technology (IT) systems, and a point-of-purchase (POP) printing facility.
