Remembering our Friend, Jim Weinel
12/8/33 – 6/2/2026
Jim is considered to be one of the most profound influences on the sign industry since he started his sign business in the early 1960s with $150 of start-up cash. Jim and Sharon Weinel rented 400 square feet of space in a garage, and together began what is now one of the great successes of the American sign industry. Their company, Gemini Inc., based in Cannon Falls, Minnesota is one of the largest producers of dimensional letters in the world.
But this “silent architect” of the industry was much more than the founder of Gemini Inc.
Born in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, Jim went to school in Randolph, and followed with University of Minnesota, graduating with a civil engineering degree. It was there he met the love of his life, Sharon, while attending classes. They would remain married for 65 years until her death in 2022.
Over the years, Jim and Sharon Weinel generously and strategically invested in a number of significant signage research initiatives. They were major supporters of the Signage Foundation, Inc., and sponsors of a series of National Signage Research and Education Conferences (NSREC) that brought together an interdisciplinary group of academics from marketing, design, planning and transportation engineering programs with sign industry researchers and professionals. About the same time, the Weinel’s chose to endow two signage research chairs at the University of Cincinnati: one in marketing in the College of Business, and the other in urban planning in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning.
The Weinels subsequently endowed the Academic Advisory Council for Signage Education and Research (AACSRE) and its major initiatives, such as the Emerging Fellows program focused on creating a pipeline of young scholars engaged in innovative research on signage and wayfinding topics, and its flagship publication, the Interdisciplinary Journal of Signage and Wayfinding. AACSRE is a 501(3)c not for profit organization focusing on providing independent thought leadership to advance the knowledge base impacting on-premise signage (AACSRE, 2022).
In a similar fashion, the Weinels came to appreciate the work of Tod Swormstedt in the creation of the American Sign Museum (ASM). The ASM exists today in its current form as a nationally acclaimed institution based on Tod Swormstedt’s vision and tenacity, and the major support for that vision from the Swormstedt family, and Jim and Sharon Weinel.
But it was Jim’s passion for this industry, his love of everything about it, that we remember so fondly. A buoyant spirit always accompanied his great smile, and he would take the time to share his passion with anyone and everyone. You could always find him at the ISA Expo or generously giving time to all of the organizations he supported.
An industry icon like no other, he will be sorely missed. We are grateful for the milestones he marked for our businesses, the progress made with city planners who once considered sign professionals as the enemies, the youth who can now gain an academic understanding of the important role of signage, and for Gemini’s continuing support of our trade association and many others.
His spirit lives on in the joy and passion we find in our work in this industry.
RIP, Jim.
Teresa M. Young has been a consultant to entrepreneurs since 1986, in both retail and B2B sectors. In 1991, she became President of Sign Biz, Inc., a full-service business development company. Young sits on multiple boards, including as Past Chairwoman of both the International Sign Association (ISA) and California Sign Association. She is an accomplished code writer, web developer and contributor to the Git Repository. Young is also an in-demand speaker, engaging business owners with topical and powerful business insights and strategies in support of best business practices and modern marketing strategies under her MintyWorks and Coffee with T brands. 200 click-and-mortar enterprises were established under the Sign Biz business model with more than $19,000,000 worth of SBA-backed funding for these businesses.