County letterhead to get makeover

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY — The seal that currently appears on most official county correspondence dates to the 1960s, and features a few mountains topped by a beaming sun with a human face. Roberta Byron-Lockwood, the president and CEO of the Sullivan County Visitors Association, agrees with other county officials that the seal is a bit stale and needs to be updated.

With that in mind, Byron-Lockwood set out, with guidance from members of the legislature, to create a new look for county documents. Several results were unveiled on September 4 at the government center in Monticello. Byron-Lockwood said most counties these days are steering away from the use of a seal, and are opting for more of a logo design.

Of the dozen or so examples that were shown to lawmakers, the two that got the most favorable response both featured an eagle soaring above stylized mountains, and contained the slogan, “Sullivan County Catskills: Mountains of Opportunities.” Byron-Lockwood said the final product will be a combination of the two.

Once completed, the logo will be used not only on all county correspondence, but also that of affiliated agencies such as the Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce and Sullivan County Community College.

The logo represents an effort to brand all agencies of the county, and those entities connected with the county, with a single identity to help promote the county.