Fifteen dump trucks from Florida headed out Wednesday to snow-covered Washington, D.C. wrapped with sunshine yellow messages that feature a hitchhiking Florida-bound snowman.
The trip is focused on helping the nation's capital dig out from the recent blizzard, but the vehicle wraps give it a second purpose -- drawing tourists to the Sunshine State. The wraps have a smiling snowman holding a sign that reads "Florida Bound," along with the message "Sharing the Sunshine."
"Florida is glad to help Washington, D.C. dig out from the snow I have seen on my visit here this week," Gov. Rick Scott said. "Our state will provide 15 dump trucks with a message of 'sunshine' to encourage residents as they clean up and recover."
Over the weekend, the blizzard, dubbed Winter Storm Jonas, dumped 29 inches of snow at Washington's three major airports.
"It appears we are rowing in the same direction as far as trying to attract tourists," said Santiago Corrada, president and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay, the county's tourism arm. He applauded his state counterpart, Visit Florida, for what he called "a brilliant move."
Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jim Boxold said his department is proud to provide equipment and 31 state employees to help the District of Columbia dig out. "Our trucks will not only help with snow removal, but will also remind Washington, D.C. residents that the Sunshine State welcomes their visit any time."
It is also a way for Florida to test its preparedness, said Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Bryan W. Koon. "Coordinating assistance for Washington, D.C. provides a great opportunity to test the flexibility of our resources and methods. While snow storms are something we wouldn't typically expect here in Florida, we are always willing to lend a helping hand to our northern neighbors."
Meanwhile, those bright yellow wraps "are a friendly reminder to our chilly northern neighbors that we have plenty of sunshine and warm weather for them to enjoy," said Will Seccombe, president and CEO of Visit Florida.
"We're letting them know we are here and we'd love for them to come down for a visit," Corrada added.
This isn't the first time Florida has traveled north to spread the sunshine.
Last winter, Visit St. Pete Clearwater wrapped 600 subway trains, four buses and 1,500 elevators up north with photos of sprawling sunny Florida beaches as part of its "winterblows.com" ad campaign. It also placed real snowmen around New York City with catchy signs like "Even I've had enough. winterblows.com."
Corrada said the Visit Tampa Bay marketing team is preparing to unveil a new winter ad campaign "but I don't want to spill the beans." He said the announcement is forthcoming.
(c)2016 the Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Fla.)
