2025 Women in Signs: Lauren Terwilliger

LAUREN TERWILLIGER DID not enter the sign industry right away. She was a second and fourth grade teacher, while her husband, John, came from a family background in signage. When Crohn’s disease prevented Terwilliger from continuing her pedagogical career, the couple established Pocono Signs and Graphics, a home-based company that would allow her to lead a fulfilling professional life from home.

The Terwilligers then purchased a retail spot in Scranton, PA, providing wholesale services for local sign companies. John worked night shifts as a medic and maintained his day job as the face of their young sign company, while Terwilliger shadowed him on job sites to learn from his experience. She recalls the construction contacts being thrown off when first meeting her. “They wouldn’t even make eye contact with me. I’m not sure if it was confidence on my side or a male-female thing,” she says.

Women for Women: Lauren Terwilliger built this halo-lit logo for a woman-owned dental practice.

From those humble beginnings, Terwilliger has transitioned fully into the owner/operator role at Pocono Sign Co. (Lakeville, PA). She now singlehandedly runs the shop’s vinyl department and leads project management, taking charge of flexible media production, inventory procurement, HR, employee retention and social imprint. Drawing from her parents’ experience running a bagel shop when she was young, Terwilliger relishes communicating with clients, to probe what she can supply to fulfill their visions, be it a logo for their storefront or a more comprehensive signage package.

“When you step back and look at what you’ve accomplished, your clients are so happy because you helped them get there,” Terwilliger says. “Your clients come in looking for your help to make the impossible and you make the impossible.”

When the pandemic struck in 2020, the Terwilligers took a leap of faith. To better accommodate their children’s remote schooling and cut down on commuting time, they purchased five acres of land in Wayne County, where they reside, and built a 10,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility. The risk-laden move has paid off: They now work 15 minutes from home and can attend their children’s events right after work without having to rush, which has made a big difference in Terwilliger’s work-life balance.

Pocono Sign has completed many inspiring projects under her stewardship, including a carved library sign with goldleaf and a post-and-beam structure encased in foam dimensional books, and the replica of an 80-year-old theatre marquee in Montrose, PA, using materials authentic to the era: milky glass, metal tracks for the neon letters, even pieces of the original sign.

Taking a step back to see the bigger picture is Terwilliger’s advice for other women in the sign industry. “Everyone feels burned out, everyone feels like you’re literally running up Mount Everest to get where you need to be,” she explains. Terwilliger wants self-acceptance and self-gratification to be more widely recognized. “You need to take a step back, realize that you are good, you’re there, you’re better. The way you’re thinking you want to be better, that makes you amazing,” she adds.

As time progresses, she has been seeing more women in the sign industry and in more diverse roles. “I hope people realize how much potential and how much good we can do in this industry,” Terwilliger says.