The 2025 Bisontennial art project has commenced! Peoria County is celebrating their 200th year by holding a fundraiser full of fun, creativity, and togetherness. They looked to local business to purchase a bison and customize it to their liking. PJ Hoerr will be incorporating construction, Peoria County, and a little touch of PJ Hoerr flare!
We're all done! Skip down to phase 5 to read about Benny's design and what he represents. Thanks for following along!
Check out Peoria County's page: Hey Peoria County - it's our bicentennial and yes, we're celebrating big. | Peoria County, IL
PHASE 1 - DESIGN!
We, of course, aren't going to show you the design of what Benny will look like, what kind of a surprise would that be! BUT, we will share a few ideas we had in the beginning phases. For our first mockup, we thought we'd just put him in what we wear every day on our construction site. Boots, high vis, a hard hat, and glasses. Truth be told, Benny isn't a little guy, nothing we had would fit! After that idea was thrown out, we thought he might look good with some construction equipment glued to him. Creating a jobsite scene, if you will, all across his back. That idea was tossed too after finding out Benny has just as much flat surface as a real Bison. Finally, we settled on our current design. It showcases PJ Hoerr as well as some of our favorite tidbits of the place we call home. We're so excited to share him with you when he's complete!
PHASE 2 - SAND, SAND, SAND
We are lucky that this place has so many talented people. Phil Watkins, full-time Quality Control Specialist, part-time Custom Car Restorer, knows a thing or two about painting very detailed, very large objects. We knew exactly who to call! Phil is getting Benny ready for his first coat of paint. Can you guess what color he's going to be?
PHASE 3 -PRIME TIME!
Benny has been primed and is officially going from bare to bold! Right now, he’s sporting a sleek gray, but very soon, he’ll be getting his fresh coat of base color. But we have some big news, this is the last time you’ll see Benny’s face :(
Why? Because we’ve teamed up with an extremely talented local artist who, alongside Phil and our Marketing Department, is bringing our one-of-a-kind design to life. This masterpiece won’t just look amazing, it’s being crafted to withstand the Midwest weather for years to come.
Trust us, we found the perfect artist for the job. And while we can’t spill all the details just yet… let’s just say you’re not ready for how incredible Benny is about to look. Stay tuned, big things are coming!
PHASE 4 - BASE COAT DOWN! (IT REALLY IS ALL ABOUT THAT BASE)
I know we said this would be the last time you'd see our bison's face, but we just couldn't help it. Here's a little sneak peek at Benny's base coat. Even though you can't tell what color he is right now, we can assure you, you won't be able to miss him. After endless sanding even after the primer, Phil put on Benny's base coat. He used a paint spray gun to ensure that his base was nice and smooth for our artist to work her magic. Phil wants you all to know, the base coat is the most important part! Over the next 2 weeks Benny will be getting painted with features and details that will capture our design and bring him to life.....woohoooooo! He's ready to meet the community and celebrate Peoria's birthday with you all!
Fast WAY forward to May 8th! Sorry we went incognito for a while finishing up this masterpiece. Let us fill you in...
If Benny was going to be a symbol of PJ Hoerr, he had to be Hot Rod Red! Phil spent about 2-3 days painting the Bison he was perfectly coated in red. Now, it was time for the best part. Design time!
PHASE 5 - MORE PAINT!
Our amazing artist and great friend, Megan Couri, started working on Benny and we immediately knew she would do a great job. We wanted a bit of realism on his face to make sure he'd still resemble a bison (the eyes...are you kidding!?). She made sure to incorporate the PJH colors into the detailing, and we're beyond impressed with his adorable face!
On his right side we really wanted to encompass the people who really make it all happen. We're proud to say PJ Hoerr is a well oiled machine, but nothing would be possible without the people that are on the site, building day in and day out. We are extremely lucky to have the staff we have and making sure they got the recognition they deserved was crucial to the project. Megan captured that vision perfectly, representing the people of PJ with the silhouette of working men and women.
It wouldn’t be right to leave off a giant PJ Hoerr logo (coming from the marketing department, this is the best part!). In our original design, the PJH logo was much smaller. But Megan gave us a call and said, “You guys, I have to make this way bigger!” Naturally, we said, “Why not, make it as big as you can!”
Above the PJ Hoerr logo, you’ll notice three other logos that are vital parts of the well-oiled machine we mentioned earlier. Summit Masonry, Benchmark Cabinets & Millwork, and Van Buskirk Steel are all subsidiaries of PJ Hoerr Inc., and they play a role in nearly every job we do. We pride ourselves on being able to do it all and with them, we truly can.
Benchmark Cabinets deserves a special shoutout for building all the bases for the bison around Peoria and transporting Benny wherever he needed to go. One final note: Megan freehanded all the lettering on this bison, including our complex logos...I'm not sure how either.
Next up is Benny's left side. This design was given by one of our Senior Estimators. Adam Liable took all of 3 minutes to come up with this one and we thought it was perfect. This side features the Peoria skyline with the crane holding our iconic I-Beam featured in our logo. We really wanted to incorporate Peoria not only because it's our home city, but because they've invested in PJ Hoerr time and time again. From the day we opened our doors to today, we’ve had the privilege of building for Peoria. We're big fans of this city and we'll continue to help it grow and flourish in every way we can.
Benny has reached his home! He sits right outside our front doors in our newly renovated landscaping for all PJ employees, visitors, and potential customers to see. I'm sure as years pass, we'll get our fair share of, "What's the deal with that big red bison out front?" But those who were part of it will remember Benny as a symbol of a project that brought our community together—and united our PJ Hoerr team in a special way. That's one thing about PJ Hoerr, we're a team.