Cookeville Woman Says Billboard Experience Positive

A billboard funded by a crowdfunding campaign will soon go up on I-40 in Cookeville.

Cookeville resident Julia Gruber started the campaign a month ago on gofundme.com. The campaign has since raised more than $3,000.

“I think for me it was reassuring, the word I would use, that there are people in this town and in this country that do the right thing, who are up for that,” Gruber said.

Gruber started the campaign after a controversial billboard sponsored by the Tennessee Pastors Network went up. That billboard supports President Donald Trump’s travel ban.

Gruber wanted a billboard that would promote Cookeville’s diversity and welcoming spirit.

“It’s mind blowing to me that people do that for something they care for and it’s not even for a person, you don’t have a face, it’s for a group of people and that’s reassuring, it gives me hope, this is the America I want to live in, this is why I’m here,” Gruber said.

The inclusion billboard will be up for four weeks, Gruber said. It’s in the production phase now and will soon go up along the interstate.