This month, Columbia Flag & Sign Company marks 40 years of providing businesses, churches, schools, and individuals with their flag/flagpole and signage needs. The business has been run by the McGehee family since its inception, passing from father to son.
“My dad Jim McGehee started our company. He officially retired 15 years ago. I’ve been in the business for 25 years,” said David McGehee whose son, John, began working for the business two years ago. Columbia Flag & Sign services a wide area providing flags, flagpoles, and signage in the southeast and around the country.
“Our flag division focuses mostly on commercial work. We install and service flagpoles of all sizes, we make custom flags for company logos and special events, and we stock a huge selection of flags and accessories. Most of our flag work is commercial but we do carry a great selection of residential flags/flagpoles and have plenty of holiday and sports flags in our showroom. In our sign division, we make a wide range of signage – vehicle wraps, interior signage, window graphics, trade show displays – pretty much any kind of sign our customers can dream up,” David said.
Columbia Flag & Sign recently opened a new division Kifton Marine which is run and managed by David’s son John. Kifton Marine provides custom EVA boat flooring, and they carry a new line of boat cleaning supplies that are hard to find. They also make custom cooler tops with company logos.
“A few years ago, John came to work for us, and we started thinking about branching out. We already had the equipment in our sign division to make custom EVA boat flooring, so we decided to look into it. We took some time researching, learning, and testing materials and we have it down to a science now. John has pretty much built Kifton Marine from the ground up and now it’s exploding,” David said.
“We’re the only company in the state that does everything in-house. We do it all from start to finish, beginning with measuring your boat, designing the layout, custom routing or lasering the materials, and then installing. We can come to you, or you can bring your boat to our facility in West Columbia,” he continued.
Kifton Marine is named after John and his wife Chloe’s ten-month-old son, Kifton. “Between Kifton Marine and installing flagpoles and signs I would definitely say it is a full-time job! I have fun doing all of it though. Another big reason why I enjoy the Kifton Marine part of the business is because I love being on the water. I love fishing and just being out there. It’s peaceful,” shared John.
He continued, “Our tagline, which my wife came up with, is ‘Where Comfort Meets The Water’. We want people to be comfortable on their watercraft when they’re out enjoying the lake or river with their family. That’s what I grew up doing. So that’s what I want to share with other people.”
Columbia Flag & Sign Company and Kifton Marine
633 Meeting Street
West Columbia, SC