Business owner to perch on billboard for 30 hours
Goal is to raise $30,000
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

The 2-foot by 6-foot platform will be Stand Advertising President Janet Stanek's home for 30 hours, in an attempt to raise $30,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. She will "move in" at 6 a.m. Monday, Oct. 1. The billboard is located on Interstate 190 south, between the Clinton and South Ogden exits.

For 30 hours, Janet Stanek, president of Stand Advertising, will live on a billboard overlooking Interstate 190.

She won't leave the 2-foot by 6-foot platform from 6 a.m. Monday, Oct. 1 until noon on Tuesday, Oct. 2.

"I'll read, wave at cars, talk on my phone. Maybe take my laptop to do some work, depending on the weather," the East Aurora resident said.

But she isn't going up there to catch up on a novel. Stanek is trying to raise $30,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

To celebrate Stand Advertising's sixth anniversary, team members brainstormed fundraising ideas to follow the fifth-year antics. In 2006 the employees marked the occasion with "Cinco de Stando," in which Stanek had to go down a slide into a pool of salsa. The stunt raised enough for little boy's wish. Suffering from disease that makes it difficult to breathe, the boy was given a hot tub, which helps him relax and be more comfortable.

This year, Stand Advertising's goal of $30,000, or $1,000 for each hour Stanek is on the billboard, will cover six wishes.

Fairgrounds Gaming & Raceway, a client of Stand Advertising, donated its billboard on 190 south, between South Ogden and Clinton streets, for two and a half weeks. Its design is temporarily replaced with "Boss on a Billboard," which was erected on Sept. 21.

Stanek said when her team announced what her assignment would be, her response was, "Yeah, OK." She said she was surprised by the overwhelming support from Make-A-Wish and Lamar Outdoor Advertising, which owns the billboard.

For her safety and the safety of the motorists, she will be harnessed. Her 30-hour home will consist of a sleeping mat and tent.

In addition to celebrating the company's sixth anniversary and raising money for charity, Stanek jokes that there is a third reason for the stunt.

"Anything to get out of a Monday morning meeting."

A donation form is available at www.bossonabillboard.com, and contributions will be taken at 210-1065.

Perry's Ice Cream will donate a year's supply of ice cream to anyone who donates $250 or more, and Northern Reflections is donating "functional and fashionable" clothing for the event.

Stanek said she is hoping for sunny weather, and when asked about the "obvious question," she said, "It's taken care of."

"Living on a billboard for 30 hours in October in Buffalo is slightly nerve-wracking, to be honest," she said. "But we have the chance to raise money to grant six wishes. It's a small price to pay, even if it snows."

Located at 2352 N. Forest Road in Amherst, Stand Advertising recently had five of its employees complete training to be "Wish Granters." The entire staff will help with the logistics of the wishes.

"It is incumbent of business owners to take care of Buffalo-Niagara charities like this," she said, adding that her overall message during the stunt is to raise money to deliver wishes.