Pictured, Grounded Greetings owner Amy Strong displays a sample yard greeting. (Sean McGowan photo)

Amy Strong wants to bring smiles into the community, and her new business appears to be accomplishing just that.

Strong, 42, came up with the idea for yard greetings for different celebratory events when she saw a similar concept and appreciated the effects.

“When I saw (this idea), it made me smile, and I thought, it’s gotta have that effect on other people,” she said.

The Waterloo woman began Grounded Greetings in January and has provided greetings for a variety of events, including birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, family reunions, baby and bridal showers, and any other number of celebrations.

Birthdays are her most popular event.

“It’s going pretty good. The concept of it is still sinking in with people,” she said, estimating she has done about 50 orders since opening. “I’ve had excellent feedback from everyone who has seen or heard of it. They respond well to it.”

The yard greetings are a rental that customers can order for their events and have set up in their yard the night before they are needed. At the end of the event, Strong will come back to recover the display — customers can keep the greeting another night in some cases, but at an extra cost.

Greetings can be customized with almost no limitations. For one Waterloo High School student’s graduation, Strong put together a greeting that read, “Congratulations” in one color and the person’s name in another color, along with a bulldog graphic.

“I just did (an anniversary) this past weekend and they did ‘Cheers and Beers to 40 years.’ If I don’t have it, I can sure try to get it,” she said.

Strong said she will deliver to anywhere within 50 miles of Waterloo, with the price based on zip code. For more information or to place an order, contact Strong at 618-410-3644, visit the website at groundedgreetings.com, or go to Facebook.com/groundedgreetings/.

“Grounded Greetings is a great way to make someone feel special. We worked out timing for it to be up when we got home and my daughter was so surprised and excited,” customer Amy Hank posted on Facebook. “All the kids coming to her birthday party loved it.”

Strong has also used her business to help support several fundraisers in the community including Helping Strays’ annual “A Cause for Paws” dinner auction in which she made her service available as an auction item.

“It gets the word out and it’s raising money for a good cause,” she said.

For now, the Waterloo postal carrier will continue working multiple jobs and taking care of her 3-year-old son, Maverick, but may one day turn Grounded Greetings into her primary gig.

“(Grounded Greetings) is primarily evenings and weekends, so I’m still able to be at home with (Maverick). That’s part of the attraction for me,” Strong said. “If it’ll go, I’ll do it.”