Flint Energies announced that the City of Oglethorpe has won the Co-op’s first ever “Rural Murals” grant worth $12,500. Flint will award the funds to the Oglethorpe Downtown Development Authority as part of the matching grant. Oglethorpe DDA and its partners, the Macon County Board of Commissioners and the City of Oglethorpe will invest approximately $2,500 towards the mural project.
 
The mural’s theme will highlight the backbone of the local economy, agriculture, and will transform the side of the building located at 100 N. Sumter Street in Oglethorpe. Artist Jackie Fontenot of neighboring Montezuma has been selected to be the mural painter. She will use the entire wall for the mural.
 
The Rural Murals Program establishes a collaboration between Flint Energies and the local, rural community to create murals that carry lasting impact, sparks economic development and is the focal point of community discussion. The focus is to celebrate the unique history and diversity of our local rural communities. It is vital to establishing a strong sense of place for residents by creating suitable and recognizable murals within a community/downtown. The Rural Murals program intends to increase the number of public murals across Flint’s service territory, while supporting the incredibly talented artist community within Middle Georgia. Flint Energies will identify and partially fund the projects that highlight positive images of the Middle Georgia area’s history and culture through an application process.
 
The program’s murals are designed to bring travelers off main interstates to travel the backroads…off the beaten path to discover the vast resources our area has to offer. Money spent in the towns that host the murals will directly benefit as the funds are given by visitors and not long-time residents.
 
“It is our hope is to positively impact the aesthetics, activation, marketability and perception of one winner’s community; increase property values and serve as a catalyst for continued private sector investment through visible improvements. We hope that the mural will provide a visually-friendly environment for residents and visitors to dine, shop, work and live,” says Marian McLemore, Flint’s Vice President of Cooperative Communications. “We are excited to partner with the Oglethorpe community on our first mural project and hope it helps spur economic growth for their community,” says McLemore.
 
Earlier this year, Flint Energies invited rural communities located in the Co-op’s service territory to apply for the Rural Murals grant. Flint Energies service area encompasses parts of Bibb, Chattahoochee, Crawford, Dooly, Harris, Houston, Macon, Marion, Monroe, Muscogee, Peach, Schley, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor, Twiggs and Upson counties. In August, the Cooperative received 5 grant applications. A panel of art educators and aficionados served as judges and reviewed the applications. The top scoring mural idea was funded.