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MONROE COUNTY
Community
Calendar
Calendar items run free
of charge as a community
service each week as space
allows. Mail items for the
Community Calendar to
Diane Glidewell at news@
mymcr.net by 8 a.m. on
Monday.
April 14
High Falls Lake Assoc,
to meet
The High Falls Lake Association
will meet Thursday, April 14 at 7
p.m. in the High Falls Park group
shelter. This will be an open
format re-organization meeting.
Topics will include the need for
election of officers, the purpose
and goals of the association,
lake water testing and qual-
ity and open discussion of the
general community of High Falls.
Everyone is welcome to attend
this meeting and contribute
meaningful discussion. There will
be a refreshment period after
the meeting and everyone is
encouraged to bring snacks and/
or drinks to share. Invite friends
and neighbors for this meeting.
MP's Got Talent
Tri-M Music Honor Society will
present MP’s Got Talent’ on
Thursday, April 14 at 7 p.m. at
the Board of Education Audito
rium, 25 Brooklyn Ave„ Forsyth.
April 14
M.C. Republican Party
sponsors Legislative
Update
The Monroe County Republican
Party will sponsor a legislative
update on Thursday, April 14 at
6:30 p.m. at Old Mill Market,
94 East Adams Street, Forsyth.
Light refreshments will be served.
Come get an update on actions
taken during the 2022 Georgia
Legislative session.
April 19
Long distance cyclist
presents program
Mike Ryan, Georgia Wilder
ness Society member and
avid cyclist & traveler, will
give a photo presentation
on Tuesday, April 19 at 7
p.m. at the Museum of Arts
& Sciences, 4182 Forsyth
Road, Macon. He will speak
and show photos of one of
his many cycling trips, one
that he took across Europe
in 2012 - from Zurich into
the Balkans then across the
Carpathians, from Romania
into the Western Ukraine,
followed by a return loop. In
1972 he bought a bicycle
and has since pedaled
across North America, Eu
rope and elsewhere. All are
welcome, www.georgiawil-
dernesssociety.org
April 23
6th Annual Charity
Golf Tournament
The Forsyth United Methodist
Men and Boy Scout Troop # 51
will sponsor their 6th Annual
Charity Golf Tournament on
Saturday, April 23 at 8 a.m.
at The Forsyth Golf Club. Pro
ceeds benefit the Bob Land
Memorial Scholarship Fund and
BSA Troop 51. Golf and lunch
is $50 per player, $200 for
4-person teams. Hole Sponsor
ships are $100. Fun and prizes
for all! Call (404) 392-5595 or
(478) 550-6096 for information
& registration.
April 26
Lt. James Monroe DAR to
meet
The Lt. James Monroe DAR
meeting on Tuesday, April 26
at 6 p.m. at the Conley Build
ing will feature Bonnie Westray
from the Sukey Hart DAR of
Warner Robins with her pro
gram,"Our Seal and Insignia:
A Spinning Tale". She will dem
onstrate a variety of spinning
techniques on her spinning
wheel as she connects the
story of the DAR. There will
be a special presentation of
the gifts of a colonial spinning
wheel and yarn spinner to the
chapter from a local individual.
The public is welcome.
April 28
Candidate Forum
The Monroe County Reporter
will sponsor a Political Forum on
Thursday, April 28 at the new
Forsyth City Half All candidates
for Monroe County Board of
Education and Board of Com
missioners who face opposition
in the May 24 primary are
invited to come and share their
positions.
April 28-30
"The Sound of Music"
Mary Persons & Monroe
See CALENDAR
Page 3B
New sculpture will be in front of city hall
The sculpture, designed by Meagan Thomas, has five
sets of clasped hand in an infinite circle. Beneath the
flame the hands encircle a pillar with forsythia on it. The
sculpture will be made from rolled, textured steel and
will be internally lit.
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
City manager Janice Hall
introduced Meagan Thom
as and Michael Borders to
city council members on
April 4 and announced
that Thomas’ design for
the public unity sculpture
had been chosen by the
committee appointed to
make the selection. Bor
ders of Iron Eagle Design
& Fabrication in Forsyth is
fabricating her concept.
Hall thanked Forsyth
CVB executive director
Gilda Stanbery for obtain
ing a Vibrant Arts grant
from the Georgia Council
for the Arts to help pay
for the sculpture, which
will be installed in front of
the new city hall. Thomas
described the sculpture
as a circle of arms reach
ing upward with hands
clasped and fire in the
middle of the circle. She
said the sculpture embod
ies three words, friends,
fortitude, Forsyth.
She said the sculpture
will be a “beautiful metal”
that will reflect the images
of people looking at the
“infinite ring of hands
clasped.” She said the flame
represents perseverance.
Hall said the sculpture
will be lit from inside.
Thomas said there will
be FED lighting to cast
“Forsythia yellow” light,
but she hopes the city will
be able to change the color
for different occasions.
She hopes there will be a
way to use solar lighting
with remote color-change
options.
Hall said the site cho
sen for the sculpture is
partially on the Georgia
Department of Transpor
tations right of way so that
it might be necessary to get
GDOT approval. She said
the cost is $23,770, with
the grant covering $5,000
of that. Hall said expenses
for lighting and a GDOT
permit, if needed, will be
additional. She said the
cost covers building and
installing the sculpture and
the right to use Thomas’s
design.
Council unanimously
approved the design and
funding.
Council member Julius
Stroud, who was on the
committee that chose
the design, said he was
proud of the diversity of
the committee that made
the decision. There were
three submissions given to
the committee. Hall said
the other two sculpture
designs will be used some
time in the future. She said
Forsyth started talking
about public art several
years ago and began in
stalling artworks around
the city, beginning with the
train mural on Tiff College
Drive. She said the unity
sculpture is the latest in the
city’s continuing plan to
add public art.
Stroud said another
point of pride for him is
that the steel and all other
materials to be used in the
sculpture will be American
made, and local materials
and labor will be used as
much as possible.
Stanbery said that after
Forsyth was awarded the
Vibrant Arts grant for the
unity sculpture last fall,
a committee was formed
to decide what the focus
of the unity sculpture
would be and where best
to locate it. The committee
included Stanbery, Stroud,
Hall, Chris Hewett, Denise
Buff, Reninna Smith and
Frank Wilder. The mem
bers reached a consensus
on what they wanted the
sculpture to represent and
where they wanted to place
it before calling for designs
from artists.
The request for proposals
from artists was publicized
through the Georgia Arts
Council as well as through
Forsyth’s 1823 Artisan
Guild, Forsyth’s CVB and
various social media for
regional distribution. Stan
bery said three very strong
designs were submitted
and given to committee
See STATUE. Page 4B
MEET THE ARTIST
Meagan Thomas celebrates friendship, support in Forsyth
Artist Meagan Thomas
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Meagan Thomas is a
person with an intense
desire to create. She enjoys
expressing her creativity
in various artistic media
and sharing the results
with others; she also enjoys
interacting with people,
accepting their support
and encouragement and
passing along the same to
others.
Thomas is excited that
she is able to combine her
art and her support of
people in the Forsyth com
munity by designing the
unity sculpture that will
stand in front of Forsyth
City Hall at 28 East Main
Street. Thomas has lived
in Juliette for about 10
years. She lives with her
husband, Seth Glenn, and
her children, who are 15
and 10. She grew up in
Sharpsburg, but said that
as soon as a Taco Bell was
built down the street from
her parents’ house, they
moved to Monroe County,
near the Piedmont Wild
life Refuge.
Thomas majored in il
lustration at the Savannah
College of Art & Design
(SCAD) and spent some
time in Memphis and
Macon before moving to
Juliette. She has worked at
Georgia Farm Bureau for
about six years and says
it’s a great company for
which to work. She has
found her artistic home
at Monroe County’s 1823
Artisan Guild, where she is
on the Board of Directors.
Thomas shows her paint
ings at the 1823 Artisan
Gallery and participates
in its art shows and other
activities. She volunteers
at the adjacent
Forsyth Welcome
Center.
Thomas said
people associated
with the Artisan
Guild, especially
Denise Buff, are
very supportive
and friendly.
When she heard
about the call for
a design for the
unity sculpture,
she wanted to
create a piece that
embodied the
support for one
another she has
seen in the community
and the perseverance that
has characterized people
in Forsyth over the last two
years. She said she encour
aged other artists to create
a design because she wants
to see the best one possible
in front of city hall.
Thomas said she thought
about the design for a
month, but the winning
idea only came to her the
day before the deadline.
She immediately thought
of Michael Borders of
Iron Eagle Design &
Fabrication Studio
on East Adams
Street to fabricate
the sculpture. He
created eye-catch
ing signs for Robins
Financial Credit
Union in Forsyth,
Fox City Brewery
and others.
“Michael has a
great past of art,”
said Thomas. “You
give him a project
and he will figure it
out.”
Borders is making
the 10’ tall, 6’ in di
ameter sculpture of
rolled, recycled steel from
Macon Steel/American
Steel. It has a coating that
gives a softened, textured
look to the steel. The un
broken ring of five sets of
arms with clasped hands
See ARTIST . Page 4B
Sydney Stapleton is tapped for Ga. Governor's Honors
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Mary Persons junior
Sydney Stapleton has
been selected for the 2022
prestigious Georgia Gov
ernor’s Honors Program
(GHP). Nominated by her
chorus teacher, Charles
Hernandez, Sydney
competed with approxi
mately 3,400 students
across Georgia who were
nominated by their school
districts for one of the 600
slots available in the 2022
GHP.
Sydney will participate
in the four-week program
at Berry College in Rome,
where GHP has been
held since 2017. Expens
es, including room and
board, are funded by the
Georgia legislature for
the students chosen. The
program began in 1964.
Sydney, who is part of
the girls trio that captured
Sydney Stapleton (Photo/
Two Chics Photography)
the AAA State Champion
ship in the Georgia High
School Fiterary Meet on
March 26, will attend
GHP with a concentration
in voice. She will spend
part of each day in classes
related to this major area
of study and will choose a
minor area of study after
she arrives at Berry. She
said she is leaning toward a
major in chemistry or en
gineering when she enters
college and may take the
opportunity to explore one
of these areas.
Sidney said she is excited
about the faculty she will
meet at GHP, which is
drawn from professors
throughout Georgia who
are expert in their fields.
“It will give me a glimpse
into college life,” she said.
“Everyone there will be
passionate about what they
are studying.”
After her nomination,
Sydney completed a writ
ten application, including
a statement of why she
wanted to attend GHP and
about her activities related
to music both within and
in addition to the school
system. She had to obtain
recommendations from
additional teachers and
submit a video of her vocal
performance.
The next level was in-
person before judges. It
included singing a pre
selected song and then
sight-reading. There were
also interviews. She said
she was nervous but had
performed enough to be
able to push through the
nerves.
She has learned that a
couple of people she met at
state honor choir are also
finalists for 2022 GHP and
is looking forward to being
in the program with them.
Although there were four
semi-finalists from Mary
Persons, Sidney was the
only local student chosen.
Asked her favorite type
of music to perform, she
said she has concentrated
on the choir music she has
performed in her classes
and competitions at Mary
Persons and on the musi
cal theater numbers she
has performed at Mary
Persons, which she dubbed
princess songs. She said
she is trying to branch out
and enjoys Fatin songs and
other language pieces.
Sydney is the daughter
of Bill and Jill Stapleton of
Smarr. She practiced her
communication skills last
fall when she spoke to the
Monroe County Board of
Education about inequi
ties in the way grade point
averages were computed
for dual enrollment stu
dents. She persuaded the
school system to change
its policy going forward to
better reflect actual grades
earned in dual enrollment
classes.