The Friends of the LINC board member Parks Avery dedicated the newest art installation on the LINC. The LINC has always been a champion for the arts, and we can’t wait to continue adding more art along the LINC trail system.
Avery also thanked everyone who made it possible to get Vestige to the LINC. He said, “this really couldn’t have happened without help from Hasco Craver. I wanted to give Hasco a little shout out. The Rothermel’s reached out to me and said we want to give this gift to the city. And I said, that’s great. How do we get it?” Moving a marble statue is not an easy task and many people came together to make this possible. Avery shared that Hasco said not to worry about it and along with Ray Norton (Public Works Director) and his crew, “they gathered the sculpture: this thing is marble and it’s heavy, and it’s hard to move. And they did a great job. And as you can see, they made a beautiful place for the statue.”
The statue dedication plaque says “dedicated by the Rothermel’s in honor of the Friends of Linc board and the staff of the city of Newnan, in, acknowledgment of their interest in public art.” Parks Avery thanked everyone who joined the LINC team for the dedication. Additional Board Members included Board President Teressa Higgins and Board Member Brent Snodgrass. Parks said, “we want to acknowledge the folks that are here from the City of Newnan: Hasco Craver, Assistant City Manager, and City Council Member Ray Dubose.”
The statue ‘Vestige’ was a gift given to the LINC. Avery said, “We’re here today to acknowledge a really wonderful gift from Artist Chris Rothermel and wife Laura Rothermel. Chris Rothermel is the sculptor who previously created “a Monoliths project for the Friends of LINC over on the east side of 85.” Avery said, “Chris and Laura wanted to make this Vestige marble sculpture a gift to the city and to the Friends of the LINC board.” The Rothermel’s could not make the dedication after relocating to Maine, but “they wanted to show their appreciation to the city staff to acknowledge how much they appreciated working with them.”
Art is extremely important to the city of Newnan and the LINC. Avery said, “one of the things we wanted to do with the LINC is to have a lot of public art along the LINC.” And we can’t wait to keep bringing more public art into our Newnan community. Avery said, “we’re interviewing artists right now to complete our mural in the tunnel under Greison Trail.” This project should begin in the Fall. Ray Dubose shared excitement on behalf of the city council: “we’re excited to continue our partnership with the Friends of the LINC organization. They’ve been around since the inception of the idea of the LINC. This newest artwork is “a testament to that partnership. And we’re excited to see this piece of art as well as all the others and more to come.”
We recently joined City of Hope for a walk through the LINC trails to promote mental and physical health. We had a great time walking with our Newnan community. Now that the weather is cooling down, we could plan more events like this one. Please email us if you would love to see more walks in the future.
Join us from 9 am to 12 pm on September 7th at CJ Smith Park for a Suicide Prevention Awareness alongside Another Way Foundation and Pathways Center. During this event, you can walk at your own pace, stop by coping skill stations along the way to learn how to manage depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. We will also have an honoree trail to honor loved ones who have love their lives to suicide. Click here to find out more about donations and sponsoring an honoree
Do you love the LINC and want to support our future endeavors to connect and create a wonderful community for recreation and socialization?
