Mural pays tribute to the 2023 State Champions

By REVIS BLAYLOCK

NEA Town Courier

Andrew Fleeman has a goal to renovate some of the buildings on Manila Main Street and see them utilized by local businesses. He has purchased several buildings including a coffee shop and a boutique located on Main Street.

He is presently working on the former Delta Drug building on the corner of Baltimore and Concord Streets. He wanted to see a tribute to the Manila Lions 2023 State Championship basketball team added to the project.

The outside brick walls have been painted white and Fleeman, a Manila graduate and Lion fan, de-signed the artwork for the tribute.

“I placed the project on line asking if anyone would like to help fund the project,” Fleeman said. “In just one and a half days, $1,800 was donated for the project. There is a lot of support in this town.”

The mural was painted by local artists Brooke Aguilar and Candice Dunigan.

The 2023 state champions and coaches were invited on Monday for the unveiling of the special tribute in their honor.

“This is something that will be here for a long time in the future,” Fleeman said. “It has been painted on a historic building that has been around for a long time. Before it was Delta Drug, it was Stahr Drug.”

Fleeman likes to restore the buildings and keep as much of the original look as possible. He searched for any photographs of the old building before starting the project. At this time he is not sure what will be housed in the building once it is completed but the tribute on the outside wall will remain in place.