A Makeover for Marianna

Marianna Revitalization Council Members, first row (left to right): Connie Muqtasid, Lois Boyd, Tamika Hull and Renee Wilburn; second row: Joe Louis Patterson and Andy Saavedra

It’s not just a change of hair color and shaped eyebrows for the town of Marianna. A new spirit of change, a force for renewal, is being voiced and acted upon by citizens of this 140-year-old Delta town.

Back in 2007 more than 100 townspeople came together in a series of meetings to create a plan for the revitalization of Marianna, according to Andy Saavedra, program officer for Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). LISC facilitated the town meetings and provided seed funding to bring in a project manager to implement the strategic plan for revitalization.

That project manager is Tamika Hull, a native of the community of Rondo, just eight miles south of Marianna. Hull was a field military police officer in the Middle East, Asia and Europe during her 10-year stint in the U.S. Army. She worked in real estate and community development in Madison, Wisconsin, and Chicago before moving back to Arkansas to be near her mother.

Since the plan had been written for more than a year, Hull’s first action after she came to Marianna in December of 2009 was to pull together the members of the existing Marianna Revitalization Council, representing people from throughout the city. “I had the first meeting last January to get a feel for what they wanted to accomplish and where they wanted to start,” she said.

Then she worked to secure the funding needed to make the Marianna Revitalization Project a reality. Hull applied for one of the first Arkansas Delta Endowment for Building Community grants, an Arkansas Community Foundation initiative funded by the Kellogg Foundation.

“It’s wonderful to see the changes in our community.”

Atkins Park's Tabacco Free Banner

Using the Lee County Family Resource Center as the fiscal agent, the Marianna Revitalization Project received a $15,000 Delta Endowment grant in the spring of 2010. Those funds were immediately put to work.

Activities already underway or completed in Marianna include community cleanup, revitalization of Atkins Park, a homebuyers fair and classes on financial literacy, initial steps toward establishing a new Boys and Girls Club, the Living Legends project that brings back famous citizens to speak with school children and a six-week Freedom School summer education program.

“We had 70 scholars in grades K through 8 at Freedom School this summer,” said local consultant Renee Wilburn. “This literacy-based program was a great success."

One essential piece in the community revitalization is community cleanup, which builds pride and engages community volunteers. Hull enlisted Connie Muqtasid, the city’s code enforcer, and her assistant Joe Louis Patterson, a long-time community leader, to help determine the most important cleanup projects.

“We identify properties to clean up and choose which elderly people to assist with their yards,” Muqtasid said. “It is amazing to see some of the before and after photos — I feel we are really accomplishing something with this cleanup, and there’s a great need here.”

Then, knowing funds are limited and there are many projects to tackle, Hull contacted Brickeys, a nearby state prison facility, to see if inmates might help with cleanup work. Inmates were soon enlisted to help beautify area properties, and local businesses helped provide food during the cleanup.

Because much of the labor was pro bono, many more lots and lawns were able to be cleared and groomed. Grant funds were used for equipment, for the Living Legends program and for due diligence in finding a good location for the proposed Boys and Girls Club.

“It’s wonderful to see the changes in our community,” said Lois Boyd, Executive Director of the Lee County Family Resource Center, who has been back in her hometown for 10 years after a corporate career in Dallas. In addition to overseeing the financials, Boyd also has participated as a volunteer in some of the cleanup efforts and is a Revitalization Council member.

“Word is getting out that we are doing what we say we will do,” Hull said. “The Marianna Revitalization Project has had good coverage from the local newspaper, and we are planning a newsletter that will go directly to community residents. Communication is essential to our collective efforts for revitalization.”