Mount Olive unveils its new UMO Trojan mural just in time for this Saturday’s Pickle Festival

Stand in just the right spot next to the larger-than-life University of Mount Olive Trojan featured on the town’s third and newest mural and he is looking right at you.

That illusion and a character with a personality were goals of contemporary, world-class artist and Charlotte-area native Winford Galmon as he brought the Trojan to life on the side of the former Brewer Insurance building (now home to Weatherly Insurance) at the corner of West James and North Center streets).

The mural — unveiled Tuesday afternoon — represents a partnership among the University of Mount Olive, the Arts Council of Wayne County and the Mount Olive Community Development Corp., said Barbara Kornegay, corporation member.

“It is also a representation of the importance of public art in spaces sometimes not expected,” Kornegay added. “We are grateful for the donations from the Arts Council and the Development Corp. and the collaboration between the artist and the university and the building owner (Pam Brewer).”

In talking about his work on the mural, Galmon said one of the things he likes about Rameses, the UNC mascot, and Mr. Wuf, the N.C. State mascot, is that both are full of personality.

“I wanted to give him (the Trojan) a personality so that when the children come here on Saturday (during the N.C. Pickle Festival) and the children-at-heart like us, older children — you can stand to this side right here and you can take a selfie,” he explained.

“So what I wanted to do was design his eyes so that when you are here with your children, grandchildren and yourself — he is actually looking at the person, or persons, standing right here.”

With that said, Galmon loosened the covering concealing the mural and with a flourish snatched it off to unveil the mural to a round of applause and woos.

“Awesome,” one spectator exclaimed.

“We didn’t have any problem coming up with the idea of wanting to have a UMO mural,” Kornegay said. “But people always said we need a place where people can have their selfies taken; you need a place where graduates and people coming to freshmen orientation can come and stand and take their picture.”

It was not a hard idea to come up with, Kornegay continued.

And, Anna Hinson, executive director of the Arts Council of Wayne County, brought the right artist, she said.

“So, that turned out beautifully,” Kornegay added. “Then I said what are we going to do to pay for it?

“Then I remembered, I have all of these really great friends in the Development Corp. who help fund things — like Mt. Olive Pickle, Judson Pope and all of these other people.”

Don’t think it was easy, they all asked a lot of questions, she said.

When the original location didn’t work out Pope, president of Pope Transport, and Bill Bryan, Mt. Olive Pickle Co. executive chairman, went up and down the street searching for a new location, Kornegay said.

“They came back and said, ‘Oh, this is a good building,’” Kornegay said. “Pam so generously said to (Development Corp. president) Steve (Wiggins) that she would love for it to be there. So that made it even more possible.”

Then there was the great collaboration among Jennifer Ricks Merritt, UMO director of marketing, and the artist trying to make sure that the Trojan was represented in the right way and followed branding guidelines, Kornegay added.

“Thanks to the Arts Council of Wayne County for coming to our rescue with some funding; the Development Corp. and a lot of hard work on the part of Winford and Jennifer,” she said. “I think we have a really nice mural.

“I appreciate all of you showing up and being so helpful to help us get these things done. We have a lot of other opportunities in our town. We always want to showcase it. And thanks to Winford for finishing before the festival.”

The idea started with the Downtown Development Corp. wanting to do a mural trying to have some tie-in between town and gown to entice more students to come downtown, said Julie Beck, president of the Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce and Pickle Festival co-chair.

What a great location for the mural, she said.

Beck noted that Brewer is a Mount Olive College graduate, adding that she appreciates her willingness to donate the side of her building.

It is a great connection with her being a Mount Olive College graduate, too, Beck said.

There were two Arts Council of Wayne County grants given out in Mount Olive this year, Beck said.

One was for the Downtown Development Corp., the other for the N.C. Pickle Festival, she added.

A fourth mural will be developed Saturday, April 26, during the N.C. Pickle Festival.

“We are doing a paint-by-number mural that will be done on four by eight panels,” Beck explained. “Anyone who comes to the festival (on Saturday) will be able to paint one little section of it. By the end of the festival we will have the entire mural done.”

Beck added it then will be up to her and Lynn Williams, N.C. Pickle Festival co-chair, to figure out where it will be permanently displayed in downtown.

“Again, it is quite an honor to think that two of the grants that went out this year came to Mount Olive and both are going to be here in downtown Mount Olive,” she said. “Again, great connections and so thank you Arts Council.”

Merritt called the unveiling a special day for the town and university.

The unveiling of the new Trojan selfie mural is not just a vibrant addition to downtown Mount Olive — it’s a symbol of school pride, community spirit and a bright future ahead, she said.

“A heartfelt thank you to the artist,” she said. “Winford, you did a fabulous job; including Dr. Barbara Kornegay for all of her support along the way; special sponsors, the Mount Olive Downtown Development Corp., everyone who made this vision come to life. A special thank you to Mrs. Pam Brewer for allowing us to use your building. This is the perfect spot for this.

“Your hard work, vision, financial contributions and dedication bring energy and Trojan pride to the heart of our special town that I am proud to call home and that I hope you all are, too.”

Anna Hinson, executive director of the Arts Council of Wayne County, said that for the longest time most of the Council’s mission was being focused in Goldsboro.

“We are the Arts Council of Wayne County so we service the entire county,” she said. “We are really excited to have a satellite location of our studios in Mount Olive. We have a lot of components to our mission, but one of them is making sure that our artists are able to be financially successful.

“As part of that we are here to help out with either financially with providing opportunities. One thing we are excited about not only is Mount Olive embracing the arts, but we are able to connect with our artists as well with Mount Olive. I am really excited to be more involved with Mount Olive.”

The Arts Council of Wayne County is the designated partner with the N.C. Arts Council, Hinson said.

The state Arts Council provides money to the local Arts Council that in turn redistributes it to arts nonprofits and organizations that have arts programming.

A lot of hard work by the Pickle Festival and Development Corp. went to applying for the money, Hinson said.

Hinson added that over the years she noticed a trend towards just Goldsboro recipients and decided to work toward getting some Mount Olive applicants.

“We want to hear from the Mount Olive community — what do you guys want from us,” she said. “We are just happy to be a part of this great community and seeing where it is going next.”

Public art, such as the mural, is important to a community, Hinson said.

“We hope this is a continuous relationship with all of this public art as well,” she told those gathered for the unveiling. “Thank you guys for being so welcoming.”

Galmon thanked everyone, including the city and county for allowing him to display his gifts and talents.

“I have been doing this since I was 10 years old back in Charlotte — a little ole fellow that had a speech impediment.” he said. “I was unable to speak so I started drawing and that carried me a long way into my career.”

After graduating from high school, Galmon received a four-year scholarship to the prestigious Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio, where he earned a bachelor of fine arts degree graduating in 1987.

After college, his first commission was with the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA. In 1994 he signed on with Jimmy Richardson and the Carolina Panthers to help bring the Panthers to Charlotte.

“I was the artist who did the first commercial painting (for the Panthers),” he said. “From that point on I have been commissioned by NBA players, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s. It has been a blessing from God to do this.

“But most importantly what stands out to me in 2025 I got to meet two young ladies with the Arts Council — Anna Hinson and Heather (Reynolds, programs coordinator) and started working with the Arts Council of Wayne County.”

It was through them that Galmon said he got the chance to meet Kornegay whom he calls friend and “a real cool person.”

Later, he was able to meet the rest of Downtown Development Corp.

“I sat with them. They didn’t know me. I didn’t know them, but I showed them my layout, and this is what happens,” he said pointing to the mural.

Galmon also thanked Brewer.

“I want to thank all of you, but I can’t call you all by name. But thank you so much for allowing me to display what God has given me for the last 36-37 years to be displayed on your wall.

“I can’t forget Jennifer. She came out with me a few times just dancing in front of the wall trying to get it right. But we decided to simplify it, and represent not only the wonderful city of Mount Olive, but also the wonderful university.”

It took about two to three months to get through the sketch part, deciding on a simple approach using the UMO colors and mascot — ensuring he had a personality, he said.

The idea was to make it fun, but also as a place where people could take selfies during the N.C. Pickle Festival.

The project, including measuring and applying primer, took about two and a half months to complete.

During that time, Galmon received numerous comments from passers-by.

“We got so many comments because of that wonderful stop sign right there,” he said. “Cars were going by blowing their horns, people getting out, even children.

“I let the children come and kind of put a little mark on the mural. People were getting out of their cars conversing with us and giving us thumbs up. Those were encouraging signs that something is going well.”

Galmon said he think public art is great.

“Art is like music — it’s the universal language of the world,” he explained. “That dates back to eons ago. I am glad to see that Mount Olive is really displaying creativity in this city. That speaks a lot about the city that words can never say. So when you use art, it is like the hieroglyphics in Egyptian tombs that tell a story. It has been great, 36 years of doing this stuff.

“So my job as an artist, and the other artists I would imagine, is to tell the story of this wonderful city and that will last for a long time. So, even after we are gone, the art is still here. I love that the city is being creative. Hopefully we can continue that relationship.”

Hopefully, other murals will follow, he added.

“I see all these other beautiful walls out here,” he said. “You know, when artists see walls like this that creativity starts to flow. So we will see what happens.”