Since becoming director of the Iola Area Chamber of Commerce three years ago, Robin Schallie has made a mission to see a spiffier downtown.
She spearheaded two mural projects, with local artists Max and Candice Grundy putting the finishing touches on the second earlier this month, a masterpiece titled “You Belong Here” on the south wall of Audacious Boutique.
Now, armed with a $30,000 grant from T-Mobile, the work will continue.
In announcing the grant in front of a gaggle of supporters Thursday, Schallie said two more murals are in the works, one on the Ele Nails building at 1 E. Madison, and the second at Fillmore Coffeehouse and Plant Cafe.
Those will be done within the next year, Schallie said.
“I don’t want to stop there,” Schallie said. “I want to keep these murals going around the square.”
Schallie has fielded calls from other downtown merchants about being included in the murals projects.
The problem is, “$30,000 only goes so far,” she noted, in an appeal for customers to support Chamber businesses, and in turn, the Chamber itself. “As you may or may not know, murals are expensive.”
Matt Lane, a marketing manager for T-Mobile, noted Iola was one of 25 Community Grant recipients across the country, picked from more than 500 applicants.
The grants are awarded on a quarterly basis.
Launched in 2021, Lane said T-Mobile is committed to offering grants totaling $25 million over a five-year period.
“It’s great to get to be a part of this celebration,” Lane said.
The cell phone provider’s goal “is not just to have a store here or to build new towers,” he continued. “It’s really to be able to give back to communities just like Iola.”
