Luling business owner launches campaign to fund mural

Jenny Burch Lendle and her mother Kay Giammanco stand outside of GL Realty Group’s Luling office.

GL Realty Group, LLC sits on the corner of Hall Drive and Paul Maillard in Luling. Jenny Burch Lendle, who owns the business as well as the building, said the location is the perfect place to spark some creativity and joy in the community.

“When we first bought the building, we were going to have our logo painted on the side,” she said. “But we decided to just put up a sign instead. I’ve always thought, ‘Man, it would be awesome to have something painted on here.’”

Lendle started GL Realty Group in 2016 with her mother Kay Giammanco. In 2020 she and her husband Robert Lendle purchased the Luling building they are currently in. All three grew up in Luling.

Lendle said she loves driving or walking through cities and seeing works of art on the buildings.

“It does something … makes me smile, sparks creativity and inspiration,” she said. “This is what we want for our community. We would love nothing more than to see this area thrive again. Our hope is that this mural might be the start of something. A mural inspires hope and gives feelings of peace, joy and usually a smile. This is what we want to bring to Luling.”

Lendle has started a GoFundMe – titled “Help Us Bring a Mural to Paul Maillard” – with the hopes of raising enough money to have a mural installed.

“The feedback and responses have been pretty awesome,” she said. “This area has a very special place in my heart for me and my family, so to do something for the community and see it come back … it’s emotional. It makes me tear up a little bit.”

Artist Josh Wingerter Westwego has been pegged for the project. Lendle said she visited his shop earlier this summer and fell in love with his vision and style.

“We were given a quote based on the square footage of the wall,” she said. “While they told us it would be valued at $14,000, given that we offered creative freedom to the artist and they already have supplies ready, they would do the mural for us for $8,000. We are asking for help to raise $6,000, and our company will cover the remainder.”

Lendle said she has contacted and been given approval by planning and zoning for the project, and that she and her family hopes the inspirational work of art may spark the community’s rebirth.

“Our parish has been on the mend since Hurricane Ida made her way through our community last year,” she said. “Since then, countless families have been repairing their battered homes, fighting with insurance companies, living in campers and some homes have even been torn down. On Paul Maillard alone, many homes have been torn down, some from Hurricane Zeta in 2020 and most have come down or are marked for tear down since Ida. There is so much potential in this section of Luling, and we would love to see it come back to life.”

 

About Monique Roth 919 Articles
Roth has both her undergraduate and graduate degree in journalism, which she has utilized in the past as an instructor at Southeastern Louisiana University and a reporter at various newspapers and online publications. She grew up in LaPlace, where she currently resides with her husband and three daughters.

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