The South Georgia Technical College (SGTC) Crisp County Welding Department in collaboration with the Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) Art Department and 8 Mile Customs, LLC, of Albany, GA, completed and presented a very unique butterfly bench to be highlighted and incorporated as part of the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail.
The Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail first began in 2013 with a Monarch pollinator friendly garden designed by Annette Wise with input from Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. This garden is located in the Carter Memorial Garden on Woodland Drive in Plains and faces Mrs. Carter’s office area of their home. This is the garden and burial site opened to the public by the National Park Service in the summer of 2025.
Today, the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail has grown to a network of over 3000 pollinator-friendly public and private gardens in Georgia and around the country. In honor of Rosalynn Carter and her Butterfly Trail legacy, Georgia Southwestern State University, South Georgia Technical College, and Seth and Mary Parsons of 8 Mile Customs, LLC, designed, fabricated, and produced a unique bench, which is now located near the Carter’s first home on Paschall Street in Plains.
The idea for the “Wing Project,” as it was originally named, began in October 2019 with GSW Art Instructor Justin Hodge. GSW students visited Plains, toured locations and learned about Monarch butterflies, Rosalynn Carter’s love for nature and ways she had given back to the community as well as the world through The Carter Center and the Rosalynn Carter Institute.
The GSW students were asked to develop a metal, free standing sculpture that would reflect Mrs. Cater’s love for butterflies. Student teams were formed with each team providing a proposal and brief dossier about their project, stating how it could be used and the impact the art could have on the viewer.
A total of 10 designs were submitted and the top four were selected by the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail Board of Directors. The top designs were then sent to Rosalynn Carter for her to select the winner. Hannah Finley, daughter of SGTC Academic Dean Dr. David Finley and Miriam Finley, and Keldrick Cochran, undergraduate students at GSW at the time, had the winning design.
COVID-19 and the aftermath interrupted the continuation of the original project, but it was rebooted several years later due to Annette Wise’s dedication and persistence. Originally, the project was designed to be free-standing metal artwork, but due to file formatting and machine issues, it was eventually converted into a bench idea.
Seth and Mary Parsons of 8 Mile Customs, LLC, a fabrication and manufacturing company that handcrafts solid steel metalworks, cut out the design from the former GSW students and then the SGTC Crisp County Welding Department was able to take that design and create a metal bench for the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail to display in Plains.
SGTC’s Instructors Tom Mayo and Jeff Sheppard and their students were instrumental in designing the bench section so that it would be sturdy and highlight the image of Rosalynn Carter. They also delivered the final piece to Plains. SGTC has been a partner with the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail since 2013. A large metal marker for public gardens in Plains and the Carter Center was designed by Annette Wise and approved by Rosalynn Carter. SGTC Americus welding instructor Ted Eschmann took the original design and made the markers to them to use. SGTC’s Dr. John Watford and Ted Eschmann presented that first marker to Rosalynn Carter in 2013.
SGTC Crisp County Welding Instructor Tom Mayo thanked the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail Board of allowing him to be a part of this project. “Welding is a multifaceted profession and when we get to participate in a project like this, it shows that not only is welding and joining functional, it can also be artistic as well,” said Mayo. SGTC offers welding classes on both the Americus and Crisp County campuses and has a 99% job placement rate for graduates.
SGTC’s Horticulture program created a monarch butterfly garden on the SGTC Campus in Americus to honor Rosalynn Carter and her Butterfly Trail legacy. The pollinator garden provides additional habitat for butterflies common to this area.
“The Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail Board is thrilled to see the collaboration needed to complete this project and produce a bench for visitors to enjoy,” said Annette Wise, when SGTC instructors delivered the bench to the Paschall Street location in Plains. “I thought Tom Mayo and the SGTC Welding Department did an excellent job incorporating the bench with the GSW student design. It was great having students at both locations working on the project as a learning experience! Mrs. Carter loved the fact that students were involved in the project.”
South Georgia Technical College President Dr. John Watford thanked Annette Wise for her dedication and persistence in helping see this project through to completion. “This has been a true collaboration from the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail Board, Georgia Southwestern State University, South Georgia Technical College, and also 8 Mile Customs, LLC,” said Dr. Watford. “We hope that visitors to this area will enjoy this bench and also remember the many accomplishments of Rosalynn Carter.”