By Stephen Dawkins
The Roy Wood Peach Festival Art Show has certainly come a long way, from a few paintings displayed outside a school auditorium to a staple of the annual festival.
Last year, the event was named after Wood, a long-time employee of Peoples Southern Bank, which sponsors the art show, and artist.
While Wood deserves all the credit he has received, the show’s success has many sources.
Charlotte Teel was a member of a small group of artists who started the show 28 years ago. The artists had been to shows in surrounding areas and decided Chilton County should have its own show.
They decided to display works of art outside the Chilton County High School auditorium, site of the Peach Festival’s well-attended pageants. Though not the ideal location, people surely saw and appreciated the paintings. A judge came in and declared winners, but there were no prizes.
Teel and the others wanted the show to grow.
“I was the teacher and Mr. Wood was one of my students, and he worked here at the bank,” Teel said. “Roy said, ‘Let me talk to them at the bank and see if they would sponsor it.’”
Charles Moore, who owned Peoples Southern at the time, had an appreciation for art and said the artists could display their works in the bank lobby. The bank also provided cash prizes for the winners.
Richard Moore, Charles’ son and current bank owner, has continued the tradition, with some help. Betty Cook, who retired from Peoples Southern after almost 50 years, organizes the event each year.
“We think it’s good to promote artists in the county,” Moore said. “From the bank’s standpoint, our interest really stems from the people that started it. We intend to keep it going. That’s our plan.”
Teel is also still involved. She teaches about 20 art students and generates interest for the show.
The event features Senior and Junior divisions.
Contestants bring their original works by the bank on a Tuesday afternoon, the judge comes by Tuesday evening, winners are announced Wednesday morning and then the pieces are displayed in the bank’s lobby for a week.
There are usually more than 50 entries.
Organizers have had to replace Wood’s contributions. He retired in 1994, after spending 46 years at the bank, and passed away in late 2007.
Wood attended Thorsby Institute and then college in Georgia. After returning to Chilton County, he became a city councilman and even mayor pro tempore. He sang in the choir at Clanton First Baptist Church.
“Everybody loved Roy,” Cook said. “He was one of the greatest guys I’ve known. He had a personality that people gravitated toward.”
So, the show carries on, in honor of Wood and the other people that worked to promote art in Chilton County—and to benefit the county’s artists.
“I think it’s great for the community, especially the children,” Teel said. “I think art is a necessity if you get right down to it, but of course I’m prejudiced.”