For a few Choctawhatchee High School graduates, this gift was 50 years in the making.
In April 2021, close friends Elizabeth Brazel Mangum and Tisha Buchanan Fleet had a vision for a paver project to be created at the main entrance of the high school. The two visionaries knew they needed to meet with Principal Michelle Heck to get approval for the project.
It was at this meeting that Mangum casually mentioned that the blank wall above the proposed paver area “would be a perfect place for a mural.” The mural would be of the iconic “running Big Green Indian” that has been a part of Choctaw’s culture for over 60 years.
After reporting back to the 50th Class Reunion Committee that Principal Heck approved the paver project and “liked” the idea of a mural, Mark Forsman and Tonya Nunes were both inspired to not just paint a mural but to build something great.
Forsman, who was the Class Artist, began working on a sketch of the Big Green Indian on a wooden base in Pensacola. Once complete, he then delivered the massive base to Nunes’ garage in Fort Walton Beach. The mural then “lived” in Nunes’ garage from August 10th to November 30th.
When it came to art, Nunes had only worked with glass as part of her stained-glass hobby. By taking on this mosaic mural, that meant that she would be learning to work with tile.
“Every piece of tile came from multiple thrift stores from Fort Walton Beach to Pensacola,” said Nunes on Tuesday. “Friends on Facebook even provided colored plates when the call went out for specific shades of green.”
The plates were smashed with a hammer and then cut to the exact shapes to fit into the spots.
- In total, Nunes devoted over 800 hours into skillfully caulking thousands of small tile pieces onto the frame.
The last pieces added were the sun rays which are the hallmark of the school’s fight song, explained Tisha Fleet. “HOLY MOLY…Tall as a Mountain with his head up in the sky, Broad as a bayou with THE SUN FOR HIS LEFT EYE…”
”This gift is presented to all Choctawhatchee High School alumni, students, and to our loving and supportive community,” said Fleet. “We are a fierce-some foursome with deep affection for the spirit of Choctawhatchee High School, home of The Big Green Indians!!”
On Tuesday afternoon, the group from the Class of 1971, along with a few Choctaw staff members, watched as a small crew from Lord & Son Construction worked to perfectly position the oval mural onto the brick wall.
- Fun fact: Lord & Son Construction Inc.’s President, Spike Lord, graduated with the Class of 1984.
“We offer a special thanks to the extremely generous team of volunteers from Lord & Son Construction Inc.,” continued Fleet. “Thank you Spike Lord and Dave Burleson for making our dream a reality.”
Principal Michelle Heck stood with the mural creators as the final bolt secured the art piece to the school.
“To know that the alumni in our community continually and unconditionally give back to Choctaw is an incredible feeling,” said Heck. “The ongoing support and the love that has been shown to our school with this beautifully crafted masterpiece that captures our Big green Indian traditions is overwhelming. I’m simply in awe and so proud.”
On Wednesday morning, students and staff immediately noticed the mural and started asking questions.
“When did that get hung?”
“Has it that been there all year long?”
“That mosaic is stunning and we love it. Where did it come from? Who made that?”
Heck said that it was she could do to not get goosebumps.
“I just keep thinking about how lucky our school is to be loved by our community and our alumni,” she said.
