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'i love macon' Campaign Sweeps Over City

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) - If you love the city of Macon, why not express it in writing? That's what five Macononites are asking everyone who loves the city of Macon to do. Their goal? Show people that Macon is truly a great place to live.

'i love macon' came around when the Macon Magazine chose its '5 Under 40' group of people for its yearly feature. Five individuals; Heather Bowman Cutway, Wesley Griffith, Josh Rogers, Pilar Wilder, and Julia Wood all realized they had something in common after they were given the special honor by the magazine. They saw they loved their city, and they wanted that love to spread to others.

"Let's be proud of it, and let's make the best of it. Let's do what we can to improve it," Wes Griffith says.

Griffith is part-owner of The Rookery in downtown Macon. He wants to see the people of Macon, become the city's biggest ambassadors.

"We thought it might be a good idea to start a campaign that might encourage people to focus on the positives in Macon," Griffith said.

The plan is simple. Sign your name of a piece of paper, one that says, 'I love Macon'. Then get five other people to do the same thing.

Julia Wood is also spearheading the idea. She isn't even originally from Macon, but has now grown to love it, and has fallen head over heels with the place.

"Macon is a great place to raise a family. It has a great quality of life, a low cost of living, and there are a lot of professional opportunities to grow your career and your services here," Wood says.

The plan is to get 10,000 names on the pledge. Signers can "pen" their name on a giant sheet of paper that travels the city and pops up in random places, or by 'liking' the campaign on Facebook.  (You have to like the group to find out where the traveling paper will show up in town.)

"We really hope this campaign will have universal appeal. That it will go beyond the political boundaries, the city limits, the different divisions in our community and really help everyone come together behind something that they love, some place that they love," Wood says.

"I think there is so much that this city can accomplish. It all starts there, being pround of the city and focusing on the positives," Griffith says.