Macon-Bibb Mayor Lester Miller talks accomplishments in state of the community address

Macon-Bibb leaders gathered at Luther Williams Field Thursday afternoon for Mayor Lester Millers 'State of the Community.'

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — Macon-Bibb leaders gathered at Luther Williams Field Thursday afternoon for Mayor Lester Miller’s ‘State of the Community.’

The mayor discussed the accomplishments of 2021 and laid out his goals for the next year.

He started off by saying the accomplishments would not have been possible without the help of the community.

“One thing I’m very excited about is the Community Foundation will start awarding some grants,” he said. “We have 57 applications from the community. Over the next couple of weeks, our team is going to be reviewing those. The Community Foundation will also review those, and we’ll start awarding some money in a short period of time.”

The grants Miller referred to pertain to the Macon Violence Prevention initiative, created in 2021 to help decrease crime.

The Clean Streets Matter campaign and the blight fight were also topics in his speech.

“We’ve got to be very vigilant about it and be very resilient about it, so that’s one of the things we’re going to keep doing,” he said. “We’re going to continue to have these quarterly pickups, and we’ll get more and more people involved.”

The Brookdale Warming Center was another big step in helping to address the homeless community.

Ron Shipman, Interim President and CEO of the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce, says the mayor has helped bring several jobs to the community.

“When businesses come, we want them to do other things than simply work,” he said. “We want them to live, play and thrive in Macon-Bibb County.”

Shipman says the Greater Macon Chamber will continue to do its part to bring communities together and create more opportunities.

“We want to grow more, so we urge your support,” he said. “We need your support, and in order to get the students where they need to be, which is employed.”