Endurance is a piece I made as a gift to my beautiful town, Bay St. Louis. Along with its sister city Waveland, Bay St. Louis was ground zero for Hurricane Katrina. I wanted to give something back to the city I still call home. Mayor Les Fillingame was present at the reception to accept the piece, and sent me a lovely letter of thanks afterwards. His letter read, in part, "Thank you for your most generous gift to the City of Bay St. Louis...giving us a permanent reminder of ...a time and place that was endearing and enduring.  It was our pleasure to host the reception for your exhibit which recognized the 5th anniversary of that tragic event. Just like your artwork, we have taken what was found and combined it with new discoveries and what is emerging is a Bay St. Louis with pre-Katrina strength and post-Katrina optimism. We are proud to call you one of our own and know that your artistic endeavors will continue to bring blessings to both you and the community."

Thank you, Mr. Mayor.