Commemorating Charlie

Apr. 19—A new mural dedicated to country music legend Charlie Daniels has gone up in Mt. Juliet.

The mural has been in the works for approximately a year and was dedicated to Daniels in March. Law enforcement, first-responders, city officials, Daniels' family and his manager came to the mural site for the dedication.

Sellars Funeral Home owner Judd Sellars oversaw the project and viewed it as a way to honor Daniels' connection to Mt. Juliet.

"I've known the family for several years now, and when Charlie passed away, we took care of his arrangements at our Mt. Juliet funeral home," Sellars said. "I've always felt strongly about the things that Charlie does, (about how) he loves our country, and is a patriot. He's raised his family in Mt. Juliet. His son went to elementary through high school here, so Mt. Juliet is home for them."

In addition to the mural dedication in late March, the building where it was painted — which is home to Truleigh Scrumptious Sweet Cafe — will be dedicated to him this morning at 10:30 a.m. There will also be a plaque unveiled with the following quote from Daniels: "Only two things protect America. The grace of Almighty God and the United States Military."

Because of inclement weather, it took artist Mike Cooper more than a month to complete the painting process. The end result was a giant likeness of Daniels on a background of red, white and blue stripes, accompanied by the Tennessee Tri-star and guitars.

"He's done several murals in downtown Nashville," Sellars said. "He's at the top of his game for sure."

Sellars Funeral Home Operations Manager Beverly Austin assisted with the project.

"It's beautiful," Austin said. "I think it's a great honor to Charlie and all that he's done in Mt. Juliet. I think it's a great way to honor what he's done for the veterans and the community itself."

Sellars said that seeing the mural complete was a fulfilling experience.

"It's definitely fulfilling," Sellars said. "I feel like I'm in the right place in the right time to put something like this together. We've got other artists that we're going to be honoring at the site as well. Tracy Lawrence will have a building dedicated in his honor. Darryl Worley is going to be another one of our dedications. We're honoring the guys that're local. Those three guys have done a lot for the community, and we want to honor them."

The development where country music stars will be honored will have shopping, dining and a country music museum. Sellars' goal for the site would be for it to become a spot for tourism.

"When the sign goes up, the whole development is going to be named Charlie's Place," Sellars said. "I got together with a bunch of business guys, and we just thought it was an awesome thing to do for Charlie. We just want to carry on and honor his legacy."