MONTICELLO – Georgia-Pacific Monticello has announced a $3,199 grant to the town of New Hebron as part of the Monticello containerboard mill’s ongoing commitment to enhancing local communities.

The grant is to be used in helping New Hebron’s plans for an open-air theatre within the downtown New Hebron park.

“Georgia-Pacific believes that strong communities are good for business,” said Ray Melick, public affairs manager for Georgia-Pacific’s Monticello containerboard mill.

“Our commitment remains to add value to and improve the quality of life where our employees live and work,” Melick said. “I know many of our employees look forward to the offering of free family-friendly movies and programs in downtown New Hebron in the coming years, providing a venue where their families and friends will be able to meet and enjoy quality time together.”

Mayor Cindy Shivers Bryan accepted the check for the town.

“The town of New Hebron is delighted to accept the grant award for this year,” Bryan said. “It means a great deal to our community to have this support of Georgia Pacific. The board of alderman and I have discussed ways to bring our town together for cultural events and to help with economic development.

We plan to use the award funding for the purchase of an outdoor theater unit, to be used in the town park,” she continued. “Our goal is to sponsor many free events throughout the year for families to come spend time with their children in the park and hopefully purchase some items from our businesses while they are here.

“We feel this will be a great opportunity to introduce children to classic movies and also such things as the Nutcracker Ballet, and possibly some Broadway Musical films. … We would like to thank GP for partnering with us to make this possible.”