Macon Magazine

June/July 2025

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discuss the center, Redding-Andrews' beaming was undiminished. "My father's music, his musical legacy, will live forever, unshakeable," said Redding-Andrews. "My mom, Zelma, has argued and fought to protect his music for years and done an outstanding job. On the other hand, the legacy the Otis Redding Center for the Arts and the foundation represent is his philanthropy and passion, hopes and dreams of seeing young people inspired, educated, and helped toward their dreams in music and life." "What we work for is to make a difference in the life of a child. We've been doing that for years, but we were limited by the space we had to work with. Now, we're at a transformative moment when we can do it on a much larger scale, and you would not believe how that warms the hearts of everyone involved. That's what this place is all about." Gone are the days when the foundation was limited to after-school lessons and activities in small office spaces at 339 Cotton Ave. and rented spaces at area schools and universities for summer camps. Those constraints limited the time and number of kids who could be involved in camps like the Otis Music Camp, which guides older students through songwriting, recording, performance, and other music business topics, and Camp Dream, which fosters self- expression through music and visual arts for younger students. Instead of just handfuls of kids, money raised and donated to build ORCA allows for 250 people I n 2022, the Otis Redding Center for the Arts was just getting off the drawing board. But project partner Christy Kovac of Sheridan Construction already had a vision. She wanted to see Karla Redding-Andrews and those at the Otis Redding Foundation beaming when the 15,000-square-foot, high-tech music education facility at the corner of Cotton Avenue and Cherry Street was completed. On March 18, 2025, Redding-Andrews was indeed all smiles when friends and community leaders gathered for a grand ribbon-cutting to celebrate what is now affectionately called ORCA. Days later, when the foundation opened ORCA's doors and Redding-Andrews, staff, and volunteers led open house tours, they were grinning – albeit hoarse – after explaining ORCA to the multitudes upon multitudes who showed up to have a look. As young people began filling the building for lessons, after-school programs, and other activities the very next week, she and the ORCA staff and teachers, called "ORCA-strators," were beaming brighter still. Then, still in the glow of the center's opening, Mercer University put the spotlight on Zelma Redding, by conferring an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree in May. – Zelma is Redding-Andrews' mother, Otis Redding's widow, and the founder and president of the Otis Redding Foundation back in 2007 – and with the event, beams took on all the more meaning. Sitting in her office weeks after ORCA's opening to

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