Peace Pole Dedication Ceremony, Western North Carolina, USA
July 15, 2025
Rotary District 7670 has nearly 50 clubs and over 2,200 members in Western North Carolina.
The six-foot-tall metal sculpture, commissioned by the Sylva Rotary Club and designed by Burress with assistance from Martin, features the universal message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” inscribed in English, Cherokee and Spanish. A dove bearing an olive branch crowns the structure, which was installed next to the new public restrooms on Mill Street as a permanent symbol of unity, hope and cross-cultural understanding.
David Burress; blacksmith Brock Martin; and Nancy McConnell, Immediate Past Secretary
of the Rotary Club of Sylva, stand beside Sylva’s newly installed Peace Pole during a dedication ceremony held Tuesday, July 15.
Rotary members, Sylva town council members and community leaders gathered for the unveiling.
“Everything that Rotary does brings us one step closer to peace,” Molland said during the ceremony. “This is a symbol that peace begins with each one of us.” The Peace Pole is part of a global initiative started in Japan and adopted by Rotary International to promote peace through public art.