Mural unveiled in Philadelphia honoring hometown hero

Walter Perez Image
Thursday, October 8, 2020
Mural unveiled in Philadelphia honoring hometown hero
A new mural in Philadelphia's Germantown section features an economic development executive who is also an assistant pastor and a longtime community activist.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Chances are you've never heard of Shayne Moore, but there's a pretty good chance you've met someone in Philadelphia whose been positively influenced by him.

Moore's alma mater, Western Governors University, commissioned the creation of a Shayne Moore mural on the 4500 block of Wayne Avenue in Philadelphia's Germantown section.

Moore says it was never his goal to be praised for his accomplishments but, he admits, it's nice.

"When I first saw the mural, it was just a sense of pride. It's pride of what can be accomplished by an individual that came from this community," he says during Thursday's mural unveiling.

Moore is the vice president of information technology at the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation as he works towards a master's degree in cybersecurity at Drexel University.

As if that isn't enough, he's also an ordained minister dedicated to mentoring children from the community and running a prison ministry helping ex-cons get a new lease on life.

Eric Okdeh, the artist who painted this mural, says knowing the story behind the project made it that much more fun.

"I've been a mural painter, in Philadelphia mostly, with the Mural Arts Program for about 22 years now and I love being able to relay those stories to people and tell these very personal anecdotes about people," said Okdeh.

And Shayne says he just hopes the mural helps others see that we are all limited only by the size of our dreams.

"As long as you have the ambition to accomplish these things, and God has blessed me and enabled me to do a lot of things, I just want other people to know they can do the same," he says.