Members of the Petal Board of Aldermen have unanimously voted to name the city’s building department in honor of Allen Flynt, perhaps the Friendly City’s most prominent surveyor and one of its longest-tenured businessmen, who passed away earlier this year.
That decision was made at the June 20 board meeting, where Mayor Tony Ducker said was deserving move for Flynt, who was a vital part of the city’s mission.
“He was just a big part of the fabric of who we are,” Ducker said. “It was very nice to have (his wife) Rhonda and (his daughter) Carrie in attendance (at the meeting).”
Henceforth, the facility – which is located at 101 West 8th Avenue in Petal – will be known as the Allen “Big Al” Flynt” building.
“We will have a time where we’ll do an unveiling of a sign that we’ll put on that building, sometime hopefully in the near future,” Ducker said. “That will probably be as quickly as we can get it in – I’ve got all the numbers and how we want it to look, and so we will make some phone calls … to see what the ETA will be to get that done.”
Flynt – who, along with his wife, co-owned A&R Flynt Development on Old Richton Road in Petal – died in February at Forrest General Hospital after a battle with a long illness. He was 70 years old.
Demaris Lee, who serves as the executive director of the Petal Children’s Task Force and is a lifelong friend of Flynt’s, described Flynt shortly after his death as a “fine gentleman.”
“We grew up together; he was two years older than me,” she said. “He got me into Rotary (Club), and he’s always been there to support me in anything I do. I always turn to him for advice; actually, he and (Petal dentist) Barbara Mauldin hired me to be the first personnel (employee) at the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce.
“He was just so nice, and whenever I needed advice about the task force – especially our land and all that – he was right there. He drew me out the lay of the land and everything – just anything I asked him.”
A resident of the Sunrise community, Flynt lived in the Petal area since the fourth grade. He started Flynt & Associates – which specializes in surveys of all kinds, including roads, buildings and subdivisions – in 1980, and moved the business into the city limits in 1989.
Over the years, his business grew from two employees to 25.
Flynt served twice as the president of the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce and has served on the organization’s board for several years.
“He still had one piece of work left on his desk he was going to do for me,” Lee said. “I had told him a month ago, I mentioned to Rhonda to tell Allen that he does not have to do that for me, but he wanted to do it.
“He didn’t want anybody else to do it – he was going to do it – so I said okay. He didn’t get to do it, but I know Allen wanted to do it, and he always had everything lined up. There is not enough good words to say about Allen Flynt; he’s just one of those guys that was just always there for you.”
In January 2021, Flynt and his company were named as the winner of the inaugural Spirit of Petal Business of the Year Award, instituted by the Peal Area Chamber of Commerce to recognize a business that contributes to the economic growth and quality of life in Petal.
“I think it’s absolutely wonderful,” Flynt said after being named the award winner. “I love this city and Petal and the people and the community, and I love having my business here. It’s an honor to be the first recipient of (this award), for sure.
“Those of us that were in it knew that we had a possibility of winning it, so it wasn’t a big surprise. But there were four or five different applicants, and I was proud to be the one that was chosen out of those.”
Flynt served twice as the president of the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce and has served on the organization’s board for several years.
“(It was just) the way he grew up, with respect to the community,” Lee said. ”He always wanted to put Petal first.
“We both wanted to make Petal a better place to live, a better place for education, a safe city – me and Allen wanted to do that the whole time. That was our main focus, was to make sure that Petal was on the map.”
Valerie Wilson, executive director of the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce, said anyone who knows Flynt knows he was deserving of the award.
“For years, he has been active in every aspect of Petal – the schools, the chamber, city government, developing our city,” she said after the announcement. “He’s another ambassador for Petal, and I can’t think of anybody else getting our inaugural Spirit of Petal Business of the Year Award.
“To me he sets the standard for what we hope every winner will be like; he is the epitome of bringing our community together, and he works for the community more so than he works for himself.”
The building department, which is managed by Amy Heath, is responsible for building inspections and permits, code enforcement, the planning commission, zoning, and electrical and plumbing boards.
