Local elected officials and business leaders joined BWI employees and executives on Monday as the company marked its five-year anniversary since moving to Marion.

Located just east of Marion along NE Industrial Park Road, BWI is a wholesale distributor of lawn and garden, pest control, turf and landscape and animal care products. Robert Bunch, one of the company’s owners, said relocating to Marion has proved to be an excellent decision for the company.

“Great people, employees, workers. It’s been wonderful for us,” he said.

Before moving to Lauderdale County, Bunch said, BWI had its Mississippi operations in Jackson for about 30 years. The decision to relocate to Marion was made because of the easy railroad access, which had been lost at the Jackson facility, and the costs spent trucking products to and from railcars. “That’s the number one reason,” he said.

As the company celebrated its fifth year in the area, Monday’s event was also an opportunity for the company to plant roots in the community with the unveiling of a carousel horse.

Started in 2000, the Around Town Carousels Abound horses are purchased and decorated by local businesses as part of a community-wide art exhibit. The horses pay tribute to one of Meridian’s rarest treasures, the Dentzel Carousel, which is housed at Highland Park.

The horses, however, are far from just decorations. The carousel horse project raises funds for Hope Village For Children, which is a facility where abused, neglected and abandoned children can stay and heal.

Kathy Parrish, who works at Hope Village For Children, said the organization helps children from all of Mississippi’s 82 counties.

“We take children from all over the state. They’ve been abandoned, neglected or abused, and help them heal from their trauma and try to give them a brighter future,” she said.

With the purchase of a carousel horse, Parrish said, BWI is helping further Hope Village’s mission.

“It’s been great working with them,” she said. “By them purchasing this horse, they are giving directly back to their community and helping children heal.”

The Bunch family has a long history with horses, Bunch said. They had horses growing up, he said, and he currently has seven horses of his own at home in Texas.

That’s why, when it came time to name BWI’s carousel horse, they chose Cleo, which was the name of his father’s favorite horse. The horse’s design, which was painted by local artist Daniel Ethridge, incorporates a variety of different aspects of the company, he said, including cattle, golf, the BWI logo, the service area and more.

When his division manager, Ronnie Britt, approached him about doing the horse, Bunch said he was initially confused. Although he’d seen the carousel horses around town, the connection with Hope Village and its work with children hadn’t been made.

Once he understood more about the carousel horse program, Bunch said he was all in.

“I said, ‘Yes, sir. I’m behind it 100%,’” he said.

As BWI celebrates five years and looks forward to many more within the Marion, Meridian and Lauderdale County communities, Britt said Monday’s unveiling of the horse drove home for him that BWI was a part of the community.

“I truly feel that we are embedded in the community now because we have our horse, and I just thank you all for being here to share that all with us,” he said.