LOOKING AT A VIBRANT LOCAL ECONOMY
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Fannin Co. Development Authority
During the Middle Ages, when many European towns grew from hundreds to thousands, last names were added to help identify people. If you wanted a loaf of bread, you visited John Baker. If you wanted to get a haircut before picking up steaks for dinner, you went to see James Barber before visiting Paul Butcher.
And in current times, if you’re looking for professionally designed landscape or Christmas lighting in the Fannin County area, you call Olin Lucas.
Perhaps it was coincidence, or maybe a bit prophetic, when Olin Lucas discovered the meaning of his last name. With Greek-Latin roots, “Lucas” refers to either “provider of light” or “luminous one.” Both fit quite well.
Lucas owns and operates The Christmas Light Pros of Blue Ridge in addition to Blue Ridge Luxury Lighting. He specializes in the design, installation and maintenance of specialty outdoor lighting, custom-fit to suit a variety of preferences and budgets.
“I’m not a lighting contractor. I’m a lighting designer,” Lucas said. “There is a great deal of science – called photometrics – that goes in to making everything look right. It gets very technical.”
As part of his Luxury Lighting process, Lucas draws out full sized architectural plans, showing fixture placement, then inputs the data into a software program to facilitate long term maintenance while building long term relationships with his customers.
“I can tell a customer what I think is going to look best, but I don’t live there. They have to be satisfied they ended up with the look they wanted.”
After many years of spreading the light in his hometown of Louisiana, Lucas moved to Fannin County in 2023, bringing his business along. With its rolling hills and numerous steep homesites, Fannin County is fertile ground for a lighting specialist who is not intimidated by heights.
“I began rock climbing and repelling at a young age,” Lucas said, “even free climbing (no safety line). So, getting on a tall roof is not an issue for me. But most people reach an age where they no longer want to get on a ladder or roof to put up Christmas lights. It is a safety issue. A roof line might only be 10 to 12 feet high in the front and more than 40 feet high in the back.”
Costs for exterior lighting can vary greatly.
“If someone wants a crepe myrtle with five trunks individually wrapped, it can be done with two-inch spacing, four-inch or six-inch,” Lucas said. “A customer might end up with 1,000 feet or more of lights on one tree.”
Lucas typically nudges his customers to err on the tasteful side.
“We live in the mountains,” he said. “We aren’t Las Vegas.”
Both Blue Ridge Luxury Lighting and The Christmas Light Pros of Blue Ridge can be found on Facebook, or call 706-400-0077.