A group has recently been formed with the aim of telling the life story of one of Steubenville's favorite sons.

"For many years, we've been having a Dean Martin Festival in honor of our favorite son – Dean Martin,” Steubenville Mayor Jerry Barilla said.

A renewed effort is underway in Martin’s hometown to honor him with a bronze statue in addition to the festival taking place every year in the city. The statue would be a new way to honor a man that once called Steubenville home.

"Many people come from across the nation to Steubenville for this event and for many years we thought that we should have some kind of formal recognition for him in the form of a statue outside on the yard,” Barilla said.

The newly formed group spearheading the effort is in the planning phase of looking for ways to fund the project.

"The statue that we're looking at would be over 6 feet, maybe 7 feet in height and the current cost is $80,000, so that's a huge hill to climb to get to that figure,” Barilla said.

The group is looking at what other communities were doing when researching its effort.

"With all other major performers getting statues in their hometown, we thought that we need to have something like this here for Dean Martin in Steubenville,” Historic Fort Steuben Executive Director Paul Zuros said. “So, there was a group that came together and proposed that we have the statue here at the park."

The statue will serve as a welcome to everyone who travels into the area.

"We were excited about that because we are the visitors center and we're the first stop for a lot of people when they come to the area,” Zuros said.

"Anybody that's coming into Steubenville could get their picture with him and that's part of being a visitor to this community, to have something to take home,” Barilla said. “I think it's a worthwhile project. We're excited about it."

For more information on the group's efforts, tap or click here.