HOPE REIGNS ETERNAL
17/06/05 06:18 PM
It certainly does. Today my hopes rose to a new high, as we broke ground on our World War II Memorial. The weather wasn't very cooperative, but we managed to muster a highly motivative crew that braved the misty rain, and put their foot to the spade.
Attending the ceremony were State and local representatives that spoke highly of our efforts to honor the veterans, living and dead, that served our nation in the most devastating war in world history.
Let the Roll Call Record show that State Senator Dave Valesky, Assemblyman Jeff Brown of the 121st District, Town of Lenox Supervisor, Rocco DeVeronica; Canastota Mayor Todd Rouse; and Village Councilwoman Ann Marie Rossi were in attendance for the ceremony.
Also attending were Committee members, Lois Brown, Treasurer, Robert Clarke, Farrell Miller, John Mengucci, Bill Yorton. Fred Carey, Louie Balducci and yours truly, Jack Rogers.
I would be remiss if I did not include, for the Record, that Aaron Sykes, Sculptor, and his lovely fiance, Hope, were also in attendance.
In addition, several local citizens braved the elements to observe the time honored ritual of breaking ground for monumental projects.
At the conclusion of the ceremony we made a hasty retreat to the comforts of the Town of Lenox Supervisor's office. There we held an informal meeting with Aaron Sykes, and received some very valued input from him. He will construct a model of our proposed memorial that we will be able to utilize not only in our planning, but also in our fund raising efforts.
At our committee meeting last night, I conveyed to the members some questions that the local Monument Company needed to have answers for, in order to make proper assessments in his bid. The answers he was seeking were to questions that the Granite Quarry Company were asking him.
None of our members could intelligently answer the questions, as we are all novices to this kind of queries.
Bob Clarke, made a suggestion that we contact the Granite Quarry in Vermont ourselves and obtain the answers first hand. He volunteered to call them, set up an appointment and drive to Vermont himself to obtain them. With that, I volunteered to accompany him and we are departing Tuesday morning at 0800 hours.
Bob called the Quarry this afternoon and the appointment is set up for 1400 hours on Tuesday.
The project is now into it's second phase. The main thing we must do is stay focused on our project. Our committee members are dedicated to that end.
The media coverage was good, but it would have been nice to have had at least one of the local television stations covering the story. We did manage to have photographers and a few reporters from the local newspapers covering the event.
I will attempt to increase the PR now that the public knows that the project is underway. I have requested a barometer be constructed and placed in front of the Municipal Building so that the public will take note on our Fund Raising efforts. At present we have approximately $51,.000 in donations, and pledges. which equates to half of what we will need to achieve our goal.
Hope reigns eternal, and I have faith in our community. We will meet our goal!
I have received numerous, vocal, pledges from family members, whose loved one's name is being inscribed on this memorial, that they will be forwarding their donation to this worthy cause. There are presently 683 names listed on our list of World War II veterans. If each family would make a donation, we would be virtually assured of reaching that goal.
I will be submitting a Letter to the Editor this week publicizing, once again, the criteria of having a named added to our existing roll. We do not want to inadvertently miss any eligible WWII veteran from the list of names. The deadline for having a name included is 30 July 2005. We may be able to extend the deadline after we find out how much lead time the Memorial Quarry needs for inscribing the names. That is one of the main questions we need answered when we visit them Tuesday.
Well, my cyber space friends, stay tuned for the next adventure of Sailor Jack. I was indeed fortunate today, for I met a new friend and acquaintance, the fiance of Aaron Sykes, Hope.
Hence, the title of my blog for today: '"HOPE REIGNS ETERNAL" Thanks, Hope, you gave me inspiration. To all, God Bless - Keep the Faith -- Sailor Jack.