Starke County Veteran’s Memorial project organizers are reporting a successful first month of fundraising. Committee member Kathy Norem told the Starke County Park Board Tuesday that more than $120,000 has been received or pledged since fundraising began February 1.
“We also have about $25,000 or $30,000 that is outstanding for consideration by some of the places that we’ve made presentations to,” she added. Norem said that doesn’t include the proceeds from the sale of commemorative bricks.
The funding so far includes $57,000 from the Knox VFW, $28,500 from the Hardesty Memorial Endowment Fund at the Starke County Community Foundation, and another $28,500 from the community foundation itself. “So we’ve had some major, major donors that helped us to get so far ahead so quickly,” Norem said. The committee hopes to raise $200,000.
The park board approved the criteria for determining which veterans’ names get included on the new memorial. Committee member Mark Smith said that anyone on the existing memorial on the southwest corner of the courthouse square will also be on the new one on the southeast corner.
For additional names, if a person died in a country where a conflict was taking place, that veteran is eligible for inclusion regardless of the cause of death. Those who died within 120 days of returning home are also eligible, as is anyone whose death was directly service-related. The committee discovered a few war casualties who are buried in Starke County, but there’s no evidence that they ever lived in Starke County or had any family there. Still, Smith said, those names will be included.
The park board also officially appointed Nathan Chambers to the memorial’s advisory committee. Norem said he’s offered to help with the concrete work. “We have a couple of young men on our committee,” Norem added. “Most of us are pretty old. So having these younger guys on our committee is really exciting because they’ve got new and fresh ideas and they’re so energetic and they’re our leaders for tomorrow.”
Going forward, Norem said the committee will continue seeking donations, grants, and volunteers. Plans call for a groundbreaking ceremony on the afternoon of Memorial Day, followed by a check presentation and reception at the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center. The new Starke County Veteran’s Memorial is set to be complete by Veterans Day.
