(MCLENDON-CHISHOLM, TX – Nov. 5, 2019) On Nov. 11 at 11 a.m., the City of McLendon-Chisholm invites the public to a Veterans Day Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Veterans Memorial located outside of City Hall (1371 W FM 550). The ceremony will give attendees the opportunity to see the new engraved bricks installed at the memorial, each inscribed with the names of local veterans.
In May this year, the Daughters of the American Revolution funded the installation of the Veterans Memorial. The city council at that time put a plan in place to finish the memorial by launching an engraved brick campaign. The bricks would be installed around the memorial and were originally priced at $150 per brick.
“The City originally was trying to fund that themselves,” said Mark Kipphut, McLendon-Chisholm resident and husband of city councilwoman Lorna Kipphut. “It was a pretty high price point for the bricks. The city council put a new committee in place headed by formal council member Herman Larkan. The committee made the decision to try and get the price point down so that it would be more affordable for the community. By making it more affordable, they wanted to defray the costs associated with putting the engraved bricks in at the memorial.”
The new brick campaign offered engraved bricks for the much lower cost of $30 per brick, with each brick purchase covering the costs of engraving the bricks and the long-term maintenance of the memorial.
The committee also partnered with the American Legion Terry Fisher Post 117 of Rockwall to start a separate fundraiser to help fund the installation and infrastructure of the engraved bricks. The fundraiser was a tremendous success, with several individuals from the community stepping up to contribute. In total, $5,000 was raised to fund the installation of 100 engraved bricks for the Veterans Memorial at no cost to the City.
“It was our pleasure to help fund it,” said Kipphut, who serves as commander of the Terry Fisher Post. “One of the key commitments the American Legion has is to make sure we recognize and memorialize the contributions veterans have made to the nation. So this was an actual fit to our mission.”
According to Kipphut, many veterans are buried in the McLendon-Chisholm Cemetery, including those who served in World War I and the War of 1812. To pay homage to their service and sacrifice, a portion of the funds raised from the brick campaign went toward purchasing and engraving bricks for 35 veterans buried in the local cemetery.
Lorna Kipphut said the City received a tremendous response from the community for the memorial brick campaign.
“You don’t really know just how many veterans are in your community until you do something like this,” said Lorna Kipphut. “We had a great response, and an even greater response from members of our community wanting to recognize their family members or friends who are veterans.”
By Austin Wells. Photos from City of McLendon-Chisholm.
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Nov. 11 Wreath Laying Ceremony to Unveil Newly Installed Engraved Bricks at McLendon-Chisholm Veterans Memorial added by Editor on
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