Vietnam War memorial nears fundraising goal

Vietnam War memorial nears fundraising goal

 

BY PRU SOWERS

KONKLIFE STAFF WRITER

 

Two thousand dollars is all that’s needed for the proposed Vietnam War Memorial in Bayview Park to become a reality.

 

Memorial organizers need to raise $50,000 by the end of June in order to qualify for a $250,000 grant from the Monroe County Tourist Development Council (TDC). Scott Cates, a member of the memorial board of directors, Vietnam Living Memorial, said Sunday that the group had raised $48,000 so far.

 

Cates is hoping that a fundraising event set for tonight, June 16, will put the project over the top. The event, which will include a Cuban dinner, live entertainment and a silent auction, will be held from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Grunts, 409 Caroline St. between Duval and Whitehead streets. Tickets are $25. Howard Livingston, The Bubba System and other invited musicians will be there, along with Mayor Craig Cates as the MC.

 

“It’s going to be pretty interesting,” Scott Cates said. “It’s going to be fun.”

 

If organizers are successful in raising the needed $50,000 in matching funds, the TDC grant will pay for half of the estimated $500,000 project. City commissioners voted in March to contribute $150,000 with the remaining $50,000 donated pro bono by project architect Bert Bender and his firm, Bender & Associates.

 

Scott Cates said the community response to the proposed memorial, located in Bayview Park near the corner of North Roosevelt Blvd. and Jose Marti Drive, has been tremendous. Over 100 businesses and residents donated items for the silent auction.

 

“And if they couldn’t donate an item, they gave us money,” Cates said. “Everybody is really getting behind this. It’s a giving community, that’s for sure.”

 

The memorial would include a stone wall with the names of all Vietnam veterans who were either born or lived in Key West during the war years, including servicemen stationed in Key West at that time. Active Vietnam War solders living in the Keys from Marathon south are also eligible. The new memorial would be in addition to the small, existing Vietnam War memorial already in Bayview Park.

 

Several Vietnam veterans attended the March city commission meeting urging that the city contribute funds towards the project. City Commissioner Mark Rossi proposed to cap the city’s contribution at $125,000. But Mayor Cates, Scott Cates’ younger brother, suggested that the cap be increased to $150,000, approximately one-third of the current estimated budget. If the project goes over budget, it will be up to the memorial park committee to raise the needed funds.

 

Scott Cates said Sunday that if organizers raise more than the needed $50,000, any extra funding will go towards maintaining the memorial once it is built and possibly purchasing statues for the 75 by 75-foot plot reserved for the living memorial. If all goes according to plan, the memorial will be completed by Veterans Day 2015.

 

 

 

 

BY PRU SOWERS

KONKLIFE STAFF WRITER

 

Two thousand dollars is all that’s needed for the proposed Vietnam War Memorial in Bayview Park to become a reality.

 

Memorial organizers need to raise $50,000 by the end of June in order to qualify for a $250,000 grant from the Monroe County Tourist Development Council (TDC). Scott Cates, a member of the memorial board of directors, Vietnam Living Memorial, said Sunday that the group had raised $48,000 so far.

 

Cates is hoping that a fundraising event set for tonight, June 16, will put the project over the top. The event, which will include a Cuban dinner, live entertainment and a silent auction, will be held from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Grunts, 409 Caroline St. between Duval and Whitehead streets. Tickets are $25. Howard Livingston, The Bubba System and other invited musicians will be there, along with Mayor Craig Cates as the MC.

 

“It’s going to be pretty interesting,” Scott Cates said. “It’s going to be fun.”

 

If organizers are successful in raising the needed $50,000 in matching funds, the TDC grant will pay for half of the estimated $500,000 project. City commissioners voted in March to contribute $150,000 with the remaining $50,000 donated pro bono by project architect Bert Bender and his firm, Bender & Associates.

 

Scott Cates said the community response to the proposed memorial, located in Bayview Park near the corner of North Roosevelt Blvd. and Jose Marti Drive, has been tremendous. Over 100 businesses and residents donated items for the silent auction.

 

“And if they couldn’t donate an item, they gave us money,” Cates said. “Everybody is really getting behind this. It’s a giving community, that’s for sure.”

 

The memorial would include a stone wall with the names of all Vietnam veterans who were either born or lived in Key West during the war years, including servicemen stationed in Key West at that time. Active Vietnam War solders living in the Keys from Marathon south are also eligible. The new memorial would be in addition to the small, existing Vietnam War memorial already in Bayview Park.

 

Several Vietnam veterans attended the March city commission meeting urging that the city contribute funds towards the project. City Commissioner Mark Rossi proposed to cap the city’s contribution at $125,000. But Mayor Cates, Scott Cates’ younger brother, suggested that the cap be increased to $150,000, approximately one-third of the current estimated budget. If the project goes over budget, it will be up to the memorial park committee to raise the needed funds.

 

Scott Cates said Sunday that if organizers raise more than the needed $50,000, any extra funding will go towards maintaining the memorial once it is built and possibly purchasing statues for the 75 by 75-foot plot reserved for the living memorial. If all goes according to plan, the memorial will be completed by Veterans Day 2015.

 

 

 

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