Advertisement

"The project has been developing for about a year and a half,"Mary Legg said. She is chair of the committee formed to coordinate the memorial and is a veteran who served in the U.S. Navy. Legg is also Vice Commander of American Legion Post 228.

Legg appeared before city commissioners at the commission meeting on Sept. 25, to display the design and obtain final approval to begin the construction. Commissioners unanimously approved of the memorial plans.

"This was a great accomplishment for us today,"Legg said of the approval.

Volunteers helped with the project plans, such as Mark Robinson, a landscape architect who worked on design. The first of the seven monuments that make up the memorial that is slated for completion is the World War II monument. Bruce Janssen worked with the committee on the design.

The memorial design shows an elongated shape with a space for the monuments, a podium and a plaza. A walkway is lined with bushes and benches.

Charlevoix County Sheriff George T. Lasater opened an account at Citizen's Bank with $5,000 from the proceeds from his book, "Charlevoix County's Contribution to World War II."

More donations are needed to construct the project, Leggs said. Contributions may be sent to Citizen's Bank to the attention of "Boyne City Area Veterans' Memorial Fund."

A dance and silent auction is set for 8 p.m., Oct. 12, at the Boyne City Eagles Club, with the band Jeff Fitzgerald and the Allnighters. All proceeds from the event will go towards the building of the memorial. The committee has 10 members, all from local organizations, such as the American Legion, VFW, Eagles and the Masons.