State Community Program Award Winner - Au Lac Council 10724
- Mon, Jun 2, 2025 12:45 PM
Congratulations to Au Lac Council 10724 on winning the State Community Program Award for their Veteran's Memorial Project!
As the Knights of the Au Lac Council worked to improve our parish cemetery, we realized how many veterans were laid were to rest there. Dave Furtah, Joe Whitenight, and Jim Mattina began discussing how fitting it would be to have a memorial to honor these brave souls. IV. OVERVIEW – David Furtah & Joseph Whitenight; Project Co-Chairmen We explored many options and decided to purchase a memorial stone with each veteran’s name engraved on it. Then it was time to raise the funds needed for this project, research every name that would be engraved on the stone, choose the type of stone, and improve the area selected to place the monument. With the approval of Pastor Fr. Joe Esper and the cemetery manager, Patrick Pordon, we began to design and improve the area near the flag. It was necessary to put in electrical service, a water line to the cemetery, a catch basin, asphalt, and concrete work. Money was raised from both the 3rd Degree Council and 4th Degree Assembly. We held a spaghetti dinner where we served over 200 folks, we held meat bingo, euchre parties, charity gaming events, and asked for donations from interested parties. It took approximately two years to complete the project from start to finish. A ceremony was held to dedicate and bless the monument on June 1, 2024. The dedication was attended by Fr. Joe Esper, many parishioners, the Knights of Columbus Color Guard, and a Vietnam veteran, Jim Hellybuck, who survived an intense battle during the war. After the ceremony, many families took the opportunity to take group pictures gathered around the stone honoring their departed relatives.
Here is the Program Book that the Council submitted with more details: 2025 State Community Program Award - Veteran's Memorial