Here are just a few photos from our 2007 Veterans Day event at Purgatory Creek Park. It was a perfect beautiful fall day. Just perfect. We had a great turnout at the event. I’d say close to 300. Bigger than last year. Next year will be bigger than this year.
The Patriot Guard was there. They are a group of veterans who attend the funerals of military personnel and provide a necessary level of security to protect the decorum of the funeral from protesters and others who try to disrupt military funerals. They were welcomed at our event by Mayor Phil Young who emceed the event. State Senator David Hann, State Representatives Erik Paulsen and Maria Ruud and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar attended the event and lent their voices to sharing the stories of some specially honored veterans.
We raised the flags at the site of the future veterans memorial for the first time. Next year, we hope to have more progress on the memorial to show off. John Mallo, the key guy in the veterans memorial committee (tan trench coat and white hair) announced that local businessman Ed Flaherty (in the final photo above) has agreed to donate $100,000 to the memorial effort in the form of a challenge grant. Over the next year, he will match donations dollar for dollar to turn his $100,000 gift into a $200,000 gift. That’s about what the committee needs to finish the project. It’s going to happen. I hope it can happen in time for next year. That will be a challenge, but it’s certainly a challenge that’s worth taking on.
