The Apex Festival Commission is usually associated with fun and good times.
Following last week’s town council meeting, the group is also now tied to one of the most solemn and touching projects ever undertaken by the Town of Apex.
Commission chairman Jeff Hastings presented town leaders with an $18,000 check to help fund the Apex Service Memorial. The money is specifically earmarked for a 10-foot clock tower that will contain the engraving “Take Time to Remember.”
“When we heard about the idea we felt (the donation) would be a very appropriate thing,” said Hastings. “Hopefully, we will see (the memorial) come to life in a year or two.”
The memorial, which is planned for the corner of Saunders and Salem streets, will serve as a tribute to veterans, public safety workers and the victims of 9/11. It will include a six-inch piece of steel beam recovered from the debris of the World Trade Center’s South Tower.
The steel cube will sit atop a five-foot high granite monument and each side will include written tributes.
Mayor Pro Tem Gene Schulze, who helped design the memorial with town manager Bruce Radford, sent a personal note of gratitude to the festival commission.
“This will help us tremendously,” said Schulze. “It was a very generous offer by the festival commision. I thanked them and told them it would serve as an everlasting tribute to the people who have sacrificed so much for us.”
The town is accepting private donations to help defray the cost of the $60,000 project. An engraved brick complete with a personal message can be purchased for $200. The bricks will form paths that will radiate from the center of the monument.
Donations have been slow but Schulze is confident the community will become much more involved in the next few months.
“A lot of people still don’t seem to know about it,” said Schulze. “We sort of unveiled it before the holidays but I don’t think many people took notice. That is a very busy time of the year. Bruce is holding a meeting next week and I think we are going to get more serious about our PR.
“This is very exciting for us because it is a unique project. I believe it will add another dimension to our downtown.”
For more information visit www.apexnc.org./memorial.
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