Veterans memorial gets a huge boost from RCU
A $50,000 grant presentation was held Aug 26, from the RCU Foundation to the Holcombe Area Veterans Memorial, to get the main part of the construction off the ground. Present for the donation, left to right, are memorial committee member/Town of Birch Creek chairman Ronnie Arts; memorial committee members MaryAnn Van Treese and Tim Marshall; Lake Holcombe Town Board supervisor/RCU Foundation member Doug Olson; RCU Foundation president John Sackett; memorial committee chairman Jim Mataczynki; memorial committee member/Lake Holcombe Town Board supervisor David Staudacher; memorial committee member Betty Sitler; and Lake Holcombe Town Board chairman Brian Guthman. Photo by Ginna Young
By Ginna Young
There is now $50,000 more in the Holcombe Area Veterans Memorial building fund, thanks to a donation from the RCU Foundation Aug. 26. Dave Conrad, Veterans Memorial Committee member, took the original initiative to apply for the grant from the foundation.
After deliberation, RCU granted the amount requested, for the main construction of the memorial that is meant to honor the area’s service men and women.
“It’s not a war memorial, it’s a veterans memorial,” said memorial committee chairman Jim Mataczynski.
John Sackett, RCU Foundation president, says the bank’s philosophy from which the foundation was created, is to have a positive impact on the lives they touch. With a large collection of members in the Holcombe area, it was important to the foundation to honor veterans in their midst.
“When this project was brought to us, it was one of those things that we had quite a conversation about, not only the project, but what it meant,” said Sackett, adding that it is not just for the community, but for anyone who comes to the memorial, to celebrate and remember what it means to them.
Work continues on the memorial, piece by piece, but now, with the RCU grant, a larger piece can be completed, as more ideas come in.
“So many businesses in the area have stepped up…the whole community has been behind it,” said RCU Foundation/Lake Holcombe Town Board supervisor Doug Olson.
Mataczynski agreed, saying more and more families are coming forward with names to add to the memorial. So far, it was discovered that the oldest person who served, was in the War of 1812.
“We’re learning as a committee, just how many veterans there are in the Holcombe area,” said Mataczynski.
If anyone has information on a veteran in their family or know of a veteran in the Lake Holcombe School District, the memorial wants to know, to recognize their contribution.
“That’s what it’s all about,” said Mataczynski.
