Veterans' Monument Needs Your Help

The Monroe County Veterans' Monument, a landmark at one corner of Tellico Plains Town Square, has been in dire need of refurbishment, to revive it as a fitting memorial to our Veterans. A major fundraising drive is underway, with a goal of $22,000 for the monument reconstruction and maintenance. Your help is needed.

A Veterans' Monument Committee, comprised of Mike Atkins, Lawrence Harris, Ray Tallent, and Helen Cochran, was created last fall. Since then, many significant renovations have been made:
- Installation of a new copper-colored standing seam roof
- Repair of the electrical system and interior lights
- Open pass-through and wheelchair accessible portal modifications
- Completion of soffits and trim

The biggest remaining project is the replacement of the existing stone nameplates with new ones sized to properly fit the existing structure. This is the most expensive item in the renovations, and funds are desperately needed. These plates will be replaced in phases, as funds permit. With additional funds some fascia trim will be added to accent the architecture, and the Town will retain any leftover funds as a perpetual monument maintenance fund.

Students at Tellico Plains High School have been enlisted to assist in creating a computer database. This will include all the existing Veterans' names on the monument, and will allow the addition of new names in the future. This database will also serve as a useful tool for family members researching their Tellico Plains relatives. An application to include the name of a Monroe County resident who is a veteran on the monument (or to correct an existing name) are available at Tellico Plains City Hall, and can also be downloaded at:
http://tellico-plains.com/town/monument.html

PLEASE HELP!

To donate to the Monroe County Veterans' Monument Refurbishment, visit any bank within the Town of Tellico Plains. You can also donate online, at
http://tellico-plains.com/town/monument.html
These funds will be held in an account in the name of the Town of Tellico Plains for the sole purpose of monument reconstruction.

Tellico Plains Post #240 of the American Legion created and dedicated the brick monument in May, 2001, on land donated by the Town of Tellico Plains. The Legion solicited subscriptions and donations for individual names to be included on the monument's inscribed stone plaques, and for construction and maintenance costs.

Renovations have begun, including the installation of a new copper-colored standing seam roof.

After only a few years, weather damage caused the exposed structure to deteriorate. A volunteer group, including some members of the local Legion Post, some members of the Tellico Chamber of Commerce, and other local citizens, banded together to reconstruct the monument in 2007. Members of the non-profit organization Rolling Thunder, a group dedicated to accountability and recognition of the Prisoners Of War - Missing In Action (POW/MIA) of all wars, were also involved. Additional donations of materials and money were solicited to fund the reconstruction. Unfortunately, funds ran out before the work was completed, the local American Legion Post disbanded, and the volunteer group dissolved. The monument has remained in its incomplete state since then.

Your support for this community project is appreciated!