| Sarah Heinonen
sheinonen@thereminder.com
Category:
EAST LONGMEADOW – The East Longmeadow Veterans Memorial Committee is asking anyone with a motor and two wheels to take to the street on Sept. 18 and help fund the construction of the memorial.
The Veterans Memorial Motorcycle Rally and Outing is the renewal of fundraising efforts by a group of roughly half a dozen veterans to build a veterans memorial in front of the Pleasant View Senior Center, 328 North Main St., East Longmeadow.
Despite fundraising that began in October 2018, “This will be the committee’s first physical fundraiser since March 2020,” Committee Chair Terry Glusko said. “We had a lot of momentum until [COVID-19].” With a design from Architecture EL in hand, the proceeds of the rally will help fund the memorial’s construction.
“We hope to have over 100 riders,” Glusko said. “I think we’re going to be very successful.”
There is a full day planned, kicking off with registration behind the Elks Lodge, 440 Tiffany St., Springfield, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. At that point, it is kickstands up, as the motorcyclists take off on an hour-long ride through Springfield. After arriving back at the Elks Lodge, riders can gather under the pavilion to talk, eat and be entertained by music from Project 267.
Glusko said the event could have been hosted at a location in East Longmeadow, but Elks Lodge in Springfield was chosen because many of the committee members are Elks, there was enough parking and the lodge donated the use of the pavilion.
The committee has been publicizing the rally through veterans’ organizations, private donors and businesses. Glusko said he is grateful to the companies and organizations that have helped the event come together – among them, Dunkin’ for supplying free donuts during the registration period and the East Longmeadow Rotary Club for sponsoring the coffee.
The rally costs $20 for riders and $10 for passengers. Non-riders are also welcome, with a cost of $10 for general admission, payable in cash or check. There will be a 50/50 raffle, T-shirts and military bracelets will be for sale and the committee is also accepting donations of any amount.
Glusko told Reminder Publishing he is hoping the committee raises at least $5,000 at the event. The memorial fund’s standing total is $244,000. The committee has already purchased $95,000 in materials, which Glusko called, “money well spent,” due to the amount of inflation seen since the purchases were made. However, there is much more to fund, including $23,000 for the architect’s final plans, the rest of the material and all the labor.
The original estimate for phase one of the memorial project was $475,000. Due to the coronavirus pandemic-related delay and inflation, the estimate has been re-evaluated twice. The most current figure is $586,000. Including the smaller second phase, the total project cost is $600,427, but Glusko pointed out that the figure is continuing to grow.
“The longer this goes on,” he said of the fundraising, “the more it’s going to cost.”
For more information on the motorcycle rally or the East Longmeadow Veterans Memorial, call 782-3890.