EAST LONGMEADOW – A group of East Longmeadow veterans are on a mission to raise money to build the towns own veterans memorial, and they can’t do it without the support of residents and local businesses.

Committee members Terry Glusko Sr., P. Robert Wallace, Thomas O’Connor, Edward Brown, Thomas Gour, Donald Gamache, Michael Flynn, Mark Richard and Walter Esposito are all veterans themselves and are dedicated to constructing a memorial in town for veterans, as well as their families, to reflect on the duty and courage of the East Longmeadow military vets. Glusko spoke with Reminder Publishing regarding how the idea for a memorial came about, what it will look like, where it will be located, upcoming fundraising efforts and how the community can get involved.

Recognizing that East Longmeadow doesn’t have a veterans memorial while many surrounding towns do, the East Longmeadow Veterans Memorial Committee was formed.

“Initially, it came up in one of our veterans meetings and we decided that it would be great, or fantastic, to memorialize the sacrifices of those fallen heroes and to honor their sense of duty, their courage and the call to arms, and them answering the call to arms,” Glusko explained. “It also is a place where families can go and reflect on service and the sacrifices of their loved ones.”

In the process of gaining knowledge of what other towns veterans memorials looked like, Glusko shared that the group traveled to Ludlow, Granby, South Windsor and Enfield’s memorials. They then spoke with some of the individuals who were responsible for the construction of the memorials, and inquired how the groups had raised funds.

“In the final analysis, we figured this is going to range from $250,000 to $300,000. With that figure in mind and how we’re approaching this, it [the memorial] would hopefully be completed by maybe 2020 and no later than 2021,” Glusko said.

Though a large number, Glusko noted that the figure “is not inconceivable” and he is in the process of filling out grant applications to subsidize a portion of the funding.

The memorial will be located in front of East Longmeadow’s Pleasant View Senior Center, located at 328 North Main St. Glusko described the memorial, sharing there would be nine flags; one for each branch of service, an American flag, a purple heart flag, and a state flag. There will be benches and flowers, as well as monuments that reflect the service and sacrifice of the fallen heroes. Additionally, they plan to sell pavers, which will be inlaid leading up to the memorial and around the inner circle of the memorial. The monument will be substantial and a standout location in town being 90 feet wide.

“The success of the memorial is going to depend on the various events that we have and the success of raising that money, and that money has got to come from the support of the people of East Longmeadow and any local businesses who desire to participate in any manner of contribution they wish to make,” he said.

On the technical side, Glusko told Reminder Publishing that the process of gaining the paperwork to be able to raise money has been going on September of 2017. The group had to obtain their IRS tax exempt status, their 501C3, and they had to go before the Planning Board and Town Council to share their plans. Additionally, they solicited the Attorney General’s office in Boston to obtain a Certificate of Solicitation to be able to solicit funds from the public. While they do have the veterans (VCO) certificate and it’s valid for three years, over the course of the three years the group must go back to the Attorney General’s office once a year and submit all tax documentation and financial data to be able to continue using the VCO.

This past week on Oct. 12 the Veteran’s Memorial Committee hosted their first fundraising event, a spaghetti dinner fundraiser at the Senior Center. According to Glusko, the event was well attended with 130 tickets purchased. After paying the restaurant who catered the event, the committee raised roughly $1,500. In the upcoming months the committee plans to host walk–a–thons and marathons, to sell t–shirts and baseball caps, and are hoping to host dinner dances and picnic events.

“With the support of the community, the people in the community and our committee who is passionately committed to what we’re doing; this is not going to fail,” Glusko said confidently.

“We’re trying to keep everything local, we want to interact with East Longmeadow businesses; we feel that’s a fundamental responsibility,” he added.

If members of the community would like to support the installation of a veterans memorial, individuals or businesses are encouraged to send their tax exempt check (tax exempt ID number 82–2777412) made payable to East Longmeadow Veterans Memorial Fund, and to mail the check to Peoples Bank 201 North Main St., East Longmeadow, MA 01028 re: E.L. Veterans Memorial. For more information, email elvmc293@yahoo.com.