Kennedy Pride recently held a meeting at the Kennedy Free Library. Discussions centered around recent and future events.
Members went over the 100 Club Dinner. As usual, the tickets were sold out, and those who attended had expressed their pleasure with the event. Co-president Steve Stanton reported that some extra donations to the group had been received during the event, and several extra packages of roast beef and kimmelweck rolls were also sold. The DJ's for the event had done a very good job on short notice. Those assembled felt that it was definitely worth holding again.
Progress was reported on the Veterans' Memorial for Hallquist Park. Secretary Kelly Snow stated that she had spoken with Jensen-Haglund, and that they felt they would be able to have the monument ready by Memorial Day.
They are willing to help design the footer for the monument, which is to be sited by the flagpole in the park. Stanton told the group that he had been contacted by the Vietnam Veterans Association. They expressed interest in holding a motorcycle run to raise funds for the memorial. Everyone felt this idea had merit. The possibility of holding a formal dedication ceremony after the memorial is in place was also discussed. Both weather conditions and the availability of invited dignitaries would affect the timing of any service.
The flag retirement ceremony will be held on Wednesday, June 15 in Hallquist Park. Roland Swanson will once again be in charge of the arrangements.
Ideas for other events during the spring and summer were considered. The Victorian tea was a big success last year, and members thought it would be worth doing again. Organizers of last year's event have been working on ideas for this year.
Musical events during the summer in Hallquist Park have also been well attended. Mr. Stanton told the group that he had recently heard of a possible source of funding to help defray the costs of performers. He will pursue this further.
As an aside, Pride members noted that both the Kennedy Fire Department and the Kennedy United Methodist Church have been supporters of the group and their community efforts. Those attending voted to make donations to both for use of their facilities for different events. A special note of thanks will be sent to Elsie Van Hise for all her efforts on behalf of Kennedy Pride.
Election of officers will be held during the March meeting. Nominations were made during the February meeting, but are still open until the vote.
Ideas for a new five-year plan were again considered. Several different possible projects for Hallquist Park have been offered. Stanton again urged everyone to think about any other ideas for community projects.
Following the regular meeting agenda, those attending enjoyed coffee and cupcakes as they celebrated the group's anniversary. Kennedy Pride began as an idea of then Head Librarian Linda Bish as a group to bring community spirit into play and help make Kennedy a better place to live. It also began to help plan events for the town's bicentennial, which took place in 2005.
Since its early beginnings, Kennedy Pride has accomplished many different things. All of the flags that proudly wave from the poles along the highways in downtown and outlying areas were purchased with funds raised by the group. It has been widely acknowledged that the beautiful Hallquist Park would not exist if not for the efforts of Kennedy Pride.
Since the town-wide cleanup days were begun, the community has taken on a more inviting appearance. The group continues its efforts to enhance the town, and invites everyone to join with them.
Kennedy Pride will hold their next regular meeting at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, in the Kennedy Free Library. New members are always welcome, as are new ideas for community projects.