|
|
|
|
Civitan Services breaks ground on garden, fountain |
|
|
Tuesday, 01 July 2008 |
|
The start of a golden anniversary celebration for Civitan Services took place Monday with a groundbreaking ceremony for the Civitan Legacy Garden to be located in front of the Civitan Center on Cox Street in Benton.  Participants line up for a groundbreaking ceremony for the 50th anniversary legacy garden to be built at Civitan Services Center on Cox Street in Benton in conjunction with the facility’s 50th anniversary. From left, in the front row, are Steve Schade, president of the Benton Civitan Club; Pat Hampel, designer of the puzzle piece of the fountain; Carl Glover, plumber; Christy Marvel, designer of the garden; Evelyn Dixon, widow of Donald Dixon, who left money in his estate for the project; Warren Burleson, contractor on many Civitan Services projects; Allen Middlebrooks, electrician; Leah Henderson, associate director of the Civitan Services; Robert Johnson, executive director of Civitan Services; and Tom Morrow, president of the Civitan Center Board of Directors; back row, Darrell Peters, director of community services for Civitan Services; Steve Bohannon, human resources director; Julie Jester, director of the preschool at Civitan Services; and Mariessa Bearden, director of the Civitan adult program.
The garden will center on a fountain made possible by a donation from the family of Dr. Donald and Evelyn Dixon, longtime supporters of Civitan Services. Donald Dixon left money in his estate for the fountain to be built, his widow said Monday.
The center of the fountain will feature a large puzzle piece bearing the names of the center’s founding board members.
Pavers around the fountain and down a new sidewalk to be laid toward new fag poles will be covered with engraved bricks in memory or honor of individuals, according to Leigha Jones, community development director for Civitan Services. The bricks soon will be available for the public to purchase at $50 each, she said.
Community partner businesses are welcome to purchase bricks and many key donors already have purchased one through sponsorships, Jones noted.
She said the garden also will include several flower beds and benches for clients and family members to enjoy. The fountain is expected to be completed in September and the sidewalks will be poured as the bricks re purchased, she noted. The flower beds will be created as weather permits, she added.
Jones and other Civitan Services staff invite the entire community and especially all current and former clients, employees, Civitan Club members, board members and community partners to attend the “once-in-a-lifetime celebration as the Civitan Center celebrates 50 years of service to Saline County and these very special individuals.”
The anniversary celebration is scheduled Saturday, Sept. 27, and reportedly will include games for the whole family, food, tours of the center and special displays of 50 years of Civitan’s service to the community.
Events will be held at the Civitan Center as well as the practice field at Benton High School,, which shares a gated fence with the center. A concert will conclude the day’s events, Jones said.
“Civitan Services is a community project and we want to involve the community as much as possible in all that we do,” she explained.
She encouraged local residents to share information about the celebration with others who have moved away but had a previous connection with the center.
Civitan Center reportedly began in 1958 under the leadership of Noel Deer, who is also deceased. Mrs. Hershel Nelson was the director and Mrs. Nell Cooper was the center’s first teacher.
At that time the center was housed in an old frame building on the campus of Westside Elementary School.
The facility quickly outgrew the structure and the Civitan Club started its campaign to build a new center. It was built with a $48,000 federal grant on land donated by Tyndall Dickinson of McGeorge Construction Co. The three acres were located northeast of Eastside Elementary School (now Angie Grant Elementary) on Cox Street, the present site of the facility.
To jump-start the operation, then-Sen. J.W. Fulbright sent the club a check for $75,000, club records show. The facility was initially called the Saline County Mentally Retarded Day Care Center, with the first classes held at the facility in January 1970.
Jones noted that the September celebration will recognize “all those who have gotten us to this point. The staff, the clients, the volunteers, the families and the community itself have all played enormous roles in shaping the design and future of our programs. We will not forget how we came to be at this point.”
She encouraged others to share their stories, memories and photographs to use in displays and scrapbooks to be displayed at the anniversary celebration.
Also being sought are current address to enable center personnel and volunteers to send personal invitations to those “who either left their mark on Civitan or whose heart we were fortunate enough to touch.”
Persons with information to share are asked to call Civitan Services staff at 776-0691.
|
|
|
|
Razorbacks
