Written by Amanda Coers – The benevolence of Brownwood is becoming a well known fact. After four stone monuments at the Central Texas Veterans Memorial were toppled due to high winds, the community stepped up to rebuild the memorial. One of the frontrunners for the fundraising efforts has been Weston Jacobs, the new Weakley Watson hardware store owner.
“About two weeks ago, Weston Jacobs came to talk to me about the memorial,” Central Texas Veterans Memorial Board President Harold Stieber explained. “He asked what he could do to help raise money.” Stieber showed the fractured stone monuments to Jacobs, who then proposed to sell the stone pieces, along with fundraising efforts at his hardware store.
Jacobs auctioned the fragments of the monuments and also held a fundraiser outside the hardware store. Customers were also asked if they’d like to round up their change during transactions, with the additional cents to be donated to the memorial. The Brownwood Jaycees were also instrumental during the Weakley Watson fundraiser. Nine pieces of stones and one grill were auctioned, and raised $4,000. Another $6,000 was raised through donations.
“Even this morning I’ve had calls from Michigan, California, Arizona with folks saying ‘hey how can I help?’ So it’s still going,” Jacobs said. He also explained the president of ACE Hardware had personally contacted Jacobs and has donated an additional $1,000.
An official GoFundMe Account has been established to raise funds to rebuild.
On Thursday, May 31st, Jacobs presented a check for $10,000, the total amount of their fundraising efforts, with the announcement that another $1,000 will be given in the near future, thanks to continuous donations pouring in to help rebuild.
Harold Stieber is touched by the tremendous show of support. Donations both large and small have had significant meaning for the board president, but one donation in particular has truly made an impact.
Mason Burkett, now 13 years old, was just three when his father was killed in Iraq on March 10, 2008. After the Memorial Day ceremony held last weekend, the young man approached the board Secretary/Treasurer Joyce Liedig to give $5, all the money he had, to help rebuild.
“He said this is all I have, but I want to donate to put those mens’ names back up there,” Stieber said. “I just can’t tell you what that means. It’s very Biblical, like the little widow lady who gave all she had to the temple. He gave all he had. And so did his father.”
The damage at the memorial park was discovered by Steiber on Sunday morning, May 20th, after a weekend of strong winds and severe storms. Four large granite monuments with the names of veterans killed in action had fallen and cracked into several pieces. The estimated cost to replace the stones is approximately $50,000.
With the Weakley Watson fundraising efforts and the GoFundMe donations online, more than $30,000 has been given to rebuild the monuments. Individuals wanting to help reach the $50,000 goal can still donate online: gofundme.com/CTVMrepair or by mail:
Central Texas Veterans’ Memorial
% Citizens National Bank
PO Box 1629
Brownwood, TX 76804
For additional information please contact: Dr. Steve Kelly at stephen_kelly1980@yahoo.com
Pictured at top: Central Texas Veterans Memorial Board Members Chuck Dodds, Harold Stieber, Tom Gray, Dr. James Hayes, Al Barrera, and Joyce Liedig with Weakley Watson ACE Hardware store owner Weston Jacobs.
