The overview
The revitalization project entails constructing a pergola with benches behind the wall of the memorial where visitors can sit and reflect, surrounded by native landscaping and pavers, VMAG Chair Diane Klutz said.
Currently, there are a number of Italian cypress trees behind the wall. However, VMAG Communications Chair George Monnat said these trees are not native to Texas, adding that the group has spent a significant amount of funding to maintain them.
Monnat said that as the memorial exists now, it’s not very inviting to go behind the wall. He hopes this project opens up that area. The project will also relocate the dedicated plaques at the foot of some of the trees to the back of the wall.
“We really wanted it to be a place of quiet reflection, a place ... that will give you goosebumps when you go back into this area,” Klutz said.
About the organization
While the plaza is on Sun City Texas Community Association lands and the grounds surrounding it are maintained by the neighborhood, VMAG is responsible for the upkeep of the memorial and for organizing ceremonies at it.
The group typically holds two annual ceremonies at the plaza—one for Memorial Day and one for Veterans Day. These events often draw large crowds, including elected officials from Williamson County, Texas and beyond.
VMAG’s charter requires members to be Williamson County residents and veterans of uniformed services, and its leaders must be Sun City residents.
The organization sells engraved bricks at the plaza to raise funds for the day-to-day maintenance of the memorial. To date, between 6,000-6,500 of the plaza’s nearly 12,000 total bricks are dedicated. Additionally, Monnat said the project could open up space for more bricks.
However, the group is soliciting funds directly for the revitalization project, including asking businesses for support.
“What we’re trying to sell is the idea that if you have a brick in the plaza, we want to make it really reverent for you,” Monnat said. “We want to make it someplace appealing so that your family would want to come see your brick.”
What’s next
The fundraising campaign kicked off Sept. 15, and VMAG is looking to secure pledges totaling $200,000 in funding by the end of November. This would allow Sun City, which is serving as the contractor for the project, to move forward with soliciting construction contracts.
Klutz said the arborist and landscape architect working with VMAG on the vision for the project donated their services, so all donations will go completely to the new structure.
Initial estimates show work starting in late January or February and taking about two months to complete, Monnat said. After that, landscaping surrounding the pergola will be finalized in the spring.
The organization’s goal is to reopen the revitalized portion of the memorial plaza by Memorial Day, May 25.
“This is entirely by veterans, for veterans, about veterans, and I think that’s what makes it so very special,” Klutz said. “I really think this is going to be something that’s kind of rare for even Texas once we get all of this together.”
