Sandy Springs honored those who have served in the nation’s military with its annual Veterans Day Celebration at the Performing Arts Center before heading across Roswell Road to dedicate the new Veterans Park.
Most of the hundreds of attendees stepped outside into the Friday morning rain to attend the shortened park dedication ceremony. With umbrellas held overhead, they watched as veterans in attendance joined city officials to cut the ribbon signifying the park’s opening. The ceremony ended after the color guard raised the U.S. flag on the park’s flagpole for the first time.
“Veterans Day is the day to reflect on the meaning of service and sacrifice. It is the day to remember the men and women who have answered the call to duty and put their lives on the line to protect our freedom, our veterans who give of themselves in their service to our country, especially those who have given the ultimate sacrifice,” Mayor Rusty Paul said.
Paul said that the Census Bureau reported approximately 4,000 veterans live in Sandy Springs, with more than 600,000 in the state of Georgia.
Col. Brent Cummings (retired) was the keynote speaker. He served 28 years in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer and now is a director for the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange, a company that he said works to enhance and improve development for senior law enforcement.
Cummings said the years spent in Afghanistan and Iraq with his infantry unit weren’t spent with philosophical discussions or debates about politics or religion. They wanted to do their jobs well and accomplish their assigned missions as they looked out for each other, he said.
Before closing the Veterans Day Celebration, Councilmembers Tibby DeJulio and John Paulson, who both are veterans, joined Paul on stage to present the designs for two sculptures that will be installed at Veterans Park.
Curtis Pittman’s “Be the Light” and Kevin Chambers’s “Three Generations” will be staged together, with the life-size statues of an old soldier and young girl looking up at the lighted, 32-foot-tall sculpture that Paulson said resembles an eternal flame.
The sculptures will cost $470,000, and councilmembers said at their Nov. 7 meeting that most of that cost has already been covered by donations and promises of donations.
DeJulio said the committee also figured out a way to get more veterans and community members involved in Veterans Park. Both bricks and benches will be “sold,” with the Veterans Memorial court pavers starting at $200 for the smallest engraved size. He expected organizations to be the main sponsors of the 11 Tribute Benches throughout the park. These will cost $4,000 to sponsor and will be dedicated to a veteran or a group of veterans.
Visit sandyspringsfoundation.org for more information.
