Hickory Elks Lodge Veterans Memorial
The Hickory Elks Lodge is close to completion of a City of Hickory Veterans Memorial. Working closely with the City of Hickory throughout the development, the Memorial is designed to respectfully honor, salute, and celebrate all Veterans of the six branches of our United States Military.
Frank O’Keefe, president of the Hickory Elks, believes this is an important addition to our Hickory community and emphasized its relevance. “Our community has a reputation for caring and respecting our Service members. This Memorial will acknowledge our community sentiments, as well as provide an honored location for Veterans, friends and family to reflect on those who have served.”
Hickory Elks chairman of the board Tim Herndon reinforced these comments and reflected on the partnership with the City of Hickory to bring this Memorial to Hickory. “Throughout the project, from the initial vision to completion, our partnership with the City of Hickory made this effort easy, and streamlined milestones to make our community’s Veterans Memorial a reality. From interactions with Mayor Guess, City Manager Warren Wood’s office and especially Councilwoman Jill Patton, this project has been a pleasure and is well deserved for our community.”
Councilwoman Jill Patton also spoke praise of the Memorial and the working relationship with the Hickory Elks. “The Hickory Elks Veterans Memorial is a wonderful example of what can happen when our community comes together around a shared purpose. It’s an honor for the City to support a project that pays tribute to our Veterans and strengthens the spirit of Hickory.”
The design layout recognizes each Branch of Service with individual black granite pedestals in a semicircle based in front of and circulating outward from the flagpole raising our Nation’s flag. The respective Seals of the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S Marine Corps, U.S. Space Force, and U.S. Coast Guard will each be engraved on an individual pedestal and highlighted in gold. A center pedestal will be located in front of the flagpole, dedicating the Hickory Elks Memorial to our Service Men and Women, as well as acknowledging those instrumental in making this Memorial a reality. The pedestals will be placed on a grid designed concrete pad, along with two contemplation benches on either side of the Elks Statue currently in place.
Our community has a reputation for caring and respecting our Service members. Our City’s Memorial will acknowledge these sentiments, as well as provide an honored location for Veterans, friends and family to reflect on those who have served. The Memorial will be along the City Walk, as a key point for our community to visit. It will be located in front of the Hickory Elks Lodge on Main Avenue NW, near the intersection with Fourth Street NW. The Memorial Dedication Ceremony will be held on Nov. 11 at 5 p.m.
For further information, please contact Col. Tim Herndon, USMC (Ret), Chairman, Board of Directors, Hickory Elks Lodge #1654 at taherndon3@gmail.com or 910-750-2235.