By Jennifer Amato
NORTH BRUNSWICK — In a continuing effort to honor veterans who have served our country, North Brunswick is accepting submissions for its Veterans Park Memorial Paver Donation Project.
Any resident who has a family member who served in the United States military during a wartime period can honor them at Veterans Park on Roosevelt Avenue with a 4-inch-by-8-inch brick engraved with their name, branch of service, rank, conflict and period of service.
“It will have a lot of meaning,” said Lou Ann Benson, director of the North Brunswick Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Services. “It’s another area where residents can firsthand honor their family, friends, friends of a relative – it’s a nice way to say thank you and honor their service.”
Veterans Park is undergoing renovations that should be completed by mid-April, weather permitting, Benson said. Mayor Francis “Mac” Womack and Councilman Carlo Socio, who is also the council liaison to the Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee, have been heavily involved in the project.
“I think the park will enhance the neighborhood,” Benson said. “Residents will be able to walk to the park from their homes. … [It] will definitely have a global use for all our residents.”
All engraving for the pavers will be done in upper case. There is a maximum of three lines with 15 letters/spaces/punctuation marks per line.
If the donation is received by March 15, the engraved brick will be installed in time for the 2016 Memorial Day ceremony. All later donations will be installed by May 31, 2017.
Checks in the amount of $75 should be made payable to the Township of North Brunswick and mailed with the name, mailing address, telephone and email to the Veterans Paver Donation Project, c/o the Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Services, 710 Hermann Road, North Brunswick 08902.
North Brunswick American Legion Post 459 and Milltown VFW Post 2319 have participated in the design of the memorial.
“We purposely turned the memorial site so it faces the park, so when someone is actively engaged in an activity they can see the memorial.” Benson said. “I think it will be something we can all be proud of.”
For more information, call Lou Ann Benson at 732-247-0922, ext. 475.
Contact Jennifer Amato at jamato@gmnews.com.
