October 2019                                                              Randy Dymond, President

Subject: MOAA Grand Strand Chapter Monument at Warbird Park, The Market Common

Dear Grand Strand Chapter Member,

The Grand Strand Chapter Board of Directors has approved an initiative to erect a permanent monument honoring our Grand Strand Chapter and its legacy of service to Veterans, Community, and to Military Programs across the Grand Stand region.

Members of our Chapter and I were tasked early this year to identify ways and means to memorialize our departed members, and to recognize the significant service rendered to the Grand Strand Community by our members past, present, and future. As you may already know, our Grand Strand Chapter website will now have a Memorial Page that lists the departed members of our Chapter and provides a link to their respective obituaries. We will incorporate a Roll Call ceremony for these departed colleagues annually at a Chapter dinner.

We believe that a permanent monument will serve as a lasting legacy and witness to our great Chapter, its members over the years, and the hard work done by so many to support disadvantaged Veterans, ROTC/JROTC programs, and to supplement our community’s various public affairs programs regarding the US uniformed services.

Here is more detail on the Chapter’s Monument Project:

WHAT IS THE CHAPTER MONUMENT AND WHERE WILL IT BE LOCATED? The Grand Strand Chapter Monument will be a simple, but elegant and striking, granite structure that identifies MOAA, our Grand Strand Chapter, and the seven uniformed services that comprise MOAA: Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, USPHS, and NOAA. In cooperation with the City of Myrtle Beach, the monument will have a befitting site in Warbird Park along Farrow Parkway at the entrance to The Market Common. The City has agreed to the site plan, will prepare the pad and walkway for our monument, and already maintains and landscapes Warbird Park and the area around all the park’s monuments.

WHAT WILL THE MONUMENT LOOK LIKE? All of the monument will be composed of polished black granite in the color known as Absolute Black. A vertical, beveled slab (48in W x 32in H x 10in D) will sit securely upon a base (54in W x 8in H x 18in D). Lettering and emblems will be etched into the granite.  Your Chapter Board of Directors has approved the below rendering.

WHAT IS THE COST AND HOW WILL THE CHAPTER FUND THE MONUMENT?  The selected vendor has agreed to a negotiated price of  $16,078. The Board has approved a down payment of  $500 to lock in the pricing from the monument provider.  The Chapter will maintain a separate account for the monument funding so that we do not commingle our operations and mission funds with our monument funds.

I will keep you informed as we move forward.

Sincerely,

Michael S Davison, Jr.

Memorial Fundraising Director