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Summer 2023 Update

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update as we head deeper into Summer. The dedication of the Memorial is scheduled for Veterans Day – November 11th, 2023. We are still working on a time so as not to conflict too much with events that will be ongoing at Tahoma National.

Work is continuing to progress and we could really use your help in the way of funding to help get this project over the finish line. You can visit www.maplevalleyvets.org and follow the link to donate.

Many thanks to all who have helped us get to where we are on construction. Special thanks and a huge shout out to Ryan W. Heathers of ACI Construction for his guidance and access to his companies amazing sub-contractors and resources. It’s folks like Dave Zemek from Zemek Construction who have absolutely transformed the site into what it is today and what it will become! His crew is a group of amazing concrete professionals.

Construction Updates

Thanks to the incredibly big heart of this community and so many neighboring communities, we are well on our way to being able to fully fund the construction of the first phase of the Maple Valley Veterans Memorial.  This first phase will consist of landscaping, access improvements, some paving, the layout and building of the walk-way and the construction of the Memorial itself.  It’s been a long time coming and we are almost there.  We still need your help in raising another $50,000.00 or so to be certain that once we start, we will be able to finish!  Our donations, grants and in-kind contributions so far have raised in the neighborhood of $385,000.00.  Here’s a very informal breakdown of some milestones we have achieved and some noteworthy events.

  •  One of Storms final acts was the approval of a State of Washington Grant in the amount of $235,000.00.  This grant will be converted and a check   will be written to the foundation when we can prove to the state that we have enough cash and resources to finish the project.
  •  We are fully permitted and have even started some preliminary clearing/grading of the site.
  •  Our engineering and landscape drawings have been completed and have also been approved.
  •  Our name gathering efforts have produces the names of thousands of local veterans who are eligible to have their names on the walls.
  •  Our Charter Brick Sales have been pretty slow, but have shown some signs of gaining momentum.
  •  Our fundraising team is just incredible.  They pulled off the first annual “Storm Chaser 5K” on 11-10 and raised almost $4,000.00!
  •  We held our ceremonial groundbreaking on Veterans Day-November 11th, 2018.

We’ve got some work to do, but with our team of volunteers and the incredible amount of support from our community and our donors, there is no doubt that we are right where we need to be.  Thank you all who have donated or helped out at an event.   If you’d like to get more involved, drop us a message here or on facebook at facebook.com/gmvvmf.

Brett

What a year!

October 6th, 2020

The Board of Directors of the Greater Maple Valley Veterans Memorial Foundation wanted to take a few minutes and give you all an update on the memorial. The past several months have been challenging for many as the Covid virus has snagged headlines all over the world. It has truly been an unprecedented time for all of us, and most of us, in some way or another, have been impacted by this event. As you all know, The State of Washington, under the leadership of Governor Inslee mandated a phased approach to the re-opening of businesses and social gatherings. This has had an impact on projects such as ours.

We will continue to move forward with our plans and we will begin the construction process once we feel that we can do so without interruption. We have reached our initial funding goal and we continue to communicate with all of our vendors, contractors and partners. Our hope is to start up again in the Spring.

The entire board wants to express their appreciation and gratitude to all of our donors and partners for their belief and shared passion in this project. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact board president Brett Habenicht at 206-571-2800.

In Service,

The GMVVMF Board of Directors