Memorial Foundation Report
This is our last article before the annual Candlelight Service on October 5th at 7:00 pm and Sunday Morning Service on October 6th at 10:30 am in Kingdom City. Our guest speaker on Sunday morning is a survivor with a message of hope and promise. We will have sidewalks connecting the memorial with both of the east side doors of the museum building allowing for a view of the grass versus having to walk on it between the two. There is also a significant addition to street parking adjacent to the memorial grounds. The Village of Kingdom City has added additional streets to the west for the existing and future growth of the area. Rough estimates will allow for 70+ additional vehicles.
A key reminder. If you travel from the West to the memorial it will take you on I-70 between Columbia and Kingdom City. Please allow some extra time. The I-70 expansion project has started in this area and the two existing lanes have been narrowed with concrete barriers and the speed limit has been lowered to 55.
At the time of writing, we have prepared for three line-of-duty-death names and 115 non-line-of-duty-deaths. A printed program book will have pictures and a summary of each line-of-duty hero and a picture or department patch with a brief biography for each non-line-of-duty name.
Engraving for inclusion with the 2024 services totaled, 3-LODD, 25-bricks and 66-names for the service walls. Orders have already come in for the 2025 services. We continue to refine/improve the accuracy and functionality of the brick, and wall search process. We are not yet where we fully want to be with this, but we are making progress and working hard toward that end.
The engraving deadline for 2024 was extended from July 1 to August 19, due to our change of address from Shelbina to Kingdom City. Adding time for the forwarding of mail plus a delay in some notifications. For 2025, the engraving deadline is July 1. Our website and our new forms will state the following: “Orders received after July 1st, are not guaranteed to be filled by the October Memorial Service.” Please read this twice and write it down somewhere.
A reminder that Operation BBQ Relief is planning to provide a free pulled pork lunch with two sides for everyone in attendance on Sunday, October 6. Providing they are not called for hurricane duty somewhere. It would be a good idea to bring lunch money just in case they are called away. If you are interested in learning more about what they do and the other supporting services they provide or perhaps volunteering, you can visit their website at operationbbqrelief.org.
It was unfortunate that the Missouri Fire Service Charity BBQ planned for September 14th at the museum was canceled. The limited number of teams confirming interest, a Mizzou football game, and some logistical challenges were too much to overcome this year. Hopefully, this goal of raising money for the Missouri Firefighters Cancer Support Network and the museum project can be attempted again in 2025.
In the last article, we were pleased to introduce Melissa Old as our new Foundation Treasurer. In this article, we want to compliment Melissa for jumping right in and making a difference with her approach to the many responsibilities and the increasing number of tasks required for the position.
Another reminder that the museum was made our permanent mailing address. We have worked out a system of checking the inside locked mailbox every 7-10 days and processing communications and banking. If you have a time-sensitive issue, please call or send an email to info@mofirememorial-museum.org. Please disregard any mailing address information that is not 5550 Dunn Drive, Kingdom City, MO 65262. Several of you who are annual contributors for engraving may have electronic forms with Shelbina or Fulton. Please delete those! Our new forms are fillable online with a pay-now option or you can download and print a PDF to send through the mail. Please visit our new website at mofirememorial-museum.org/
At this time, we still have one open position on the Foundation Board. If you are interested in taking on additional work, 8-10 more meetings, and more hours of service, please contact President Jennings and have a conversation. The President of FFAM per By-Laws receives the names of those interested, completes the initial vetting for the position, and then makes a recommendation to the Foundation Board which we must review and accept, or not.
If you have any questions about the October services, please contact me at info@mofirememorial-museum.org or 314-709-0760. I am using this new “info” email versus my Yahoo going forward. This change provides for more eyes on communications and better management of our work.
Thank you for your time and continued support of your memorial and future museum.
What to prepare for if attending one or both October Memorial services
Weather and Location
The weather in Kingdom City in October may be short-sleeved warm or light winter coat cool. The wind is always blowing and seldom calm. We hold each service regardless of weather, but the goal is to hold both on-site at the memorial. It is located at 5550 Dunn Drive, Kingdom City, MO. If we must move, that decision is only made a few hours before each service after a detailed conversation with the National Weather Service. If we move, it will be to the Gym of the Auxvasse Middle School at 598 E Harrison St., Auxvasse, MO. This is 5 miles north of the Memorial just off of (west of) 54-highway. If we move, someone will be on-site at the memorial directing the move north to Auxvasse and services will start 30 minutes later than the planned time. 7:00 will be 7:30 and 10:30 will be 11:00.
Please consult the weather in Kingdom City before attending and plan accordingly. The temperature at night can drop rapidly and bringing a blanket is 100% acceptable. The Saturday evening service runs from 7:00 to 8:15 pm. The Sunday morning service runs from 10:30 am until 12:00 pm and it is 100% in the sun which may benefit from sunscreen. Bottled water is provided, a filtered water bottle fill station is in the museum, an ambulance will be on standby, and restrooms are provided in the museum building. The parking lot at the memorial fills up very quickly, but there is adequate space available on the adjacent streets next to the memorial providing an easy and short walk back to the site.
Ceremony Details
There will be an information table to assist with all questions, specifically those related to finding a name. The Saturday evening candlelight program will have a detailed printed program book with each person being honored, a picture and a brief biography. This service is informal compared to Sunday morning, casual/comfortable dress, family-friendly, and will involve the lighting of candles with an “in memory wax cup” which you may keep and take home. The Sunday morning program is a formal service, tightly scripted, with honor guards, flags, pipes, drums, guest speaker(s) and several formal presentations of honors. There is a focus on those who have passed in the line of duty, but no less important for the non-line of duty names. They are listed in the Sunday morning program book; names will be read aloud and one toll of the bell.
Field of Flags
There will be a field of flags prepared on the memorial site and a flag may be purchased in honor of, in memory of, or in appreciation of someone up to 4 weeks before the services.
Lodging
If a hotel is needed Saturday night, there are 5 hotels in Kingdom City; Holiday Inn Express, Quality Inn, Amerihost, Days Inn, and Motel 6. Five miles south in Fulton, there is a Baymont Inn and Amerihost. Going 15 miles north to Mexico, MO, there is Country Hearth Inn & Suites, Best Western and Days Inn. 20 miles to the west is Columbia and there are 30+ options unless it is a Mizzou football weekend.
Questions
Individual questions can be sent to info@mofirememorial-museum.org or
call Keith Smith @ 314-709-0760
FFAM
