I have never been involved in a fund drive before and I had no idea on what type of response to expect. I knew that people expressed their support for the pavilion but their support so far has not translated into economic support.

There are a few questions that should be answered for those who have not yet donated. First of all, your donation will be tax deductible. Secondly, you can also make a donation to the Community Action Fund in person at the Alpha Community Bank rather than sending a check. Also, if it ever happened that the pavilion will not be built, your donation will be returned.

For those who wish to make a $500 or $1000 pledge, you can have any name you wish on the plaque. You can have the plaque named in memory of one or more loved ones. The names will be listed on a common plaque rather than an individual brick. The interior walls of the pavilion will be concrete block. A bronze wall plaque will be hung on the wall with the names of the donors. The plaque will be of the best possible quality and will stand the test of time.

So far about 50 people have donated towards the pavilion. I might add that Mayor Mark Spencer has donated money to the pavilion. So we know that he is supporting the project. We also have had some big donations as well. A couple of $1000 donations as well as several $500 donations. So far we have had only two donations from businesses. One is a sizable donation from Casey's and a large donation from V. P.Circle. We are certainly grateful for these donations since Casey's is not locally owned and V. P.Circle has not even started its business yet in Minonk. They are the firm that bought the Brackney building and will be starting business there in July.

One statistic that really strikes me is that almost half of the donations so far have come from former Minonk residents who reside elsewhere. Obviously, this means that a lot of former residents of Minonk still have fond memories of their hometown and believe in its future.

Many people have donated their time and their money to get this pavilion built. We hope that the citizens of Minonk realize the opportunity they have to help build something that this city really needs. A place for family or class reunions, picnics, music concerts, etc. If you wish to participate in any of these activities in the future, consider your donation to be your ticket and your right to utilize this pavilion after it is built.

Most of all, it must be remembered that we are not donating money just to provide something for ourselves. We are also donating so that we can restore a war memorial to its rightful place and preserve the memory of those who fought our wars.