PHIL CAMPBELL – For the past seven months, residents of the town of Phil Campbell have been working on a memorial park to honor the tornado victims of April 27, 2011, and Saturday the park will be officially dedicated in memory of the 27 friends and neighbors the community lost that day.
The dedication ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. in the park, which is located in the lot next to the Chat ‘n’ Chew.
Phil Campbell Civitan president Bruce Forman, who has served as the organizer of the joint effort between the Civitans and the Phil Campbell Park and Recreation Department, said several speakers have been lined up for the event including Mayor Jerry Mays, Pastor Sammy Taylor, Congressman Robert Aderholt, Sen. Roger Bedford, Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow and Jim Byard, Jr., director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, which has been responsible for long-term recovery efforts across the state.
“We really think this park going to be a great thing for our community,” Forman said. “We’re glad to finally be able to dedicate it and let the community begin to enjoy it.”
Plans for the memorial park first began in September when Rita Barton, director of the Park and Rec Department, came up with the idea.
Barton, who is also involved in the local Civitan organization, took the idea to Forman and the group decided it was a big project but one that was worthy of the organization’s time and energy.
“We really wanted to create this something the town could be proud of,” Forman said. “This will be the place where we will come to remember those we lost that day but it will also be a place for families to come and spend time together, so we wanted to incorporate things that serve both those purposes.”
The completed park will feature a monument honoring the 27 tornado victims, a playground, a fountain and two benches formed from trees downed by the tornado custom-made by Florence craftsman Robin Wade.
“We have had some good people in this town really step up to complete this project and organize the dedication ceremony,” Mayor Jerry Mays said. “This dedication will be such a good thing for this community in terms of moving forward. We will be able to gather together as a community and memorialize those we lost and celebrate their lives and what they meant to this community.”
Forman said after the conclusion of the dedication service, food, drinks and entertainment by Mark Sartin will be provided.
“We hope everyone in the county will come out to this special event to dedicate the park,” Forman said. “We have all come together over the past year and this park will be a place for the town to come together for many years to come.”