Veterans Memorial Park
Welcome to the Veterans Memorial Park in Blanchard, OK page. Stay up-to-date on the status of this incredible project and ways that you can help.
Watch a story by the OKC Channel 9 CBS affiliate TV station on November 20th:
https://www.news9.com/story/655b5643fc06aa06597c4a81/inflation-puts-paus...
Watch another prime time story by the OKC Channel 5 ABC affiliate TV station on December 14th:
https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-blanchard-veterans-memorial-help-d...
Watch another prime time story on OKC Channel 25 FOX affilite TV station on December 17th and 18th:
https://okcfox.com/news/local/inflation-and-material-shortages-delay-con...
You may contact any of the committee members to make a donation, order an "Honor Brick," purchase a "Sponsor Panel," or offer an "In-Kind" donation. You are also welcome to drop by City Hall, Monday thru Friday, during normal business hours. The office is located at 2008 N Council Rd (OK Hwy 76 North) or call them at 405-485-9392.
The Veterans Memorial Park in Blanchard will be distinctly different from most memorials you have ever seen. The memorial wall will be made of a special laser-etched translucent glass with built-in LED lighting. There will be an eternal flame on top of the military wall and a water fountain in front of the military wall. Each branch of our military services will be honored with an individual glass panel and flag pole above it.
Located around the perimeter of the memorial courtyard will be four pentagon-shaped pillars. Three of these pillars are reserved for veterans only. They will be personalized 4" x 8" laser etched glass Honor Bricks. Inside the pillars will be LED lighting to enhance the beauty of the memorial at night. We encourage anyone to purchase an "Honor Brick" for any relative, friend, or whomever that is a Veteran. You are encouraged to honor any veteran in the Memorial, no matter where they live.
The fourth pentagon pillar will be reserved to recognize all sponsors. Any corporation, business, and individual, who wish to sponsor this Memorial, will have a permanent sponsor panel here. This allows anyone to be a part of the Memorial by permanently recognizing their business or an individual as an underwriter of this project. Panel prices range from $500.00 to $5,000.00 with display panel sizes ranging from 4"x8" to 16"x20". The buyer will be asked to submit artwork, a logo, photo, text, graphic, whatever is desired, to be laser etched onto their permanent sponsor panel. You can even recognize a civilian for their service to the DOD, or an organization, even an individual for their service to an organization or the community.
Also, in the Sponsor Pillar, there will be a Gold, Silver and Bronze Donor Panel to recognize any business or individual who make a cash gift of $250 or more, toward the construction of this memorial.
All donations, purchases, sponsorships, and "In-Kind" gifts are "tax-deductible" as permitted by the IRS.
Committee Members
- Michael Scalf Sr - Chairman - Mayor - Ward 2 (405-815-7806)
- Eddie Odle - Former Mayor - (806-535-9024)
- Jeff Heefner - BETA Trustee - (918-409-9044)
- Gary Hoffman - American Legion Post #261 Honor Guard Commander (405-301-9091)
- Larry Mullin - VFW Post #3608 Past Commander - (405-551-0208)
This Veterans Memorial will be only the second of its design style in the entire United States! What an incredible honor to our military as well as an iconic attraction that will draw countless visitors to Blanchard to visit and experience this Veterans Memorial!
This is a photo of the Veterans Memorial in Kentucky that inspired the design of our new Veterans Memorial Park in Blanchard. Our Military Honor Wall will be similar. An incredible addition to our Memorial will be the Honor Brick Pillars and the Sponsor Pillar. They are designed using the same material as the wall and having internal LED lighting for greater impact at night.
This is a photo, taken at dusk, of the Veterans Memorial in Kentucky that inspired the design of our new Veterans Memorial Park in Blanchard. This will be an iconic design located right here in Blanchard!
This thermometer shows the progress of cash and "In-Kind" donations actually received to date, to fund the construction of this incredible Veterans Memorial. This project is being fully funded from private funds. The city cannot use any tax payer money on such a project. The original project estimate in March of 2020 was $268,000.00. In December 2022, the architect recommended that the committee approve a 15% increase to the project's overall budget to cover inflation. Then again in September 2023, due to the skyrocketing costs of material and labor, the committee had to raise the fund raising goal an additional 31% more to $402,000.00! Currently, the rescheduled dedication ceremony date has been moved to May 30, 2024.
