Rotary Centennial Project
By Sam Atkins
Published in News on April 23, 2004 2:07 PM
Two memorials at Wayne Community College are now even more distinctive thanks to Goldsboro Rotary Club members.
The Wayne County Emergency Services Memorial bears the names of fire, rescue and law enforcement personnel from Wayne County who gave their lives in the line of duty. It is near a veterans' memorial on the northern side of the campus.
A memorial garden with various flowers and trees planted by the club now encloses the two memorials. It helps draw more attention to the area, said John Peacock, Rotary member.
About 20 Rotarians participated in the project and spent several hours on three Saturdays constructing the garden. Every Rotary Club in the United States had been asked to develop a centennial project. The Goldsboro club decided the garden was a fitting way to continue to pay tribute to the many heroes recognized on the memorials.
Rotarians met with Wayne Community College officials and then with Landscape Design of Goldsboro Inc., which provided a sketch of the project. The sketch was taken back to the college officials, and it was approved.
The process began with cutting the beds and planting oak trees at three of the main corners. Landscape Design helped plant the larger trees and shrubs. Peacock said the oaks tie in well with the other oaks already on campus. The garden also has red maples, gardenias and azaleas. The last step was placing mulch over the beds.
Rotarians spent about 60 hours on the project, including gathering ideas for the garden during the Rotary meetings and doing the construction, said Peacock.
The club plans to place a plaque with a Rotary emblem on a stone designating it as a memorial garden. Peacock hopes that others will add things to the area in the future.
"As it matures, it will look very impressive," said Peacock.