Haverhill’s Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Ad Hoc Commission is gearing up for a big visitor to Mill Brook Park this Friday: State secretary Francisco A. Urena.
The secretary of the Department of Veterans’ Services, Urena is in town to meet with the commission and evaluate the city’s plans to update Mill Brook Park, the new home of Haverhill’s Vietnam War Memorial.
According to Commission Chair Ralph Basiliere—who guest hosted this week’s WHAV Open Mic Show with Bill Macek—Urena will stop by Friday morning in an effort to drum up state support for the project, currently in the fundraising phase.
“It’s in a really good spot. You’ve got a lot of traffic and it’s at the entrance to Plug Pond. Everyone’s going to see it. Just what’s been done so far, when I drive by, it just catches your eye,” Macek has said of the memorial’s new space, moved from the foot of the Basiliere Bridge last fall. “It’s not just that bland old triangular park we’re used to. It’s become something special.”
Local businesses including Cutting Edge Landscaping and Atwood Memorials are among the groups providing in-kind services for the upkeep of the grounds, Basiliere said.
Online donations will be accepted in the coming months, and checks are currently accepted via mail to the attention of the Treasurer’s Office at City Hall, 4 Summer St., Haverhill, MA 01830. Please indicate funds are for the Vietnam Commission in the memo line.
For more from this week’s Open Mic Show, check out the video below!