$5K donation gets bronze statue of soldier closer to reality
Provided photo: Pictured from left includes: Lt. Col. Richard Glass, of Company C; Cathy Fox, secretary for Company F; Carl Petronio, Company C; Bob Weet, Company C; and Bill Menz, chairman of Company F Memorial. Glass, Petronio, Menz and Weet are alumni of Company C 174th Armored Infantry during the Cold War Era.
MEDINA – The push to have a bronze statue of a soldier mounted on a memorial by the former Medina Armory received a boost when Carl Petronio, a founding partner of Allied Builders in Brockport, recently donated $5,000 towards the project. Petronio also gave $1,000 at the beginning of the fund-raising campaign. He is the largest donor to date for the statue.
A group in Medina has been raising funds for a bronze statue. The Company F Memorial Committee now has raised $37,000 for a 7-foot-high statue of a soldier that will go on top of an existing stone base that is 6 feet, 10 inches in height.
In October 2008, the stone monument was dedicated with plaques listing soldiers who trained at the Medina Armory and fought wars on behalf of the United States.
The new fund-raising campaign includes repair two of the panels that were damaged due to vandalism, and making some name corrections and additions, said Bill Menz, the committee chairman. A new 30-foot-high flag pole will also be included.
Menz said the memorial efforts will cost about $65,000. Once the group can reach $43,000 in fund-raising, Menz said an anonymous donor will give $10,000, bringing the total to $53,000. At that point, the committee will sign a contract with artist Brian Porter, who will create the bronze statue,
If the committee can raise $6,000 this month, it will be possible to have the state in place in October 2017, the 100th anniversary of Company F’s service in World War I.
Menz welcomes donations for the project. Friends and supporters can send tax deductible contributions with the checks made out to the Medina Sandstone Society/care of Company F Memorial Fund, PO Box 522, Medina, NY 14103. Click here for more information.
