Paving past a goal; Veterans memorial hits goal by selling 1,056th paver
Published 10:07 am Thursday, July 16, 2015
Norm Hecimovich stands at the center of the Veterans Memorial Wednesday. The Veterans Memorial Committee, which Hecimovich is part of, just announced that it had reached its phase 1 goal for pavers at the memorial. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
After many years of discussion and work, Mower County veterans hit a major goal this week.
The Mower County Veterans Memorial Committee sold its 1,056 pavers for the memorial on the lawn of the Mower County Government Center, 201 First St. NE, to complete the first phase of the project.
Pavers at the Mower County Veterans Memorial.
“I’m so proud. I’m proud of everybody,” said Norm Hecimovich, president of the Veterans Memorial Committee and an active Austin veteran.
The Veterans Memorial started in the early 1990s with a memorial wall that honors all the Mower County veterans who lost their lives in U.S. wars.
But Hecimovich and others wanted something to honor all veterans, including those who served and returned home.
That’s why the veterans got to work on the paver project. Initially, Hecimovich thought 1,056 was a big — if not impossible — goal to reach.
“I honestly believed it was going to be an impossible task,” he said.
Hecimovich said many people had a “show me” attitude and didn’t want to get involved until they knew it was going to work. The group started slow — Hecimovich bought the first two pavers to get the project underway, and the first pavers were installed in 2010. Yet Hecimovich said he and others took a “failure isn’t an option” approach to the memorial.
“We started out and we started out small,” Hecimovich said.
The pavers recognize veterans dating back to the Civil War. The veterans don’t have to be from Mower County, as many people have bought pavers to recognize a relative’s service.
The 1,056th paver sold to Austin Area Foundation Executive Director Jeff Baldus, who bought the paver for his father, Jiles A. Baldus.
For many years, Baldus pondered buying a paver for his father, who served in the Korean War and was at the Austin National Guard Armory for several years.
“I’ve been going back and forth, and I just finally decided to pull the trigger and make it happen,” Baldus said.
Jeff Baldus
The foundation is the fiscal agent for the memorial, but Baldus said he wasn’t gunning for the milestone paver. When Baldus heard AAF Chairman Mike Ruzek talk about the paver project nearing its goal, it was enough to get him to finally buy one.
“I’d been procrastinating, so I was like, ‘l’ll take it,’” Baldus said.
The project isn’t ending at 1,056. In fact, a woman already called to inquire about paver 1,057.
“We certainly want it to continue and we want it to look good and be the pride of Mower County and Austin,” Hecimovich said.
Plans are in the works for where to expand the pavers, and Hecimovich is already hoping for more.
“We will never sell out as long as there’s a veteran alive or dead,” Hecimovich said.
Currently, about 1,014 pavers are displayed at the memorial, and Hecimovich hopes for all 1,056 — or however many have sold — to be on display for Patriot Day on Sept. 11, when he expects to hold a special ceremony thanking everyone for participating.
To people like Hecimovich, the project shows Austin’s dedication to veterans. At $300 a paver, 1,000 pavers represents a $316,800 investment from the community.
“It’s quite a success story,” Hecimovich said. “We continue … to try and make Austin better, and we just want to make sure that when people come visit Austin that we’re patriotic and we do the best for Austin too.”
