KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM/FM) — A few hundred people turned out to Wings Event Center on Monday for the first anniversary remembrance for the victims of the shooting rampage in Kalamazoo and to get the first look at plans to memorialize the eight victims who were shot.
Gov. Rick Snyder sent a taped message and Congressman Fred Upton was on hand to remember the victims and salute the first responders and the police who helped bring a quick conclusion and arrest on that night a year ago.
Sen. Margaret O’Brien, R-Kalamazoo, spoke for elected officials, Mayor Bobby Hopewell represened the city of Kalamazoo, and Kalamazoo County Sheriff Rick Fuller represented law enforcement officers.
Each family got a chance to present eulogies for the victims.
The real news to come out of the event is the announcement of the creation of the Forever Strong Foundation and plans for a memorial complex that would not only include indoor and outdoor soccer facilities and a separate area that would include a memorial walkway.
It takes the form of a deconstructed barn with individual memorial panels for each of the eight shooting victims. Each of the cement panels for Tyler and Richard Smith of Mattawan, Dorothy Brown, Mary Joe Nye, and Barbara Hawthorne of Battle Creek and Mary Lou Nye of Baroda would be impressed with favorite items from their lives.
At the end of the walkway would be the panels for Abigail Kopf and Tiana Carruthers, the two survivors. The area would include a playground, because Carruthers was coming from a playground with children when she was wounded.
There would also be an all-purpose building that could be used for any number of events.
The memorial area would also including blue, red and white lighting representing Police, Fire and EMS personnel, who responded that night.
Laurie Smith, the widow of Tyler and Richard Smith, who sits on the Foundation Board says it’s a multi-year project and they still have a lot of work, fundraising and final decisions to make.
She says the Soccer Fields would the suitable for hosting tournaments, and she thinks the complex should really be something the entire community can use and be proud they helped make happen.
