Things are Happenin' in Sparta!
Things are happenin’ in Sparta. After a successful visit from Santa by the Marquette Railroad Train, a great Business Expo and this summer’s Town and Country Days with our greatest ever attended Concerts in the Park, we were looking at a pretty good string of popular projects. We have a new program that financially assists business owners within the DDA District in beautifying their store fronts. Many have taken advantage of this program and I have to say that the efforts of those businesses are paying off as storefronts are sprucing up! Incredibly, when you stand back to realize, the Village of Sparta has welcomed 9 new businesses that opened this past year, giving Sparta residents other shopping options allowing them to shop locally, stay in town, and save time and gas.
A COMMUNITY IS MOVED
Our latest endeavor was the visit by the Viet Nam Moving Wall Memorial. This
project not only gave Sparta area residents a rare chance to see the memorial, which travels all around the country, but also brought in visitors from all over West Michigan to pay their respects and give long overdue honor to those who fought in the Viet Nam War.
The original idea of hosting the site for the Moving Wall was hatched after viewing ‘The Wall’ in White Cloud last summer. A hard working committee was formed and proceeded to take the next 9 months to put together a well thought out program. Amazingly, a 50 plus member choir formed specifically for The Wall, and the performance sounded so sweet that the Village President for Kent City, John Petruska, asked about having them come there for one of their functions. I can see it now; soon they will be signing autographs.
John and Lisa Grey from White Pine, Michigan, drivers for The Moving Wall delivered The Wall to Sparta, with a 300 plus motorcycle escort which had folks lining the streets to see the 3 mile long parade of bikes. After all the motorcycle volunteers arrived at Balyeat Field, most of the bikers joined in to help set up panels of The Wall. Watching hundreds of bikers strip off their leather jackets and vests so as not to scratch the panels of the wall, and stand in a line to carry the panels to the platform was an awe inspiring site. Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped escort and set up The Wall on August 21, 2008. John and Lisa have traveled all over the country and said that our Escort and Opening Ceremony were among the best they had seen, and the community spirit and support was second to none, another reason I am so pleased to live in Sparta.
The Opening Ceremony itself was quite an affair. Dignitaries and special speakers, one of which could be our next Governor, lined Rogers Park Bandshell to pay tribute to the men and women who served their country in Vietnam. The ceremony began and ended with the Kent County Sheriffs Department Honor Guard with a display of flags that reminded us why they are considered the best around. Just before they marched out, the Kent County Veterans Honor Guard did a 3 volley 21 gun salute and then played “Taps”. Hundreds of people followed the Memorial Pathway to Balyeat Field for the placing of a wreath by the Boy Scouts. When the West Michigan Pipes and Drums changed their tune to Amazing Grace on the bagpipes, the emotion and awe was visible in every person present, at finally seeing the 252 ft Wall that carried the names of over 58,000 American Soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Vietnam War.
Probably the most important thing that could be noticed though, was the outpouring of the community at large. Everyone seemed interested in the success of this memorial and showed it by committing their time, skills, goods, services and finances to the success of hosting the memorial in our community. There never was a time when there wasn’t enough personnel to man the stations or share the work load. Volunteers stayed past the ends of their shifts and came early to begin their shifts. Community members made dozens of cookies and snacks to keep the volunteers fed. There was even enough food donated for the volunteers, that at the end of the Closing Ceremony we had snacks for everyone there who wanted them!
It was an emotional four days. It was incredibly humbling to see families gather at the wall, pointing at one particular name, lying mementos and flowers for their fallen soldier. It was wonderful, to see parents teaching their children the importance of freedom and respect for our solders. And, it was very uplifting to see community members, businesses, and organizations, pull together to be the host of a memorial of this magnitude. If you'd like to post something to the online guestbook, please visit here: http://www.spartachamber.com/movingwall/movingwall_guestbook.html
WHAT IS NEXT ?
So what is in the future for Sparta? The best word I can think of is “much” and more coming after that. Fall is arriving fast and with it, Halloween, and we are planning a Halloween Costume Party on Oct 18; back up one week to the 11th and we are having our Daffodil Hill thrill, a project to put a little more color in Roger’s Park. The Chamber of Commerce and the DDA, are still working to help keep our businesses growing and also to attract new businesses, and whatever they are doing seems to be working quite well. We have a new waste water treatment plant ready to be built giving us room to grow and insuring that whenever we pull the lever, the bad stuff goes away, and goes safely.
In overview, I think we can know that as we work together as a community, we can accomplish much. As Councilperson Bill Taylor stated during the Moving Wall weekend describe our community, and to me it seemed extremely fitting: “Expect great things when you unleash the talent of a community.”
The Sparta community is vibrant and growing and we are always trying to find more things to do right here in our neighborhood. I encourage all to attend as many of these functions as you can, meet your neighbors, shop locally and if you can think of something we haven’t, let us know. With all of us working together, we will continue to make the Village of Sparta what a neighborhood should be.
Sincerely,
Skip Meyer
Village President
A COMMUNITY IS MOVED
Our latest endeavor was the visit by the Viet Nam Moving Wall Memorial. This
project not only gave Sparta area residents a rare chance to see the memorial, which travels all around the country, but also brought in visitors from all over West Michigan to pay their respects and give long overdue honor to those who fought in the Viet Nam War.The original idea of hosting the site for the Moving Wall was hatched after viewing ‘The Wall’ in White Cloud last summer. A hard working committee was formed and proceeded to take the next 9 months to put together a well thought out program. Amazingly, a 50 plus member choir formed specifically for The Wall, and the performance sounded so sweet that the Village President for Kent City, John Petruska, asked about having them come there for one of their functions. I can see it now; soon they will be signing autographs.
John and Lisa Grey from White Pine, Michigan, drivers for The Moving Wall delivered The Wall to Sparta, with a 300 plus motorcycle escort which had folks lining the streets to see the 3 mile long parade of bikes. After all the motorcycle volunteers arrived at Balyeat Field, most of the bikers joined in to help set up panels of The Wall. Watching hundreds of bikers strip off their leather jackets and vests so as not to scratch the panels of the wall, and stand in a line to carry the panels to the platform was an awe inspiring site. Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped escort and set up The Wall on August 21, 2008. John and Lisa have traveled all over the country and said that our Escort and Opening Ceremony were among the best they had seen, and the community spirit and support was second to none, another reason I am so pleased to live in Sparta.
The Opening Ceremony itself was quite an affair. Dignitaries and special speakers, one of which could be our next Governor, lined Rogers Park Bandshell to pay tribute to the men and women who served their country in Vietnam. The ceremony began and ended with the Kent County Sheriffs Department Honor Guard with a display of flags that reminded us why they are considered the best around. Just before they marched out, the Kent County Veterans Honor Guard did a 3 volley 21 gun salute and then played “Taps”. Hundreds of people followed the Memorial Pathway to Balyeat Field for the placing of a wreath by the Boy Scouts. When the West Michigan Pipes and Drums changed their tune to Amazing Grace on the bagpipes, the emotion and awe was visible in every person present, at finally seeing the 252 ft Wall that carried the names of over 58,000 American Soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Vietnam War.Probably the most important thing that could be noticed though, was the outpouring of the community at large. Everyone seemed interested in the success of this memorial and showed it by committing their time, skills, goods, services and finances to the success of hosting the memorial in our community. There never was a time when there wasn’t enough personnel to man the stations or share the work load. Volunteers stayed past the ends of their shifts and came early to begin their shifts. Community members made dozens of cookies and snacks to keep the volunteers fed. There was even enough food donated for the volunteers, that at the end of the Closing Ceremony we had snacks for everyone there who wanted them!
It was an emotional four days. It was incredibly humbling to see families gather at the wall, pointing at one particular name, lying mementos and flowers for their fallen soldier. It was wonderful, to see parents teaching their children the importance of freedom and respect for our solders. And, it was very uplifting to see community members, businesses, and organizations, pull together to be the host of a memorial of this magnitude. If you'd like to post something to the online guestbook, please visit here: http://www.spartachamber.com/movingwall/movingwall_guestbook.html
WHAT IS NEXT ?
So what is in the future for Sparta? The best word I can think of is “much” and more coming after that. Fall is arriving fast and with it, Halloween, and we are planning a Halloween Costume Party on Oct 18; back up one week to the 11th and we are having our Daffodil Hill thrill, a project to put a little more color in Roger’s Park. The Chamber of Commerce and the DDA, are still working to help keep our businesses growing and also to attract new businesses, and whatever they are doing seems to be working quite well. We have a new waste water treatment plant ready to be built giving us room to grow and insuring that whenever we pull the lever, the bad stuff goes away, and goes safely.
In overview, I think we can know that as we work together as a community, we can accomplish much. As Councilperson Bill Taylor stated during the Moving Wall weekend describe our community, and to me it seemed extremely fitting: “Expect great things when you unleash the talent of a community.”
The Sparta community is vibrant and growing and we are always trying to find more things to do right here in our neighborhood. I encourage all to attend as many of these functions as you can, meet your neighbors, shop locally and if you can think of something we haven’t, let us know. With all of us working together, we will continue to make the Village of Sparta what a neighborhood should be.
Sincerely,
Skip Meyer
Village President
Labels: moving wall, Skip Meyer, Sparta, Village President
posted by Sparta Chamber of Commerce at
3:33 PM
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