The efforts of a local Iraq war veteran to create something special to honor the memory of our nation’s fallen soldiers will be on display today in Springfield, as a student driven art memorial project will be officially dedicated today on the campus of Clark State Community College.
Clark State student Scott Cody is an Iraq war veteran. Last year, he brought the idea of an art memorial to the school's President Jo Alice Blondin, as a way to help veterans on campus feel embraced by the college community. She thought it would be a great gift to veterans on and off campus.
"I mean I'm getting emotional just talking about it. It's one of the most incredible experiences that I have ever been a part of, and I think that Scott is just so devoted to the cause of veterans and students," Blondin said. "That I have a feeling that this is not the first or the last that we will hear about all of the good work he's doing on behalf of veterans and students."
Cody wanted the original design for the project to come from Clark State students, and more than 50 submissions were received. Four students were selected by judges Ann Fortescue, executive director of the Springfield Museum of Art, and Mike Major, a sculptor and artist from Urbana.
The Clark State Foundation helped students raise nearly $50,000 to have the art memorial completed and installed. Today's dedication ceremony will start at 3 p.m. at the school's Leffel Lane Campus.