City Administrator Thanks Those Involved In Table Donation, Installation
Date:
01/25/2012Summary:
Noting the City's longstanding ties to the U.S. military, Yuma City Administrator Greg Wilkinson thanked those responsible for donating, etching and installing several granite tables that now reside in various locations in Yuma City HallContact:
Yuma, Ariz. - Noting the City's longstanding ties to the U.S. military, Yuma City Administrator Greg Wilkinson thanked those responsible for donating, etching and installing several granite tables that now reside in various locations in Yuma City Hall at a dedication ceremony Wednesday morning.
"It's a big thing for our community to have this here in City Hall so when people come visit from around the continent they know and understand our ties to the military," said City Administrator Greg Wilkinson to nearly two dozen attendees.
Command Sgt. Maj. Forbes Daniels of Yuma Proving Ground checks out the etching.
Representatives from Yuma Proving Ground and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma were on hand for the ceremony, along with City Facilities staff members who installed the tables, and representatives from the Palms RV Resort, who found themselves with leftover granite material following construction of the facility in 2010 and came up with the idea of donating it to the City.
"The tops are hand-polished, not machine-polished, which gives them a very fine finish," said Mac McCann of the Palms RV Resort. The tabletops weigh approximately 500 pounds each, he said.
"Not only are these going to supply us with a living monument for many years in the future that signifies our ties to all the military organizations around here, but it provides an area where employees and citizens can come in here, have lunch and look at what we have," Wilkinson added, noting that the tables fit in thematically with the City of Yuma historic airplane that will be hung in the lobby of City Hall in the near future.
That plane's mission was to demonstrate the ideal flying weather in Yuma in order to spur more government military investment in the Yuma area, which evolved into YPG and MCAS Yuma.
Of the six outdoor tables located in the atrium of City Hall, five are etched with a logo representing a branch of the U.S. armed forces. The sixth is etched with the POW/MIA logo.
Six tables sit outdoors.
"Sgt. Maj. (Art) Nottingham was really key in making sure we did an extra etching to recognize those military members that were prisoners of war, or missing, or especially those who came back and we never learned what happened to them," Wilkinson said.
The tables located in the courtyard atrium may be used for employees or visitors to eat their lunch or snack.
In addition to the outdoor tables, three tables etched with the City of Yuma logo have been installed indoors in City Hall. Two of those are located on the third floor, where they will serve as tables in the waiting area between City Administration and the Mayor and Council's Office, and in the waiting area for the City Attorney's Office. One table is located on the first floor, in a customer waiting area between Human Resources and Parks and Recreation.
As all parts and labor were donations, there was no additional expense to the City for acceptance of these gifts from the community, Wilkinson noted.
The Yuma City Council accepted the donation of the granite in a motion on Dec. 15, 2010.
"This is obviously a monument that is going to live on, for 50 years and many more," Wilkinson said.
One table is dedicated POW/MIAs.
