While preliminary construction continues at the Warren County Tribute to Veterans Memorial in Warrenton, fundraising to support the project goes on too. 

People can donate money and attend fundraising events that benefit the project. They can purchase pavers to personalize and add to the walkway at the memorial. Starting Dec. 11, people can be a part of the memorial by purchasing a gray granite bench. There are seven available and they will be placed around the memorial. 

Donations pay for materials, construction and maintenance of the memorial, which is located beside Denny’s at the intersection of Veterans Memorial Parkway and North Market Street. 

When complete, the memorial will have statues of a Gold Star family, a granite wall etched with the names of fallen soldiers who had lived in Warren County, flags and other features. 

From conception to now, progress has been slow, but work is evident at the site. 

“The underground utilities are in, excavating is done, and we’ll be starting on the parking lot soon,” said Bill Survant, vice president of the Tribute to Veterans Memorial.

Survant said there will be a winter break and then work will resume in the spring. 

The group hoped to sell 1,500 engraved pavers, Survant said. Paver buyers select a message to engrave on a paver. Pavers are 4 by 8 inches and cost $150. 

So far, Survant said, about 600 have been sold. 

“We have a lot of pavers to sell, and we need to get the order in to the manufacturer so they’ll be ready by (the expected installation date),” Survant said. “Of course we’d love to sell all 1,500 pavers to help pay for the memorial.” 

Individuals, businesses and organizations are buying pavers. Schools are too. In honor of Veterans Day, Daniel Boone Elementary purchased its second paver using $150 in loose change collected by students during a penny drive. Principal Dr. Stacie Goldsmith and fourth-grade student Ariana Woodward presented a commemorative check to Tribute to Veterans Memorial volunteers during the school’s Veterans Day assembly Nov. 10.

For those looking for something different, the gray granite benches are unique and limited, Survant said. 

“The benches were always part of the memorial,” Survant said. “They are special, so if someone wanted to do something more special than a paver, they could do a bench.” 

Seven benches are available. Each one costs $5,000 and represents a branch of the United States military — Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Merchant Marines and Navy — plus one more to represent prisoners of war (POWs) and those missing in action (MIAs). 

Benches are about 3 feet high and 48 inches long. They will be placed around the memorial. Bench buyers will receive an 8-by-8-inch paver for them to customize. Those pavers will be placed under the benches. 

Survant said companies, organizations, families and other groups could have an added interest in purchasing a bench. He added that if more than one application comes in for any one bench, there will be a drawing to determine ownership. 

The next fundraising event for the group is a pasta dinner auction Saturday, Jan. 20, at Decades of Love banquet center at the Shoppes at Warrenton mall (formerly the Warrenton Outlet Mall). Doors open at 5 p.m. and dinner is at 6 p.m. 

The Tribute to Veterans Memorial is a nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible. 

For more information, call 636-297-0480 or visit www.tributetoveteransmemorial.org/.