The Parkland 17 Memorial Foundation, a 501(c)(3) Florida not-for-profit corporation, has announced six finalists to design the official public Memorial to honor the 17 victims who were taken from their families and our community too soon in the February 14, 2018 Parkland school massacre.
These six finalists were selected following a nationwide design competition. More information on these finalists and their proposed designs to honor the victims in perpetuity can be found on the Parkland 17 Memorial Foundation’s website at https://parkland17.org/
Each finalist is preparing a detailed presentation which will be reviewed and evaluated by the Parkland 17 Memorial Foundation board. Portions of the presentations will then be made available later this Spring at https://parkland17.org, where there will be the opportunity for public input through a survey that will be available at that time.
To be notified when the Parkland 17 Memorial Foundation releases the presentations and is seeking public input, please visit https://parkland17.org and click on “register for updates” to submit an email address and zip code.
The six finalists are:
- Gordon Huether, Gordon Huether Studio, Napa, California
- Humanity Memorial Inc., Sutton, West Virginia) with EDSA, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Dills Architects, Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Jessica Lieberman, J Lieberman Designs, Parkland, Florida and Rebecca Bradley, Cadence Landscape Architects, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Stephen D. Oliver, St. Petersburg, Florida with Wannemacher Jensen Architects, Inc., St. Petersburg, Florida
- RiadArchitecture, New York, New York
- VLC One, Inc., Hollywood, Florida
“The families of the victims have been advised of the steps in the design process and also have provided input regarding the creation of the Memorial,” said Tony Montalto, father of Gina Montalto, who is Vice Chairman of the Parkland 17 Memorial Foundation and the liaison to the families. “Since this will be the official public memorial, we will be inviting the public to share their thoughts about the design. Anyone interested in providing input should register to ‘stay updated’ on our website by going to https://parkland17.org and submitting your email address and zip code.”
Additional information about the public input process will be made available via the Foundation’s social media in upcoming months.
Fundraising is underway at https://parkland17.org/donate/
The victims’ families are steadfast in their desire to have a public Memorial built to honor their loved ones taken too soon: Alyssa Alhadeff, Scott Beigel, Martin Duque Anguiano, Nicholas Dworet, Aaron Feis, Jaime Guttenberg, Chris Hixon, Luke Hoyer, Cara Loughran, Gina Montalto, Joaquin Oliver, Alaina Petty, Meadow Pollack, Helena Ramsay, Alex Schachter, Carmen Schentrup and Peter Wang.
“This memorial ensures that the innocent children, husbands, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends, and colleagues taken from this world too soon are remembered forever,” said Foundation Chair Michael Moser, First Responder Representative. “We are asking for the public’s help in the next stages of designing and building this memorial. Donations are being accepted on our website to ensure the project’s success. We know this memorial will inspire the nation and this community and ensure we never forget those who perished so tragically and needlessly.”
Corporations, businesses, foundations and the public can make tax exempt donations to the Memorial at www.Parkland17.org.
Follow @Parkland_17 on Twitter and Parkland 17 Memorial Foundation on Facebook.