Photo courtesy of BrightView
Team members from BrightView and Forest Lake Estates were joined by more than 600 Forest Lake community members, including 75 veterans and first responders, to dedicate a new memorial park. The project was recently completed after months of planning and construction.
Management at Forest Lake Estates in Zephyrhills, Florida, reserved a scenic lakeside location for the park. BrightView donated the design, irrigation, hardscape installation and landscape installation in the middle of the housing community and coordinated efforts with local and national vendors to receive all materials at no cost.
“This all began when we were asked to relocate some flag poles and it has snowballed into an amazing project,” said Keith Wilson, vice president and regional sales leader at BrightView. “There are a lot of service members and first responders in Forest Lake Estates and the Zephyrhills area and our team is proud to give back to those who served.”
The park features a flag representing each branch of the military, paver walks, a memorial wall, a commemorative plaque, new landscaping and a first responders’ fire pit area.
The memorial was officially opened during a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony on Veteran’s Day weekend. Guests included Zephyrhills Mayor Gene Whitfield, retired U.S. Air Force Gen. David Scott, Deputy Fire Chief Andrew Fossa, Pasco County Sheriff Tait Sanborn and leaders from both BrightView and Forest Lake Estates.
The park will serve as a remembrance to honor the many veterans and first responders who reside in the Forest Lake Estates community and beyond. Residents of the community will be able to purchase and dedicate bricks on the walkway and memorial wall with proceeds going toward maintaining the park.
“We worked to create a beautiful park and memorial that will only become better with time,” Wilson said. “Witnessing how our team, the Forest Lake team, and other partners all rallied to bring this vision to life was really something special.”
The memorial park at Forest Lake Estates is one of several projects BrightView teams across the country have completed to give back to U.S. heroes. See some other projects BrightView has worked on here.
