Friends of Gary Thomas have identified a need for benches strategically placed at viewpoints around Kachemak Bay as a way to increase enjoyment of this beautiful place for both residents and visitors, as well as to honor Gary's many contributions to the community. We see the benches as being places where people can rest and enjoy the view while remembering what's most important in life. We know time spent outdoors in wild, beautiful places is good both for our physical and mental well-being (hence, peace building, conflict resolution, disease prevention and treatment). We also know that things that help people enjoy the outdoors (benches, for example) make a community a more desirable to live and do business (hence, community economic development). Rotarians will be involved by working with the city to choose the most strategic places for the benches, by installing the benches and by maintaining the benches. Each bench will be marked with the Rotary logo and a small plaque saying something like: "In memory of Gary Thomas, an extraordinary Rotarian and community member: April 11, 1951-Jan. 14, 2020." Our club and community continue to grieve Gary's unexpected death and we believe this will help the healing process. Gary was Homer's longest serving volunteer firefighter/EMT and supervised our club's health fair - and so much more. The project funds will be used to purchase the benches and for any costs incurred to install them. The timeline is to identify spots this summer and order benches and install as soon as feasible, which might not be until next spring/summer.
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