Mike Bailey of Bay to Bay Construction and his crew taking down the forms that held the 35,000 pounds of concrete

.Mike Bailey taking down last form.  Central Testing Labs verified the strength of the concrete before the forms could be removed.

Slot in concrete to hold LED lighting.  This will illuminate engraved panels at night 

Pilcher Berdoff, Construction Superintendant watches as Mike Bailey and his Bay to Bay Company employees spread the concrete coming out of the hose and then vibrating the concrete to eliminate bubbles and make sure that the concrete gets in all the areas.

Cement truck loading concrete into pumping machine.  Concrete is pumped in a hose to the top of the Memorial wall.  There was 10 yards of concrete put on  top of the wall.  Inside the concrete is all the electrical conduit for the lights and the security cameras.  Of course there is also rebar and wire mesh to hold it all together

Framed area that will hold up the roof over the touch screen computer area

Scott Bailey putting the final touches on the framing that will hold the concrete that will be poured on April 10

NOW THAT THE WALLS ARE UP WE WILL COVER THE WALLS WITH PLASTIC TO PROTECT THE ENGRAVING. WE WILL THEN BEGIN FRAMING THE TOP TO HOLD THE ELECTRICAL WIRES TO POWER THE LIGHTING AND SECURITY CAMERAS. ONCE ALL THE ELECTRICAL IS IN PLACE WE WILL BE POURING CEMENT TO TIE EVERYTHING TOGETHER.

This is a picture of the Lectern which will honor the three Medal of Honor recipients from Lake and Marion Counties.

Flags are flying but there are problems....it seems we will have to trim some branches off the trees because the flags are touching some of them. However we will be ready for the dedication ceremonies of the flag pole and flags on March 30 at 3:30. See you there!

Boy Scout Austin Rumbley "supervising" the installation of the Flag Pole he purchased with donations to fulfill his requirements to be come and Eagle Scout.

Roger Britts of The Flag Shop, in the blue shirt, is shown with the City of Leesburg Electrical crew placing the pole into the receiver.
It is then leveled and wedges inserted to keep the pole in place until the special sand can be placed in the hole. The wedges are then removed and a cover is placed to seal the top of the container

Ready to set the pole into the specially build receptacle

City of Leesburg electrical crew raising the 35' flag pole for insertion in the concrete base. Note the "ring" around the Memorial is now formed and ready for concrete.

Pumping concrete to form the roof on the Utility Building and filling the concrete block. This is where you want to be to ride out the next Hurricane.

Concrete core samples that will be tested to make sure the concrete meets the test specifications of 3000 PSI. This is required because of the weight of the granite and wind loading.

PRO MASONRY INC. owner Bobby Sanders and his helper Wayne England putting up the concrete block for  the utility building that will house the electrical and mechanical equipment

Mike and Scott Bailey and Bill Rector and Don Van Beck in background.

Mike and Scott Bailey pouring cement for Utility Building.  In the back ground is Pilcher Burdof, Construction Superintendent and Bill Rector, Director of Construction of the Memorial staff.

Robert McKinley and Manny Ramas technicians with Electric Services Inc.  installing conduit for lighting the memorial before the concrete pour.

Mike and Scott Bailey Pouring Concrete into Memorial Forms Bill Rector and Don Van Beck in back ground.

Footings for lectern and granite bench.

Flag form footing in foreground and memorial footings in back. Work done by Mike Bailey and Company.

Mike and Scott Bailey of Bailey Construction are putting up the forms for the Memorial foundation.

Forms for the Memorial with the new "Rails & Trails" project in the background.

Logan Sitework Contractors dug the dirt out of the 60' base circle and is replacing it with aggregate and then it will be compacted.

VIPs who attended the start of construction.

Austin Rumbley, Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Rumbley and Jay Evans, Leesburg City Manager. Austin Rumbley is a Boy Scout and he has made procuring a flag pole for the monument as part of his Eagle Scout requirement.