06 Dec All I want for Christmas…a little help from you
Few who know me doubt that I am passionate about my love for my hometown, the city in which I was born and have called home for 68 years. I know that we must grow, while maintaining our hometown character and authenticity that sets us apart from other tourist and retirement destinations. Furthermore, I know that even more important than branding we must continue to make our town a culturally enriching place to live. And to do this we must understand the value of our past.
I know I have unabashedly been asking you for weeks on end to sign and circulate a petition supporting the establishment of a Reconstruction Era Monument in Beaufort.
I am doing this because I know that such a designation will help us better understand our unique rich historic and cultural resources. I believe a better understanding of this unwritten period of world history will shed light on current issues in Beaufort and around the globe. I also know that it will drive economic, educational and cultural growth complementing what we have in the Beaufort History Museum, the Santa Helena History Center, the Historic Beaufort Foundation, USCB, TCL and many other institutions that support our authenticity.
And I believe our generation has an obligation to open doors to our history that has never been taught in out schools because it has been left out of our children’s history books.
To make this dream a reality, I’m asking for three things from you this Christmas:
FIRST, Please sign the petition if you haven’t already. We have almost 1200 signatures! Click here!
SECOND, Write a short email letter to Secretary Jewell.
It can be as simple as:
Dear Secretary Jewell:
As an American I believe the Reconstruction Era Monument in Beaufort is important to our community and to the Nation. We salute the Department of the Interior for establishing 30 Civil War Monuments, yet not one has been established to remember Reconstruction. Please do all within your authority to recommend the creation of a multi-site Reconstruction Era Monument in Beaufort,SC between now and the end of your Administration.
Sincerely,
The letter should be sent to
The Honorable Sally Jewell ,
Secretary
US Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W. Washington DC 20240
ATTENTION: Nikki Buffa, Deputy Chief of Staff
And send to Nikki’s email nicole_buffa@ios.doi.gov
Send to billyk@islc.net to add to our endorsement notebook that includes all 100+ letters we have already sent to Interior.
THIRD, I ask for you, your family, friends and neighbors to attend the public meeting with Secretary Jewell or Park Service Director Jarvis if they come to Beaufort. When a date, time and place are selected, I will broadcast the information and I feel certain that the news media will help.
This is all I am asking for over the holidays. Please take the time to help.