The revamping of the outside living memorial and a new indoor memorial plaque serves as a reminder to the importance of paying attention in a work zone. Families of the nine employees who lost their lives while in service to MoDOT, along with the media and Northeast District employees, participated in a ceremony rededicating the memorial area. Although the outdoor memorial had been in existence for 16 years, the blue spruce tree that had been planted in 1990 had begun to overshadow the memorial rock listing names of those who had lost their lives while serving MoDOT.  An employee committee was formed to recreate the area to include a poem written by a NE District employee (below), landscaping and a bench, as well as an indoor plaque. Family members in attendance were given a Missouri state flag in honorarium of their loved one, and a reception was held following the ceremony.

Special thanks goes to the Transportation Employees Association of Missouri (TEAM) Northeast District members who help fund improvements to the memorial area.

In Silent Tribute

A simple stone of granite

Stands on a hillside green,

A constant reminder to those who pass by

Of those no longer seen.

A solitary spruce was planted here

To flourish and to grow,

And stretch its protective limbs

Toward the names the stone doth show.

Gone, yet not forgotten

A living tribute to those lost.

To remind us of the price they paid

And exactly what it cost.

For each life touches many others

In the course of every day,

And no one is left unchanged

By What we do or say.

And so the way they touched our lives

Will never be forgot,

And they will often be remembered

As we daily pass this spot.

A simple stone of granite

To last eternally,

Now stands silently in tribute

In the shadow of the tree.

Bucky Ward, MoDOT retiree, presents Maureen Mayer, wife of Bob Mayer (2006), the Missouri state flag.

Jim O'Bryan, MoDOT retiree, presents Rita Lindsay, daughter of Donna Lindsay (1988) a Missouri flag in Donna's memory.

Todd Roth, Debbie Malone, and Darrel Britt stand between the poem and the blue spruce tree in the memorial area.  They were members of the committee who recreated the area and assisted with the ceremony.

Families of those who lost their lives while serving MoDOT stand in the new memorial area and read the names on the rock.

Judy Couch, sister of Danny Leake (1971), accepts the Missouri state flag from MoDOT employee Todd Roth.

Denny Lambert, James Davis, and Dave Silvester ceremoniously unveil the memorial rock during the dedication.

Beth Ring, director of risk management for MoDOT, attended the ceremony and reads the poem dedicated to those who lost their lives while working on Missouri roads.