This year is shaping up to be another busy one at the site of the Veterans and First Responders Memorial at Fairfield Glade.
Plans are to put finishing touches to the recently dedicated Flag Plaza and to start construction of the Memorial Garden.
There will be “several adjustments and additions” to the Flag Plaza, including adding a fountain on Lake Catherine aligned with the military flag circle, board President Phil Smith wrote in the organization’s 2025 annual report released last week.
Other work will involve adjusting lighting at the display wall to reduce glare, installing additional personalized pavers at least twice during the year, permanently placing and sealing the existing pavers, and adding more landscaping provided that ongoing construction could not damage it.
The Memorial Garden, which is Phase II of the entire project at Robin Hood Park, will consist of a pavilion, Crab Orchard stone display walls with bronze artwork, fencing and various landscape features.
It is expected to start in the early spring and be completed next year.
The board is working with the project’s architect to finalize the design and is to show it and seek comments at a community meeting in March.
“Once the Phase II plan is adopted, we will finalize the budget based upon design features, materials and complexity,” Smith wrote.
The all-volunteer board, as it did with the Flag Plaza, will continue to be its own general contractor “to maintain high standards at a reasonable cost.”
Following budget approval, the board intends to start another fundraising campaign, seeking contributions from individuals, businesses and civic organizations.
Other opportunities for supporting the project will be provided at the community meeting.
According to the annual report, the memorial project started 2025 with a cash balance of $540,428 and ended the year with $261,731.
Much of the construction costs of $368,884 were covered by a $250,000 grant from the Tennessee Department of Veterans Services.
Total Flag Plaza construction costs through 2025 were reported at $655,142. With the additional expenses planned for this year, the total cost of that Phase I is expected to be less than $700,000.
The Flag Plaza, which includes the flags of the military branches and first responders, was dedicated in November in a ceremony attended by about 300 people.
Special features at the Flag Plaza “enhance the site’s solemn purpose: a recognition of the 34 Tennessee recipients of the Medal of Honor — our nation’s highest recognition for valor — as well as a tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and a display of the official seals for our military services and first responder groups,” Smith wrote.
The design was paramount to creating “a structure that permanently displays our pride in those who have served and in the institutions that define our nation,” he wrote, adding that it went through “a rigorous focus on superior workmanship and materials.”
The objective was to build a memorial “that fulfills our core mission: to remember those who have served, to honor their service and memory, and to inspire future generations to serve our nation.”
Smith added. “We are confident that these goals have been achieved.”
The full annual report is available on the memorial website at www.vfrmemorial.com.