“We have so many talented City employees – landscape architects, civil engineers, planners-who could design a meaningful memorial to the co-workers they lost. I am certain we can raise the money to make this happen.”

An important idea from June:

August 11, 2020

To the Honorable City Council of Virginia Beach:

I believe we need an immediate memorial to the victims at the Building 2 site – a memorial worthy of the respect the victims and their families deserve. We can’t wait a moment longer!

On the anniversary, I visited the makeshift memorial, on the steps of Building 2, to honor the victims of the horrific event of the municipal shooting a year ago May 31st. Though the designer(s) attempted to honor each individual victim, it was far too little in light of the enormous loss of life suffered that day. And sadly, when I attended a CBPA Board meeting the next day, the memorial was already being dismantled.

None of us will know the hell each victim went through at the hands of the murderer, but we can’t let their vibrant lives slip out of our consciousness, we must celebrate them daily. By allowing Building 2 to stand so starkly and alone, though its foundation has been shaken, is to allow Building 2 to cast a dark shadow on our spirits. A memorial that is visible, that surrounds the building with life and love, would help to remove the shroud of grief so many of us feel for the horrible loss of these vibrant souls. For the families as well as co-workers, a memorial should be constructed now.

A building is always far more than the sum of its parts. For City employees, it’s the everyday teamwork that keeps our beautiful City running, it is birthdays and celebrations, and the comradery and support that grows from the rubbing of shoulders with our fellow workers. Though the time I spent working in the City Engineer’s Office was long ago, I am still in touch with many former co-workers from all 4 floors of Building 2. We must, as a caring community, honor the loss of life, and way of life, that was taken from us that day.

We have so many talented City employees – landscape architects, civil engineers, planners-who could design a meaningful memorial to the co-workers they lost. I am certain we can raise the money to make this happen. I believe we need a place to allow loved ones to touch and feel the love that our community has for them. Let’s not allow another anniversary of this horrific tragedy to pass without such a memorial in place. We need a memorial now!
As a former Virginia Beach city employee (City Engineer’s Office), and active volunteer in the community, I will volunteer to do anything to help! Please call on me if there is anything I can do to alleviate the pain that employees are feeling.

Sincerely,
June Barrett-McDaniels