Mower County veterans are about commemorate reaching a key goal.

The Mower County Veterans Memorial Committee and community leaders will celebrate surpassing their goal of selling 1,056 pavers for the memorial at 201 First St. NE during a Patriot Day ceremony and memorial rededication at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the memorial.

“It’s just something we want to continue as long as there are veterans around,” said Norm Hecimovich, president of the Veterans Memorial Committee and an active Austin veteran.

Now the committee is planning ways to do just that. Now at about 1,065 pavers sold, Hecimovich and others are discussing where to put future pavers. Spots are available for about 70 more, and committee leaders always want there to be a place to recognize veterans.

The committee is also discussing adding a permanent, stainless steel platform that would be used for Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Patriot Day programs at the site. The rest of the year, Hecimovich envisions it having a laminated director to help people locate a certain veteran’s paver.

“We’d like to make it easier for people to find them too,” Hecimovich said.

The Veterans Memorial dates to the early 1990s with a memorial wall that honors all the Mower County veterans who lost their lives in U.S. wars. But Hecimovich and others wanted something to honor all veterans, including those who served and returned home.

That’s where the pavers came in, and the first were installed in 2010

Hecimovich described the pavers and the memorial as a source of pride for the community.

Patriot Day Program and Veterans Memorial Rededication

4:30 p.m. Friday at the Mower County Veterans Memorial on the lawn of the Government Center, 201 First St. NE

•Welcome: Veterans Memorial Committee Chairman Norm Hecimovich

•Invocation: Wayne Huinker

•National Anthem

•Pledge of Allegiance: Lead by Hecimovich

•Dedication of Veterans Memorial Committee on Reaching Their Goal of 1056 in 6 years: Mike Ruzek, Ron Hanson, Arnie Earl, Pete Handke, Wayne Madson, Howard Nepp, Rich Prizler, Bill Fuller, Wayne Huinker, Everett DeYoung, Jeff Anderson and Norm Hecimovich.

•Ring the Bell: 12 Times Austin Fire Department

•Patriot Talk on Patriot Day: Norm Hecimovich,

•Benediction: Wayne Huinker

•Military Salute: Fallen comrades (military and public safety), ambulance service, Austin Fire Department, Austin Police Department and Mower County Sheriff’s Department.

•American Legion: Rollie Hanson

•Honor Guards: American Legion Post 91, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 27, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1216

•Taps: Disabled American Veterans – Dan Stewart

•Visitor Time