The newly-unveiled memorial for the victims of the Parkland shooting was conceived as a "gesture of love" for the victims and community, its creator said.
The 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School claimed the lives of 17 people and injured 17 more.
Revealed in the run-up to the seventh anniversary of the tragedy on Friday, the memorial features 17 stone-clad obelisks — each with the name of one of the victims arranged in a circle around a central water feature. There are shade structures and 17 royal palm trees on the site as well as benches.
The board of the the Parkland 17 Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit organization started in the wake of the shooting, whittled down the applicants in rounds, before settling on the design from Gordon Huether of Napa, California.
Huether said he was heartbroken by the tragedy, but that in creating a memorial, his job was to “make sense of something senseless.”
“ Creating a memorial, I believe, is a gesture of love for those lives taken. It's a gesture of love for the community. It's a gesture of love for one another,” he told WLRN.
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Mike Moser is the chair of the foundationsaid the process took many months, after an overwhelming reponse to their call-out for designs.
“ Because it was such a large media event and because it took so many innocent victims and because it was motivated by hate in so many different ways, it really gathered and grasped the attention of people all across the world,” said Moser, who also serves as deputy fire chief for Parkland Coral Springs Fire Rescue.
The process began with establishing a criteria for designers to ensure the needs of the community were met. Then, a national call to artists went out. The responses were international, more than 70 applicants submitted entries from around the world.
“ It did take a long time to get to where we're at, but we wanted to make sure that we were doing it right, not just doing it,” he said. ” We still have a long way to go, but we're excited where at right now.”
The memorial is slated to be situated in a 150-acre preserve that borders the cities of Parkland and Coral Springs.
Moser said that now the design has been chosen, the foundation can begin to focus on fundraising for the installation. According to Huether, that could be as early as next year.
On Friday, to mark the anniversary of the tragedy, multiple events will be held in the community. The Forever in our Hearts 7th Commemoration will take place from 1-4 p.m. at Eagles' Rest Wellness Center in Coral Springs. The event includes a candle lighting and dove release ceremony at 1:30 p.m.
The City of Parkland will be hosting its annual Community Commemoration at the Pine Trails Park Amphitheater beginning at 5 p.m.
