Q&A: Reflecting on the Eagan Tribute and Memorial Plaza

Eagan Patch sat down with longtime Eagan resident and Eagan Lioness Club Margo Danner to look back at the development of the city's new Tribute and Memorial Plaza in . The plaza was finished this summer, and fundraising for the roughly $155,000 project wrapped up this fall.

Eagan Patch: Fill us in on the background of the Eagan Tribute and Memorial Plaza? What originally inspired you and others to pursue and develop this?

Margo Danner: I guess I instigated it, and that was probably four to five years ago. I was president of the Eagan Lioness Club and we wanted to do a project that was going to fulfill some of the needs in Eagan, and I though that was one thing we didn’t have in the city.

We started small. Just a small concept that I came up with a landscape and design we thought we would go by. We brought it to the city. This was a grassroots project, it wasn’t something the city intended to do or had even thought of. I went to the city to see if they were in favor of something like that, and they were supportive of it. And then I found out that Tom Mullon, who was with the American Legion in Eagan, thought that was a great idea and that they would like to see something.

The first concept was to include the police department and the volunteer fire department, because I thought if we were going to do something, we should just get all three entities together and get the three of them in one place. Along the way, it took a lot of people, and we’re very fortunate that we made our goal.

Patch: How much was the total cost to create the plaza, and where are you currently with the fundraising for the site? How did you raise the money?

Danner: When Tom came on board, he knew that other cities were getting money from the state [for memorial projects]. We went to our legislators, and they were on board and were completely supportive of the idea, so they went and it was a bonding year and they presented to the state legislature for $100,000. We would have never been able to do the project without that. Then we needed to raise another $55,000 to finish out the project. That came from fundraising from individuals and businesses here in Eagan and other cities, and the American Legion. We would accept $10, $20 $50, or whatever it was.

We completed the site on the Fourth of July. The project grew a little bigger than we had anticipated in the beginning, but we were glad the state came through with the money. We continued the fundraising through the summer months and this fall we finished, and now it’s just a matter of tying off loose ends.

Patch: How does having a monument like this benefit Eagan? What does it mean for the community and how do you hope it will be used in the future?

Danner: I think it's for the people of Eagan, just like any other city. I know with the American Legion, they wanted a space here where they could have a Memorial Day service. Last year, even though it wasn’t completed, we were able to have our Memorial Day service [at the Tribute and Memorial Plaza]. It's just a way of saying thank you to our hometown heroes, that’s what it is. You don’t want to forget these people, and [the monument] will be there for years and years.

Patch: How do you, personally, feel now that this project is completed?

Danner: It was just something that, for Tom and I, we were passionate about. I didn’t see anybody else coming on board to do it and it was the time. We thought we were going to trudge along and see what we could do. It's such a good feeling to know it's done.

Patch: What’s next for the site? Any future plans?

Danner: I think that it’s open right now. If another group wants to come in, I think there’s enough room up there to see what we coud do. We just wanted to get the initial part started. I think it’s up to another organization, another grassroots group that wants to do something else. It’s just a matter of what they think is needed, and what they feel is important.