CEA Vice President Jeff Leake and Marilyn Parkinson Thrall, the artist creating the CEA Sandy Hook Memorial sculpture, were guests on the Brad Davis Talk of Connecticut Radio Show on WDRC this morning, discussing the latest on the memorial sculpture.
“It’s going to be a tremendous gift to the state, all of us, and the country,” Davis told his audience. “It’s going to be loved and cherished because it’s about children and teachers.”
Davis said he was touched and moved by photographs of the bronze sculpture that memorializes the heroism and sacrifice that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
“It’s very emotional and passionate,” he told his listeners. He said he “just lost it,” when he first looked at the photograph of the sculpture that includes four life-size bronze figures—a teacher and three children—on a circle of stone, surrounded by a circular stone wall. Thrall says the design captures the innocence of youth and evokes a “trusting feeling.”
CEA’s Sandy Hook Memorial sculpture memorializes the heroism and sacrifice that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
During the live interview at 9 a.m., Davis, whose mother was a teacher, encouraged his listeners to go to www.cea.org to see the photograph of the sculpture for themselves. “If my reaction is any indication, it’s going to be very emotional,” he told his viewers.
Leake, who is president of the Connecticut Education Foundation, said, “We are pleased and honored to work with Marilyn and to create this lasting memorial to the teachers and children directly impacted by the tragedy, as well as teachers and children all over the state and across our country.”
Teachers in Connecticut and across the country have been very generous and supportive of the fund. Donations to CEA’s Sandy Hook Memorial and Scholarship Fund are still being accepted.
Donations can be made at www.cea.org, or checks payable to the Connecticut Education Foundation may be sent to
Connecticut Education Foundation
Sandy Hook Memorial & Scholarship Fund
Capitol Place, Suite 500
21 Oak Street
Hartford, CT 06106
Talks are under way regarding a permanent home for the memorial in Newtown or Hartford. CEA plans to unveil the sculpture before the first anniversary of the mass shooting at the school.
Click here to listen to the interview on WDRC Radio.
