Veterans Island Project

The Veterans' Island Project at Memorial Park is a volunteer-run nonprofit organization based in the Pottstown, Pennsylvania area, with a mailing address at 1445 Shaner Dr, Pottstown, PA 19465. Founded in 2014 by a small group of private citizens, the organization formed around a single, specific idea: that the island at Memorial Park should be dedicated entirely to local veterans. In the years since, the group has worked toward that goal through memorials, public art, landscaping, and educational signage placed on and around the island itself.

The project operates without a storefront or regular business hours in the conventional sense. Its work is visible in the park, and its organizational activity happens through a volunteer board, community donations, and direct contact with residents who want to participate or offer input. The organization can be reached at (610) 324-9666.

History and Founding

The organization began when a handful of local citizens recognized that the island at Memorial Park, a natural focal point within the park, could serve as a dedicated space honoring those from the community who served in the armed forces. Cathy Paretti founded the organization and served as its first president. She continues to serve on the board as vice president, which has given the group a measure of continuity as it has grown from an idea into an ongoing series of physical improvements.

Rather than pursuing a single large monument and declaring the work finished, the project has taken an incremental approach. Each addition, whether a restored artifact, a new plaque, or a painted mural, builds on what came before. The result is a site that has changed noticeably over the past decade and is intended to continue changing as resources allow.

Memorial Development and Restoration

The central program is the ongoing dedication of the Memorial Park island to local veterans. This encompasses memorial installation, landscaping, and educational information intended to give visitors historical context rather than simply a name and a date. The organization treats the island as a place to learn as well as a place to reflect.

Restoration work has been a significant part of that effort. Among the completed projects:

• Restoration and refurbishment of the WWII cannon, one of the island's historic pieces
• Installation of new commemorative plaques
• Landscaping and site improvements supporting the memorial setting
• Educational signage providing background on the conflicts and service members being honored

Because the island holds existing historic items, part of the organization's work involves preserving what is already there rather than only adding new elements. The cannon refurbishment is a representative example of that preservation-minded approach.

The Korean War Mural

One of the project's most visible undertakings is the Korean War Mural, a set of four large-scale murals documenting the Korean War. The murals were painted over the course of three summers by artist Amber Staedtler, working from a vision and design provided by the foundation. The scale of the work and the multi-year timeline reflect the level of detail involved in depicting a conflict that is often underrepresented in public memorials.

A notable feature of the mural project was the invitation extended to local children to contribute brushstrokes. That decision connected a younger generation directly to the memorial and to the history it records, which aligns with the organization's broader interest in education alongside commemoration. For many families in the Pottstown area, the mural became something their children helped make rather than something they simply walked past.

The Glass Tier Award

Each year at the Community Day Celebration, the organization presents the Glass Tier Award, also referred to as the Glass Tear Award. The award recognizes local patriots who answered their country's call to service and then returned home to live lives that serve as examples of honor and respect for both community and country. The emphasis on what recipients did after their service is part of what distinguishes the recognition: it acknowledges continued civic contribution rather than military service alone.

The award itself is designed and donated by Randy Doaty. The presentation at Community Day places the recognition in a public, community-wide setting rather than at a private ceremony, which keeps the honorees visible to the neighbors among whom they live.

Leadership and Organization

The project is guided by a volunteer board whose members bring a combination of military service and community organization experience. The board includes:

• Jamie Sanchez, President
• Cathy Paretti, Vice President and founder, who served as the organization's first president
• Chris Swenda, Secretary, US Army
• Len Gieseler, Treasurer, US Navy
• Pamela Kubczak, US Marine
• Chuck Harders, US Navy
• Marcia Levengood, DAR member
• Denise Hughes, DAR member

The presence of veterans from multiple branches on the board, along with members of the Daughters of the American Revolution, reflects the organization's dual focus on contemporary veteran recognition and longer-term historical preservation.

Funding and Community Support

The organization is funded primarily through community donations. All funds raised go directly toward improvements and continued projects on Veterans' Island. Because the work is volunteer-led, contributions are applied to materials, restoration, artwork, and site development rather than to staffing.

An online store is currently in development, with merchandise proceeds designated to support island projects once it launches.

Community Involvement

The project actively invites input from residents regarding future memorials and monuments, including where new pieces should be placed on the island. Community members with ideas, suggestions, or questions can submit them by calling (610) 324-9666.

That openness to feedback has shaped the project's character. The island is a public space in a public park, and the organization has treated decisions about its development as matters the surrounding community has a legitimate stake in. For residents of Pottstown and the wider Chester and Montgomery County area, the island offers a place to visit, to learn about local service history, and to participate in an effort that remains in progress.