Today’s good news story comes from Boyd’s Land of 10,000 Stories. Here it is without edit.
A 15-year-old decided his town needed a veterans memorial. He raised $77,000 and built one
OLIVIA, Minn. — When a 15-year-old boy came to the Olivia City Council with plans to build his hometown a veterans memorial, Mayor Jon Hawkinson wondered if the lad had bitten off more than he could chew.
Yet, there was something about Dominique Claseman.
“He had architect drawings, he had the space picked out,” the mayor recalls.
And perhaps most importantly, “He knew there would be people in our community who would want to donate to something like this,” the mayor recalls.
Today, no skeptics remain.
On Memorial Day, several hundred people gathered for the dedication of Olivia’s new veterans memorial, completed by Dominique as his Eagle Scout project a few weeks before his 17th birthday.
Ron Kopacek, who headed up the dedication’s honor guard, was amazed as anyone that Dominique pulled it off. “Fifteen years old, sophomore in high school, he’s going to raise $12,000 to $15,000 we’re thinking, ‘What? Really?’”
Turns out Dominque didn’t just raise his starting goal of $12,000 to $15,000.
He collected more than $77,000.
“I question myself on how I even did it sometimes,” Dominque says with a smile.
Dominique hung flyers in businesses, did interviews with the local newspaper and radio station, and set up a table to pitch his project during events at the Olivia American Legion.
As purchases of engraved pavers and other donations exceeded Dominique’s expectations, he expanded his vision of what the memorial could be.
“I wanted to show more appreciation in a bigger way,” says Dominique, who comes from a long line of men who served their country. Among them: Dominique’s father, who wore his Iraq combat boots, at Dominique’s request, to leave 21 foot prints in the memorial’s wet cement.
Mark Jurgensen, who serves as a Boy Scout scoutmaster, isn’t surprised his son saw the project through to its grand conclusion.
“He’s one of them kind of kids that likes to make sure that he doesn’t disappoint anybody, and he strives really hard for that,” Mark says.
On dedication day, a stream of people walked through the memorial, reading the 280 pavers engraved with the names of men and women with Olivia ties who served in the military, some who gave their lives for their country.
The U.S. flag, the Minnesota flag, and the POW flag fluttered over the honored names, a central headstone, black granite benches and bronze statues.
Off to one side of the memorial, Kim Wertish hugged Dominique tightly. “Thank you,” she told him.
Kim’s son James was killed in Iraq on July 16, 2009, with two other members of the Minnesota National Guard, Carlos Wilcox and Dan Drevnick, whose names are also etched in the memorial.
“James has been honored in many cities through connections with the military, and that’s dear to us also, but this is our hometown,” Kim says.
Dave Wertish, James’ father, says of Dominique, “He’s got a good heart.”
Dominque also has a knack for raising money.
“This is something special,” says Aaron Russell, a district executive with the Boy Scouts of America. “We were trying to figure out if there’s been in recent memory a project of this scale, especially with the money raised. We couldn’t think or find anything even close to it.”
Aaron smiles, then adds. “I’m an Eagle Scout myself and I raised, maybe $700, $800 for (his project) total, and I thought that was tough at the time. I can’t even imagine.”
The memorial is in Olivia’s Kubesh Park, near the intersection of U.S. Highways 71 and 212.
In early May, Dominique dug a shovel of dirt in a ceremonial groundbreaking, before turning the job over to the contractors he hired.
Dominique hopes his two younger brothers will one day expand the memorial for their own Eagle Scout projects.
Dominique was among the speakers at the dedication.
“The memorial before you is the result of the generosity and support that I, and the veterans of community, have received,” Dominique told the assembled crowd.
Mark Hebig drove two hours to attend the ceremony. His father, Alfred Hebig, served in Korea and is listed on one of the pavers.
“I never knew him very good because he was killed in a car accident when I was 1 year old,” Hebig said, holding back tears. “It’s been a long time, but you still always remember.”
Fiction Favorites 
A tremendous achievement for such a young man, and it benefits everyone who comes to that space. What a great story to kick off the weekend, Boss. Thank you.
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Thank you, Marc. He is amazing for sure.
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Great stuff.
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😊
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Reblogged this on NEW BLOG HERE >> https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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Thanks for sharing, Michael.
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Thanks for sharing the information, John! It’s a wonderful memorial, indeed. Best wishes, Michael
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Yes it is. Thanks, Michael
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When you hear stories like this, we know we will be handing the world over to some to very good people. Thanks for sharing this story about this remarkable young man.
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A very good point, Darlene. Thank you. 😊
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Stories like this help restore my faith in today’s youth. We hear a lot of bad things, but there are good ones out there as well.
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There are good ones. I’m glad for that. Thanks, Joan 😊
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What an outstanding young man! He was obviously raised with principles that gave him the character to pull this off!
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I loved how everyone doubted that he could raise $15,000 and then went on to raise $77,000. Your point is well taken, GP. 😊
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What an impressive young man! The memorial must mean the world to the people of his town. Your JohnKu is spot-on.
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I think it helped bring some closure to some folks. Thanks, Liz.
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You’re welcome, John.
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😊
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Cool story. Eagle Scouts tend to come up with interesting projects.
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They do. Thanks, Charles.
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We never know what we can do until we try! Love this.
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Trying is the most important thing. Thanks, Annette.
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Love this story. Heard the report on NPR the other day and thought, ‘Isn’t it amazing the impact just one person can have?’ Thank you, John,many Happy Friday!
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Amazing young man.
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He is. Thanks, Craig.
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What a remarkable young man. Thanks for sharing this, John!
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Thanks, Teri. 😊
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What an incredible young man! He would get my vote for President! Thanks so much for sharing this, John.
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I agree with you, Jill. He has my vote as well. 😊
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John, what a terrific story. It should be on the headline of every news organization’s lead. As a former Scoutmaster, I know what a difficult challenge it can be to do an Eagle project. Thanks for posting. Have a great weekend
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As an Eagle Scout I share your opinion about the challenge. Thanks, Steve.
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Congratulations, I’m not surprised that you are.
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Ha ha ha. Thanks, Steve.
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My goodness, this brought me to tears. Dominique is an impressive young man. At such a young age, he decided to honor those who otherwise might be forgotten — except by family members. If he is representative of our youth, we’ve cause to hope for our broken world. Thank you for sharing, John. Beautiful post. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Hope in a broken world is a lovely way to describe this story, Gwen. Thank you. 😊
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Good story John. It is a fastinating thing to see possibility become reality. And to see a person realize they are capable of amazing things.
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I agree, John. Thank you.
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What an impressive young man! Goes to show you that you can accomplish anything if you put your mind and energy to it. I wish we had a thousand more like this kid!
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Or maybe a million. Thanks, Noelle.
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It’s fantastic to see a teen in the news for something as wonderful as this and restores my faith in the adults of the future. Your poem is spot on, John. Thanks for sharing! Have a wonderful weekend 💕🙂
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Have a wonderful weekend as well, Harmony. Thanks. 😁
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Reblogged this on T. W. Dittmer and commented:
This story of an amazing young man raised my hopes for the human race.
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Thank you, Tim
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Thanks for this, John. I just had to share it.
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Yea and thanks for sharing. 😁
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What an amazing kid. Thank you for sharing this story, John.
Hapy Friday to you and your gang!
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Happy Friday to you Dale. 😁
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That memorial looks fantastic. This has to be one of the all-time greatest Eagle Scout projects ever completed. I think the young man deserves all the badges they can possibly give him. We honor ourselves when we honor the past. Thanks for sharing this, John.
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My pleasure, Bruce. You are right about the badges. 😁
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What an amazing young man! Thanks for sharing, John!
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He is amazing. Thanks, Jan.
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It is amazing when an idea gets brought forth into reality.
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It is amazing. And one that benefits a number of folks. Thanks, Denise.
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With youths like that in our future, I don’t worry about it. Compassion, dedication and fortitude, that is our future.
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I saw this one on TV — what a great story! Thanks for spreading the good word, John.
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It is a good story. Thanks for your thoughts, Debbie.
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You know this is my kind of story, John. (I’m sure it’s many people’s kind of story.) I especially like that you’re highlighting one of the many fine young people that are part of our communities. This is why I get so bent out of shape when people go off on “kids these days” as if there were only great kids when we were children—much respect to Dominique for having the vision and belief in himself to make this dream come true.
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He did make it happens so kudos to him. Thanks, Pete.
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You make a difference just by posting this, John. Thank you!
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Aww. Thank you, Becky. 😊
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You’re so welcome!
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😊
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What an amazing story and young man, John. Since my husband is an Eagle Scout and former scoutmaster, along with my son being an Eagle Scout, I understand what it takes to plan an Eagle project and see it to fruition. Thanks for sharing such a heartwarming story.
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My pleasure. I am also an Eagle Scout so I was immediately struck with the degree of difficulty in this project.
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Fantastic! What a great thing Dominique accomplished.
He’s made many proud, happy and feel special.
I hope the good deed does spread, as your JohnKu suggests.
The world needs to move in that direction.
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He certainly proved the naysayers wrong. Thanks, Resa.
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What a wonderful story, John. I love it when I read about young people showing serious respect for veterans. It happened around here (also and Eagle Scout project) and it makes me proud.
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Yes, I knew about the one at your park.
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That kid’s going to get college scholarships for sure. 🙂
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I hope so. What a project!!!! Thanks, Betsey.
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Indeed!
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What a great young man. So many times you hear the bad, it’s nice to see the good. Stori8es like these should be front and center rather than the negative ones. Thanks for sharing.
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I agree Michele. Sad thing most want to run only the bad.
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Reblogged this on Gossipe.
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Thank you for sharing the post.
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This is just wonderful! Thank you for highlighting this story and fine young man, John.
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He is a special person.
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Yes!
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