Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News

~ John W. Howell

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

Dominique Claseman built Olivia, Minnesota a veterans memorial for his Eagle Scout project. He finished it before his 17th birthday.
Author: Boyd Huppert

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.

Credit: Devin Krinke, KARE 11
Aerial view of the Olivia veterans memorial built by Dominique Claseman

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.

Credit: Boyd Huppert, KARE 11
17-year-old Dominique Claseman was 15 when he started raising money to build Olivia, Minnesota a veterans memorial

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.

Credit: Devin Krinke, KARE 11
On dedication day, hundreds of people stopped to see the Olivia veterans memorial

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.

Credit: Devin Krinke, KARE 11
Kim Wertish, whose son James was killed in Iraq, hugs Dominique Claseman

“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.

Credit: Devin Krinke, KARE 11
Dominique Claseman addresses the crowd at the dedication of the Oliva veterans memorial he built

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.”

Credit: Devin Krinke, KARE 11
Mark Hebig drove two hours to see his father’s stone at the Olivia veterans memorial
The good news here is that one person made a difference for so many. Today’s JohnKu talks about making a difference. I hope you have a beautiful weekend
Dominoes by John W. Howell © 2022
One good deed can trip,
A reaction of good deeds. . .
That could span the world.

78 thoughts on “Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News”

  4. 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.

    Liked by 3 people

  14. 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

    Liked by 3 people

  15. 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. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    Liked by 2 people

  18. 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 💕🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  22. 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.

    Liked by 1 person

  27. 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.

    Liked by 1 person

  29. 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.

    Liked by 1 person

  30. 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.

    Liked by 1 person

  31. 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.

    Liked by 1 person

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