DEDICATION CELEBRATED
How do you celebrate dedication? By having a dedication ceremony, that’s how. We’re having one tomorrow in honor of our first Mayor, Al Bollas! Al gave twelve years of dedicated service to our City, beginning with our first day as a municipality. We’ve wanted to honor Al and memorialize his service, and Councilman Jim Cotts suggested the perfect way – by renaming Rawlins Park in Mayor Bollas’ honor. Rawlins Park has a special place in Al’s legacy. Not only is it close to his home, but more importantly, it was Al’s leadership in 2001 that prevented commercial development of the plat and preserved the greenspace as a park. A large part of that process included obtaining an ODNR Grant for $64,500 of the $86,000 purchase price! Councilman Cotts’ resolution was unanimously approved by City Council, and now we will celebrate with a dedication ceremony at the adjoining Tudor House.
The event is scheduled for Tuesday, July 26th at 5:30pm. There will be brief comments followed by the unveiling of a photo of the memorial boulder, which is being placed at the Park. A reception will follow. The public is invited and encouraged to attend and share some memories with Al and his family. At 7pm the Bobby Selvaggio Jazz Quartet will be performing a free concert on the patio, so come on out and make an evening of it as we celebrate the dedication of a public servant, Al Bollas, the first Mayor of New Franklin!