The Proctor Park Committee and UpLift Johnson County are collecting donations to revitalize a walkway honoring service members at the park, 499 Tracy Road in New Whiteland.
Submitted by Uplift Johnson County
What began as an idea from a few individuals to honor a fallen officer has turned into a community effort to revitalize a park tucked back in New Whiteland.
UpLift Johnson County and the Proctor Park Committee are spearheading a project that will add a new public safety monument and move an existing pathway from the back of Proctor Park to the north entrance. The park is located at 499 Tracy Rd.
The monument is envisioned as a peaceful place to honor and remember Johnson County service members and first responders. It began as a way to honor the two county residents who died in the line of duty last year; Indiana State Trooper Aaron Smith, a graduate of Whiteland Community High School and a Johnson County resident, and Johnson County Deputy Timothy Guyer.
Now the vision for the project is to honor more first responders and service members by engraving inlaid bricks in the new walkway.
The project is moving “full steam ahead” with new renderings and services donated, said Wendy McClellan, founder and executive director of UpLift Johnson County.
Browning Day, an architecture firm, and Mike Duke, owner of Duke Homes, are donating their services to the project. Duke said it’s important to recognize service members and first responders and projects like the one at Proctor Park are important to family members and their healing process.
“It’s just a blessing to be able to help bless others and to permanently memorialize these people,” Duke said. “So when we were called to ask if we can help organize and make sure all the construction is coordinated and done properly, there wasn’t even thinking about it. It was yes, we want to do that.”
Maribeth Alspach, former Whiteland clerk-treasurer and park board member, has spearheaded fundraising and planning efforts for the project with help from UpLift. The estimated cost for the project is $50,000, but the granite monument could be more expensive than estimated as they work to finalize the plans, she said.
A little more than $30,000 has been raised since August 2023. No official date is set, but Alspach said they hope to break ground this summer.
The project began to gain momentum in July when Alspach met with Smith’s widow, Megan Smith, at the park to discuss how to honor Smith. Not more than a week after their conversation, she got the call about Guyer’s death and the project took off from there, she said.
One Sunday afternoon, the park committee took note of the “serious maintenance” that the pathway of honor needed and prayed, she said.
“We were standing at the park and we just said, we were going to pray about it. And so we did,” Alspach said. “We stood right there and we just asked God to be in this project and to direct us in a way that would not only honor these heroes and their families but will also glorify Him and be a blessing to the community.”
The original plan was to raise funds for a memorial stone and bricks for Smith and Guyer’s service, but has quickly expanded and nearly doubled the original donation goal. The support has left Alspach in disbelief, she said.
“It’s sacred ground at Proctor Park. It always has been and it’s just a labor of love from the very beginning,” Alspach said. “It’s more wonderful than I could put into words … We just want to really honor them in a special way, if you’ve seen these renderings, it’s going to be amazing.”
Bricks can be purchased to be included in the new walkway to honor even more servicemembers and first responders, Alspach said. A 4 x 8 brick with up to two lines of print can be purchased for $50 or a 8 x 8 brick with up to four lines for $100. Monetary donations to the project can be made at www.upliftjoco.org/donate
“If people aren’t in a position to give money or to donate time or labor or materials to this project, we just ask that you pray about it,” Alspach said. “Pray for us to be successful as we strive to honor our hometown heroes.”
UpLift Johnson County and the Proctor Park Committee will continue to raise funds before new renderings go out for bids, McClellan said.
