Tornado memorial sculpture unveiled at Harry M. Cornell Arts & Entertainment Complex
A new sculpture that honors the 161 victims of the 2011 Joplin tornado was unveiled on the campus of the Harry M. Cornell Arts & Entertainment Complex Wednesday morning.
Active Lifestyle Events, Inc., which provides active lifestyle activities for the community, including the Joplin Memorial Run, dedicated the sculpture, which shows the names of the 161 who lost their lives.
Audie Dennis, Active Lifestyle Events, Inc. President shares “This sculpture captures our organizations dream of providing something significant to the community that also honors those we lost on May 22nd, 2011. This beautiful sculpture not only honors them, but the banner depicted recognizes the role the runners played in helping this happen. It is a fantastic piece of art, placed on the lawn of our arts and entertainment center that will lead our city into the future.”
Dennis says it’s important that the piece be placed there on the southeast side of the campus, where the Joplin Memorial Run starts every Spring.
“It is my heartfelt pleasure,” says Tonya Sprenkle Active Lifestyle Events, Inc. Treasurer, “to see this permanent sculpture in honor of those that lost their lives that fateful day in May. We RUN to REMEMBER you as we REBUILD without you, says so much to me as we have shared in the loss of so many families over the years. May those that pass by this statue forever remember.”
Active Lifestyle Events, Inc. is a nonprofit organization whose primary mission is to receive and administer funds for scientific, educational, civic, athletic, patriotic, cultural, social, and charitable purposes, and to encourage and foster active lifestyles in the Joplin community.
