Project To Build N Canton Veteran’s Monument Moves To New Phase, With New Chairman

Committee Responsible For
Wall Of Heroes Is Fractured

There has been a fracture in the committee responsible for building a monument, which has been called the Wall of Heroes, to pay tribute to military veterans in North Canton.

W. Roderic Covey, who served as chairman for nine months, has been removed from the committee.

W. Roderic Covey staged an essay contest in the North Canton
school district to spur interest in the Wall of Heroes.

As a result, according to new committee chairman Jim Dansizen, the timeline for construction of the monument has been moved back about a year and the design is being modified.

The goal of the committee now, he said, is to have the monument dedicated July 4, 2009.

Whether building materials and services which had been committed to construct the monument are gong to be donated, Dansizen said, is in question.

Covey considered preconstruction work by the committee to be nearly complete when members sought to remove him.

“The project is done as far as I’m concerned,” Covey said. “It took nine months, we had a plan and the plan is complete. We’re ready to move forward.”

When asked about the removal of Covey, committee secretary Jan Kotila said, “There’s only been a change with one member.”

She said, “The committee is right on track. There hasn’t been any big change.”

The work to build a monument has entered a new phase, according to Kotila.

She said, “All the thinking and planning and the dreaming part is done. Now it’s time to take care of specifics.”

Whether or not the committee will have to raise more money is yet to be determined.

Covey was responsible for raising $39,000. That money came as a result of his writing grant proposals, soliciting donors and conducting a penny campaign in North Canton City Schools.

Covey also spoke on behalf of the committee in numerous articles and made public appearances to discuss the project.

Hoover High School contributed $1,000 to the Wall of Heroes project.
Covey received a check from the adviser and president of the Key Club.

Kotila praised Covey’s contribution to the committee in an email to him.

She wrote, “Your efforts on its behalf have been considerable, and we have the utmost respect for your ability to secure funding and rally interest for the project.”

While praising Covey, Kotila, on behalf on the committee, indicated there were a number of shortfalls in his work as chairman.

“Volunteer committees are not to be run as one might operate a company which one owned,” Kotila wrote, while making reference to, “continuing misunderstandings” between the parties.

Kotila wrote, “Any committee would expect to have participation and voting rights in matters involving the raising of funds, publicity, setting of financial goals, and determining the scope of the targeted project.”

Covey said it was necessary for him to complete tasks because members of the committee failed to do so.

“From what I saw they didn’t show interest in doing anything,” Covey said. “They showed no passion for the mission.”

Covey said he asked for help on a number of projects at a March meeting, but saw no one volunteer.

“At the March meeting I laid out four tasks and no one responded,” he said.

According to Covey, when committee members were assigned tasks they were not completed. He said he had to depend on ex officio members.

“I leaned on other ex officio members to fulfill certain objectives,” said Covey. “For example, Doug Lane (a former city councilman) developed a major fund raiser to reach the business community and North Canton restaurant patrons.”

Dansizen, Covey said, did not provide printing services he committed to which were required to complete that fund raising effort.

Covey said, “The program never materialized because Mr. Dansizen failed to fulfill a commitment to provide printing services.”

Dottie McGrew, an employee of Dansizen’s who now serves as vice-chair, was to conduct the school district fund raiser, Covey said, but she did not respond in a timely manner.

“It was to be her sole responsibility,” Covey said. “Mrs. McGrew did not follow-up which necessitated my taking on responsibility for the project.”

There was a limited timeframe during which the school campaign could be conducted, he said.

Covey said, “Weeks after Mrs. McGrew accepted the assignment and nothing was done the project either had to go forward or be abandoned because of the school schedule and an agreement with the superintendent.”

The Hoover High School Student Council adviser and president presented a check
to Covey. The group worked hand-in-hand with the Key Club to raise $1,000.

About six weeks after sending the email to Covey, a letter was written, by Kotila, to members of North Canton City Council.

“Mr. Covey, and he alone, has determined every action reported to you, the school board, the library and the press,” Kotila wrote. “He has never called a committee meeting. He has, in fact, hijacked this committee.”

Kotila wrote, “Mr. Covey has accomplished some very good things for this memorial and we know he has only good intentions. Our concerns center on his unpredictable behavior and his resistance to following the guidelines for soliciting donations.”

The first priority of the committee, Kotila wrote, is, “to see this project to completion with an untarnished reputation.”

She added, “We also wish to treat Mr. Covey with respect, in spite of his behavior, while guarding the integrity of the project.”

Covey refuted issues raised in the letter.

“I kept the members of the committee informed,” Covey said. “My door was always open to the members of the standing committee and they knew how to contact me. Nobody ever volunteered to do anything.”

In a letter to Covey, written at about the same time as the one to city council, the former chairman was characterized as uncooperative.

The letter, signed by both Dansizen and Kotila, said Covey was, “unwilling to attend (a committee meeting) and unwilling to have a civil discussion regarding the formal organization of the committee.”

In a concluding paragraph, the letter stated, “Your refusal to work within the committee process, to assemble and share information with us, and complete the legal requirements of incorporation which would legalize our right to raise funds left us no choice but to move on without you.”

Covey has turned his attention to other projects related to veteran’s affairs.

“The hundreds of people I’ve talked to about the need to honor veterans…have led me to go on to achieve other goals in the area on honoring veterans.” Covey said.

The next step for the committee is to nail down a design for the monument.

“Our focus right now is to get the drawing and specifics for the wall,” said Kotila. “When we have the survey and the specifications and get an excavator we’ll take that to the city.”