Pat Henderson, Debbie Wegman, David Ford, Dolores Kearney, and Web Bliss
On Nov. 10, 2023, the Pilot Knob Rotary Club welcomed Victoria Myers as their guest speaker. Ms. Myers is a rising senior at the Townview School for the Talented and Gifted in Dallas and a member of the Girl Scouts of America. She is engaged in completing a Gold Award, an individual Girl Scout-approved project on any topic that is sustainable and will make the world a better place. She chose a project to clean and beautify the African American/slave cemetery Champions-Macedonia in Lewisville, Texas. Many of the graves, dating back to the 1800s, are unmarked or designated with a grouping of rocks. Victoria shared her vision with the membership to clean up the cemetery and obtain funding to add benches, light posts, fencing, an entry archway, and informational markers. We were immediately on board to assist with her project. Her specific ask was the donation of white wooden crosses to mark as many of the graves as possible. Under the direction of David Ford and Web Bliss, we assembled in Web’s garage to cut, sand, and paint 100 crosses to place in the cemetery.
The crosses were placed on Jan. 6 during a general cleanup of the cemetery, with the reveal of the first phase of the cemetery’s beautification on Jan. 20. Nathan Danforth, completing an Eagle Scout project, joined Victoria’s efforts, and, in addition to the crosses, the cemetery was cleaned up, a new fence with an entrance gate was installed, signage was added to IH35 service road, and a flagpole was installed. Nathan also researched the veterans buried there and added informational markers to those graves.
On Jan. 23 the Denton County Commissioner’s Court honored Victoria, Nathan, and their sponsor Jackie Shaw with proclamations for their efforts to beautify the Champions-Macedonia Cemetery. The Pilot Knob Rotary Club was honored to participate in this project and commend Victoria and Nathan for their leadership and dedication to improving the community.
Pilot Knob Rotary Club is a group of experienced professional leaders committed to service and fellowship leading to a positive impact on our community and the world. We meet each Friday at noon in the Wildhorse Grill.