Guard to assist with movement to local park 

What: Soldiers and equipment from Winder’s Company E, 148th Brigade Support Battalion, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, will assist in the movement of a World Trade Center (WTC) artifact as it travels from the WTC Storage Facility in New York to its new home in Watkinsville, Ga. A brief ceremony marking the arrival of a 52”x18”x18-inch, 923-pound  section of steel beam from the twin towers’ superstructure will take place a shortly afterward.

When: Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011, at 12:00 p.m.

Where: Oconee Veterans Park Community Center              

3500A Hog Mountain Rd., Watkinsville, Ga.

Who: Lieutenant Col. John Gentry, the commander of Savannah’s 118th Field Artillery and the Oconee County Parks and Recreations director

Melvin Davis, Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman

Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry

Oconee County EMA director Bruce Thaxton

Visuals: Photo and video opportunities of the artifact being loaded at the Athens FEDEX building for movement to the park; movement of the artifact by the Guard, Oconee County sheriff’s deputies and county Emergency Management Agency (EMA) personnel down Mars Hill Road to the park; placement of the artifact at its temporary home. On hand for interviews will be several 48th IBCT Soldiers, parks and recreation employees, veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, along with sheriff’s office and EMA  personnel and several elected officials. For photos of the artifact leaving New York, click here.

Background: Outlets interested in covering this event should notify the public affairs contact below no later than 5 p.m., Aug. 1, 2011, by e-mail, and provide the names of the reporter, still photographer and/or videographer covering the event, the name of their organization, and a good telephone number. Media are also asked to arrive at the park community center to meet with a Georgia DoD Public Affairs representative no later than 10 a.m. the day of the event. Directions to the park and to the Parks and Recreation Department are online at http://oconeecounty.com/

Contact: 

Sgt. 1st Class Roy Henry

Public Affairs Office

Georgia Department of Defense

(678) 569-6065

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it