To those of you who gave generously towards the class gift, you will be pleased to know that the RMC/CMR/RRMC Class of 1996 Stained Glass window gift project is 98% completed. The window installation was done in mid-may by Sandpiper Studios of Belleville, Ontario. All that remains is to purchase a bilingual plaque to identify our class as the donor. We already have $400 raised of the $3000 needed to finish the VERY LAST PART of the project! (I know everyone will be extremely pleased to have the entire thing done.)Thank you to Marc Rancourt who arranged and coordinated the scaffolding from the RMC Civil Engineering Department and Steve France of the RMC Foundation for writing up the project paperwork for Commandant approval. As well, Steve France allocated $5K from the Foundation to make up for previous donations of our class that had been amalgamated with their funding pool in 1999 due to changes in the CCRA charity tax rules. The total cost of the stained glass window ended up being just under $14K because we did not need to rent scaffolding.
Thank you to Tyler Brooks and Eric LaForest for tracking down authentic prints of the coat of arms for both Royal Roads and College Militaire Royale. These prints were used by Sandpiper to fabricate the stained glass colours with as much authenticity as possible!
And of course, a big thank you to Gary and Linda of Sandpiper Studios Belleville for designing, creating, and installing the six stained glass panes in the atrium. I have already received feedback on the professional quality and design of the work.
Now would be a great time to finish the project off with a bronze plaque, so please contact those who aren't listed in "The Patron Pool" below and encourage them to help finish this off! At this point in the project any further donations can be made DIRECTLY to the RMC FOUNDATION in Kingston: (http://www.rmcclubfoundation.ca/en/about/staff.shtml). Payments can be made by credit card over the phone. Remember to specify that the money is for THE CLASS OF 1996 FUND!!!!! When there is sufficient cash to order the bronze plaque, I will have a biligual one made up and mounted.
It is my hope to have the window formally "donated" on behalf of the Class of 1996 once the plaque is installed in the atrium, with a target date of Ex-Cadet weekend this September 2007.
Many thanks to all of you who gave generously to see the Class Gift project through to completion.
Jeff "Zoomer" Szumlanski
engrn@cogeco.ca
