PremierBank has announced that it will match donations made by community members who wish to help with the Evergreen Cemetery cleanup effort.
As noted in the release, the historical cemetery was “severely impacted” by the storm last Friday evening with close to 70 trees damaged or felled by sustained winds that may have reached 80 miles per hour, the release noted, citing a report included earlier Tuesday in a story by Fort Atkinson Online freelance reporter Chris Spangler. By Saturday morning, cemetery personnel arrived to find destruction throughout the property, the release noted.
Described by some as a “war zone,” the cemetery was filled with many healthy, stately trees that were centuries old, and most of the damage occurred in the oldest section of the cemetery, the release noted, as reported in Tuesday’s Fort Atkinson Online story.
The full story about the damage to the cemetery is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/volunteers-donations-sought-for-evergreen-cemetery-cleanup/.
In an email on Tuesday, PremierBank Vice President and Chief of Marketing and Communications Kathy Rolf told Fort Atkinson Online that the story appearing Tuesday in our publication “inspired us to take some immediate action to help in the way that we can right now.”
Within the release, the bank noted that cemetery staff members are requesting help from the community in the form of volunteers to help pick up branches, rake, and gather grave decorations that are scattered throughout.
Volunteers who wish to help have been asked to check in at the office located at the northwest top of the hill. Those coming to help should bring gloves and rakes and are needed between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., weekdays, until the small debris is all picked up, the release stated.
Financial donations also are “desperately needed,” the release stated, with those fund anticipated, according to the release, to help take care of hauling away the large debris, cut down branches and trees, and to pay for new trees to replace the ones that have been destroyed.
“PremierBank will match all donations from community members dollar-for-dollar up to $5,000. If $5,000 is donated, with the bank’s $5,000 match, the sum total then would be $10,000 to help fund this community effort,” the release stated.
“The Evergreen Cemetery is a sacred place in the Fort Atkinson community and has most likely never been hit by such a powerful weather event that impacted us all last Friday night. As a community bank established in 1863, the same year as the Evergreen Cemetery’s founding, we are grateful to be in the position to financially help with restoration efforts of this very special place,” Russ Turk, PremierBank’s chairman, president, and CEO, was quoted as saying in the release.
Those who wish to donate and take advantage of PremierBank’s dollar-for-dollar match, can drop their donation off at any PremierBank location with check written out to: Evergreen Cemetery and “donation” written in the memo line. Checks also can be mailed to Evergreen Cemetery, c/o PremierBank P.O. Box 218, Fort Atkinson, WI, 53538.
About PremierBank
According to the release, PremierBank was established 160 years ago in 1863 and remains a locally owned community bank that prides itself on building strong partnerships with the businesses and residents in Jefferson, Rock, and Walworth counties. PremierBank is committed to serving its customers with personalized service and convenient financial products as a trusted financial partner. With $551 million in assets, PremierBank has nine convenient office locations in Fort Atkinson, Janesville, Jefferson, Johnson Creek, Sullivan, and Whitewater, including a full-service Wealth Management division. For more information, visit www.bankwithpremier.com.
Evergreen Cemetery Grounds Supervisor Raughn Ferrell is surrounded by tree debris. He noted Monday that while trees in the cemetery were heavily damaged, the majority of the cemetery’s monuments were not harmed. Chris Spangler photo.
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