Memorial to mass shooting to be unveiled

Jul. 23—With the fifth anniversary of the Aug. 31, 2019, mass shooting the public memorial will take on a new look.

University of Texas Permian Basin Chief of Staff/VP of Marketing and Communications Tatum Hubbard said the event will start about 8 p.m. Aug. 29 at The Bright Star Memorial outdoor plaza off of Loop 338. The dedication will take place on the site.

Those attending are asked to wear yellow and dedicate some time to engage in community service or random acts of kindness.

The memorial is 11 feet high and 5 feet in diameter, Executive Director of Odessa Arts Randy Ham has said. Created by Maryland sculptor Jim Sanborn, it features the names of all those who were killed or injured and reflections from family members.

The sculpture, which will light up at night, will be elevated 20 feet in the air and have a circular entrance path. It also will be ADA accessible.

There will be a plaza that will have stone benches and landscaping. Hubbard said the memorial will be ready by Aug. 29.

"The sun will be going down by the time people get to move through there and that will be the first time it's open to the public," Hubbard said.

Some of the vegetation and plants might not be fully in place, but the structure itself will be ready to go, she added.

Most of the stone benches are set up. It's mostly the landscaping that won't be fully done yet, said Alexandra Macia, assistant director of communications.

Artists have applied a patina to the bronze sculpture, giving it a green hue while protecting it from the elements. Before it was moved, the piece was displayed at the UTPB library. The sculpture is expected to be placed in the plaza sometime this week.

It's been a long road to get to this point.

As part of the larger campus transformation project, the UT System Board of Regents funded $6 million for the area of campus that includes and surrounds the Bright Star Memorial. The Bright Star Memorial art piece is the result of a partnership with the City of Odessa, which committed $100,000 for the commission and production of the cylinder, and Odessa Arts, which raised an additional $100,000 through private philanthropy.

UTPB's larger campus transformation project includes the memorial plaza and the extensive landscaping, lighting, irrigation, trail improvements, bridges, drainage, and re-establishment of the short-grass prairie in that area.

"It was a thoughtful process. I really am so grateful for the work that Randy Ham and Odessa Arts did to find an artist who could connect with the mission of this piece because it's a sensitive area. This is a piece where you really want to capture the feelings of the families who lost loved ones during this tragic weekend and so I think they identified an artist who really understood that and then the City of Odessa was a great partner to help support that and then choose UTPB for (its) home," Hubbard said. "We wanted it to be a project that was significant enough to honor those memories. It did take a while to get the design in place, identify the location and then do the work. But I think the end result is really going to be a beautiful place for our community to go and reflect and remember that day."

Aug. 31 is the date of the shooting in which seven people were killed and 25 injured. The shooter, Seth Ator, who was traveling between Midland and Odessa during the mass shooting, was shot and killed by multiple law enforcement agencies as they made a final stand in a field near Cinergy Theatre.

Odessa Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Renee Earls said she thinks the memorial will be beautiful and can help heal the community. Having the piece at UTPB will enable it to be enjoyed by everyone.

"I do hope families will go over and take some time to read all of the words that are (inscribed) on the memorial. It's hard to believe it was five years ago, coming up on that time, and I just hope that families will take some time and go look at that, and most importantly, remember those impacted," Earls said.

She noted that some people will never be the same again after that fateful day.

"Life just gets busy and we go on and we forget that our community suffered such a loss. I know everyone wished it had not been five years for this memorial to be finished, but we're so grateful that it will be there for so many people to be reminded of the difficult time," Earls said.

She added that she hopes it brings people together again.

"I hope that it will bring some peace to our community," Earls said.

Ham expressed similar sentiments.

"I am very proud of the partnership between Odessa Arts, the City Of Odessa, and UTPB in bringing Jim Sanborn's vision to life. He has created a beautiful tribute to the resiliency of our community. Five years seems like a long time, but I hope this helps the community continue to heal," Ham added.

Hubbard said the memorial will be a nice feature for the entire community.

"So many people use our walking trails at the university anyway, so this will just be one more place that is beautiful. It is a place for families to go and walk around and have some important conversations about whatever it is that their family is dealing with," she added. "When you're in the space, I think it forces you to really think about (your) loved ones and are we having the conversations we should have with our loved ones? We're not promised another day, so I think this memorial will be a place to reflect and have conversations with family that will be helpful.

"I'm looking forward to taking my own kids there, walking around and processing some of the feelings that we had about that weekend and then reflecting on how lucky we are to live where we live, be connected to our families and our community in that way. But again, it's all a larger picture of what's here on the university campus. There are sports fields, there is the splash pad, there are the walking trails and now there's this beautiful memorial that will become a place for us to gather," Hubbard said.

The dedication is expected to be short this year so that families can come experience the memorial together.

She said this is because it's the fifth anniversary of the mass shooting and having the memorial ready.

"This year is a big anniversary. It's been five years; we will open the memorial, so we feel like at this point, people will be able to experience it on their own. They don't need to have any event to be invited on our campus and come in and walk through the area. It could be on their own time. I just feel like the committee felt like the need to have an annual event just felt unnecessary because the memorial is open and people can experience it on their own," Hubbard said.

The committee she referred to is an informal group that came together to organize the event each year such as Ham, Earls, Kelby Davis, who is the mother of one of the youngest victims who survived, Devin Benavides with the Better Business Bureau, City of Odessa, Rev. Dr. Dawn Weaks, Donnie Williams from The Bridge and others.

The Family Resiliency Center of the Permian Basin has been involved, as well. Hubbard said there will be crisis counselors on hand that evening, if needed.

"Those who work in this field, have told us we don't know how people are going to react when they see the memorial plaza, when they experience the fifth-year anniversary. Grief is a strange thing. It's different for every person. We'll have people on hand only if needed. I think what the committee has really tried to be aware of is that we don't want to assume how anybody is going to react when they're at this memorial.

"It was a really hard day in our community. I can't even begin to imagine what it was like for the families who lost someone or had someone injured that day. But all of us remember what it was like that day and for days to come. UTPB became sort of the hub of the emergency response. The governor was here, all of the investigators were here. Our PD (police department) was involved in part of that situation. Everybody who lived in this town, and for some time in Midland, and was in town and following it in any degree remembers. It was a very scary day. We just didn't know what was happening. We just want to be really aware of supporting people in the way they need to be supported when they see this memorial," Hubbard added.

There will be signage at the site with carefully crafted wording so people who come to town and don't know what happened are aware of why the memorial exists.

"It certainly has attribution for those who were part of the original committee that chose the artwork, the designer, etc. So there will be a way to learn more about the process and the art itself when you're at the memorial," Hubbard said.

For people who are interested in supporting the memorial, you can make a gift in honor of a loved one or just to ensure that the plaza always is maintained in a way that it remains "beautiful and lovely."

Hubbard said enough money has been raised to build the memorial. The goal is to have an endowment for the maintenance of it.

"That is what we are still asking for our public to help us do is to endow this is in a way that it is always maintained beautifully," she added.

For donations, visit utpb.edu/give/brightstars

The Victims

DECEASED

— Leilah Hernandez, 15, Odessa.

— Joe Griffith, 40, Odessa.

— Mary Granados, 29, Odessa.

— Edwin Peregrino, 25, Odessa.

— Rodolfo Julio Arco, 57, Odessa.

— Kameron Karltess Brown, 30, Brownwood.

— Raul Garcia, 35, El Paso.

INJURED

— Nathan Hernandez, 18, Odessa.

— Marc Gonzales, 38, Odessa.

— Zachary Owens, Midland Police Department.

— Timmothy Beard, 55, San Antonio.

— James Santana, Odessa Police Department.

— Glenda Dempsy, 62, Odessa.

— Marco Corral, 62, San Diego, CA.

— Coy Edge, 53, Odessa.

— Joseph Glide, 60, Odessa.

— Anderson Davis, 17 months, Odessa.

— Daniel Munoz, 28, Yuma, AZ.

— Robert Cavasoz, 38, Alice, TX.

— Maria Boado, 27, Haileah, FL.

— Efe Obayagbona, 45, Round Rock, TX.

— Bradley Grimsley, 64, Clarksville, TX.

— Chuck Pryor, Texas Department of Public Safety.

— Timmothy Hardaway, 54, Brownwood.

— Quadri Fatai, 41, Houston.

— Jesus Alvidrez, 21, Gardendale.

— Lilia Diaz, 46, Odessa.

— Krystal Lee, 36, Odessa.

— Larry Shores, 34, Abilene.

— Coltyn Reyenga, 9, Odessa.

— Penny Moore, 55, Odessa.

— Wanda Silvas, 74, Odessa.