Closer to a ‘place of peace’

Station Fire Memorial fund at $1.6M

By John Howell
Posted 2/16/16

It was 2003, and Rhode Island was reeling from the worst fire in its history.

Gina Russo was a survivor of that fire, which claimed 100 lives at The Station nightclub on the night of Feb. 20. Her …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Closer to a ‘place of peace’

Station Fire Memorial fund at $1.6M

Posted

It was 2003, and Rhode Island was reeling from the worst fire in its history.

Gina Russo was a survivor of that fire, which claimed 100 lives at The Station nightclub on the night of Feb. 20. Her fiancé, Alfred “Freddy” Crisostomi, wasn’t as lucky. He lost his life.

On Sunday, at the 13th anniversary memorial service held at Warwick City Hall, Russo, who chairs the Station Fire Memorial Foundation, said from the moment she came out of a coma she vowed to do something to remember the “100 angels” who lost their lives.

Now that construction has started on a memorial park at the site of The Station and a capital fundraising campaign is closing in on a $2 million goal, she finds it hard to believe.

“Never did I think we could accomplish this,” she said following the ceremony in City Council Chambers. “We never could have done this without all these people.”

Russo said the turning point came in the fall of 2012. She said she had just been a guest of John DePetro on his WPRO radio show. There had been discussions about a memorial, but it was unclear what would become of the site.

After the radio show, she received a call from Ray Villanova, owner of the property. He said he had been following her and her dream to build a memorial park. He wanted the foundation to have the site.

“Two weeks later, we owned the land,” she said.

It was a big break in the dark clouds that had shrouded efforts to build a lasting memorial to the 100 since the fire. But then Russo needed a team, and to raise money. Both came together in the last year.

Gilbane Building Co. and the Construction Trades Union were among the first to step forward. With funding from Gilbane, Daniel Barry Associates took on the task of coordinating the fundraising campaign.

On Sunday, Barry stood at the podium at the end of the memorial service to outline the next steps of the campaign. He explained why he was wearing a striped sweater bearing silhouettes of Mickey Mouse. First, he said, it is his warmest sweater. And like the campaign, he said it is about family and magic.

Barry talked about the family of Rhode Island and how as a community it is interconnected. The magic has been how the state has come together for this cause. In the last year with former governor Donald Carcieri as campaign chair, $1.6 million has been raised in donations, pledges and commitments of in-kind contributions. One of the major donations came from Centreville Bank, Barry said, describing how the bank had been asked to give $50,000. Barry received a call from the bank. They were planning to help, but didn’t know at what level. Two weeks later, they made a $150,000 donation.

The public portion of the campaign starts in the next months. Under the direction of the Rev. Donald Anderson, executive minister of the Rhode Island Council of Churches, for a first time in the state’s history all houses of worship – more than 500 – will appeal to the congregations to help.

“This has never been done,” Barry said.

Municipal fire departments are also uniting to conduct boot drives for the cause, state news media is coming together to get out the word, and Job Lot customers will be asked to contribute at the point of purchase.

In the last six weeks, Barry said, $275,000 in contributions and commitments have come in, bringing the campaign to the level of $1.6 million.

“The park is going to happen,” he said. He put completion at this September or early October.

In her invocation, the Rev. Maria Carpenter said the park will be “a place where we can stop and reflect on an event that will always be in our mind.”

It was a theme repeated by Lt. Gov. Daniel McKee, who said it will be a “place of peace” and a place where good memories of those lost will overcome grief.

Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian recognized Russo’s commitment and said if it wasn’t for her, the park would not be built. West Warwick Town Manager Fred Presley reflected on how long it has taken to reach the point of building a park, but now it is going to happen.

In his reflections, the Rev. Anderson spoke of God’s power of solace. “No matter how you deal with grief there is a place for solace … pray that you will find solace that only comes from you [God].”

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here