Yesterday, Detachment 1 of the 624th National Guard Engineering Company, welcomed the community to the re-dedication of the Price Armory along with the signing of their Community Covenant.
The Armory was built in 1956, and has been closed to make seismic improvements as well as adding classrooms, a new storage room, redesigned bathrooms which include showers, a commercial kitchen, new concrete in the maintenance area, heating and air conditioning, lighting, and many more improvements to make the building more aesthetically pleasing. The improvements were a $1.3 million investment into assuring that the facility can fulfill its purpose for many more years.
Staff Sergeant Stephen Tallerico welcomed the crowd to the event, and the Carbon High School Choir presented the National Anthem. The high school band also played. Tallerico spoke about the excitement over the improvements made to the Armory, expressing his hope that it, along with the community covenant that would be signed, would help the families left at home when the detachment is deployed next year.
The national guardsmen and women are planning to be deployed to Afghanistan in May of 2012. Their primary mission will be base camp construction and construction of internment facilities. The community covenant, a promise that the community will support the troops, especially by providing support to their families was signed by community leaders, including Mayor Joe Piccolo.
Piccolo expressed that the city was grateful to the soldiers, saying, “This is our unit. We love you guys!” He assured the soldiers that signing the covenant reaffirmed the city’s dedication to support the detachment. “Our job is to make sure your families are taken care of,” he said, encouraging community members to “find new and creative ways to support those who have given so much.”
Along with signing the covenant, the Mayor also spoke about the history of the Armory. He explained that when the facility was built, it was “the largest gymnasium in Carbon and Emery County”. He was pleased that with the improvements, it might again be a benefit to the company.
Brigadier General Jefferson S. Burton, Commander, Utah Army National Guard attended the event, and along with Piccolo and other dignitaries, cut the ribbon to mark the re-dedication. He expressed his pride in the members of the Price detachment, relating how well they had done when they were under his command in Iraq. He also encouraged the community to support the soldiers.
See a photo gallery of the event below.