Memorial benches have gained in popularity as a way to honor an individual. Now some towns are offering memorial picnic table programs
Memorial benches are becoming increasingly popular as a way to honor an individual and now there's a trend toward adding a commemorative message to picnic tables as well.
In fact, the City of Ravenswood in West Virginia recently received an award for a new memorial picnic table program they started.
What a great way to honor a loved one or popular public figure in a town!
Like adding park benches with a plaque or laser-cut inscription, memorial picnic tables are a fantastic way to commemorate someone's life.
Memorial benches and picnic tables have several advantages
Here are a few reasons why:
- Highly Visible - unlike other donations, when families buy memorial benches or picnic tables, that donation will be seen by a continuous flow of people who use or walk by those site furnishings. Maybe some of those people will even know that individual, which will add more impact and value to the community.
- Donation Stays Local - when funds are used to buy a memorial picnic table or park bench, that money goes toward an item that stays in the community where the persons being honored once lived.
- Improves The Community - most towns are on tight budgets. One of the departments that usually face the tightest budget limitations are parks and recreation departments. So, when memorial benches or picnic tables are gifted, the donor also helps to improve their town. The purchase of these outdoor site furnishings can offset the cost of replacing or adding new picnic tables and benches. In addition, adding more picnic tables or park benches or replacing old, decaying furniture is a popular amenity to add to a community. These site amenities are something that can be enjoyed by all members of the public and frankly that makes the town a better place to live, even in a small way.
- Civic Groups - many organizations such as Rotary Clubs also donate outdoor site furnishings to their communities as part of their civic improvement efforts. It's always nice to have a program in place, such as a memorial picnic table or park bench program, where a group can receive recognition for the contribution they make to their town.
Commemorative text can be added to outdoor site furnishings in a number of ways.
Ravenswood chose to use metal picnic tables where the memorial message was laser-cut into the steel in big bold lettering. Metal site furnishings have several advantages.
Metal benches and picnic tables have coatings that are built to last
For one, metal benches and picnic tables, especially with a hardy thermoplastic coating, are extremely durable. There is no wood to replace, sand or repaint.
Metal picnic tables can also be used as a memorial simply by laser-cutting a message into the steel or etching text onto a metal plate
The coating is resistant rain, snow, ice and harmful UV rays that break materials down over time. In addition, the metal picnic tables will not attract mold or mildew.
One of the big problems that parks and recreation departments constantly face is vandalism. A thermoplastic coating actually repels spray paint. Offensive graffiti can be quickly cleaned off the tables.
Overall, the metal benches and picnic tables are incredibly easy to maintain. Most of the time they can be cleaned with just soap and water or a light industrial cleaner.
To apply this hardy coating, a metal picnic table is immersed in a thermoplastic bath. This allows the liquefied plastic to flow into all the little nooks and crannies. That coating then hardens and prevents moisture from penetrating and eventually weakening the steel with rust and corrosion.
Metal plaques can be attached to any material
However, there are other options.
A metal plaque honoring an individual can also be placed on concrete picnic tables, wooden picnic tables, recycled plastic picnic tables or aluminum picnic tables as well.
Words and even images can be etched into the metal plate to create a lasting tribute.
For towns and parks and recreation departments, increasing the options for memorial tributes is a great idea. These programs help to stretch local budgets and at the same time, keep outdoor site amenities in tip-top shape.
For most communities, there can never be enough picnic tables or park benches.
The success of many towns with their memorial program, from a major metropolis like New York City to a small town like Ravenswood, shows the public is willing and eager to participate in this type of donation.
Note: If your town is interested in starting a program for memorial benches or picnic tables, The Park and Facilities Catalog offers a large array of memorial and laser-cut logo site furnishings.