As the date for the tenth anniversary of the Women’s Honor Court in September nears, Jule McClellan, co-chair of the honor court committee, is reminding people that the deadline for applying to get the name of a special woman engraved on the new granite wall—and in place for the dedication—is July 31.
The Women’s Honor Court Committee will hold a dedication of the new granite wall, complete with all the names, at 2 p.m. on Sept. 22 at the honor court at 16 S. Water St. (If the weather is bad, the dedication will be on the second floor of the Henderson County Public Library.)
The form to sign up to get a woman’s name engraved is located on the Henderson County government website, at this address: https://www.hendersonky.us/Facilities/Facility/Details/Womens-Honor-Court-Park-5.
It can also be reached by navigating to the county government website, www.hendersonky.us, and then clicking on “Your Government.” On the next page, click on “Departments P-Z” followed by a click on “Parks & Programs.” On the left had side of the next page, the “Women’s Honor Court” page is found. Click on it and find the donation form on the next page.
After the form is filled and the fee of $1,000 is sent in, the applicant must verify that the name on the form is correctly spelled because once it’s engraved, it’s engraved, McClellan said.
Currently, the committee has obtained three granite slabs that are still off-site. The slabs are 3-feet wide by 8-feet tall and will be mounted to a brick wall already on site of the Women’s Honor Court. Once mounted, the total area of the granite slabs will be 9 feet by 8 feet, McClellan said.
McClellan said getting a woman’s name engraved is open to anybody who feels strongly about a special woman in their life.
The $1,000 fee pays for the engraving which will be done by a specialist, McClellan said. Once the names gathered by July 31 are engraved, the slabs will be brought to the honor court to be mounted on the brick wall, McClellan said.
Additional names can be added to the wall after the slabs have been mounted—and McClellan expects this will occur—but that would require the engraving specialist to come to the Women’s Honor Court and work on-site, causing an increase in price.
McClellan estimates the total cost of the new wall, which will also include a copper roof, will be between $80,000-$100,000. So far, she said there have been 54 applications for engravings, and the wall will probably be able to contain 200, she said.
The first wall at the Women’s Honor Court, dedicated ten years ago, features between 175 and 180 engravings, McClellan said.
McClellan said the Women’s Honor court is a local treasure.
“It’s the only park in Kentucky dedicated to women,” she said. “There might be two or three in the United States.”
Looking forward, McClellan said the Women’s Honor Court committee hopes that it can schedule Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman to speak at the 10-year anniversary celebration in September.