A massive fundraising effort is in the works that will go toward the much needed renovations of the USS Arizona Memorial.
It was in March 1961 when Hawaii fans gave Elvis a warm welcome to the islands and showered him with more flower lei than he probably bargained for.
During that visit, Elvis played a benefit concert at Pearl Harbor’s Bloch Arena, raising more than $64,000 for the building of the USS Arizona Memorial. That support has continued from Elvis fans long after his death.
Pacific Historic Parks and Elvis Presley Enterprises have teamed up to raise money for renovations to the memorial.
"We are very grateful of the Elvis Enterprises support,” said Jennifer Ujimori, Pacific Historic Parks. “They’ve been such great contributors to our organization and our purpose with the memorial and maintaining the memorial."
It’s a partnership that’s about to come in very handy. The memorial is in dire need of renovations, which of course means money, somewhere in the tune of $700,000.
"Redoing of the floors and we just completed the shrine wall,” noted Ujimori. “And now we’ll be working on the wall of names on the Shrine Wall so there are a lot of upgrades and upkeeps that need to be done."
Pacific Historic Parks is scheduled to receive a check from an Elvis Presley fan club next month at a gathering in Graceland. Some 750 fans are also expected to come here in January. So there are plans to hold a special event at the Arizona Memorial to thank the fans.
"We just want to make it something memorable for them and their visit and to show them what Elvis did," Ujimori added.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
