KPCCA Fundraiser and Great Brick Reveal Celebrate 66th Anniversary

Held in honor of its official date of incorporation, April 10, 1956, the Key Peninsula Civic Center Association unveiled its newly installed brick path near the entrance of the civic center during an event dubbed “The Great Brick Reveal” to community members gathered in Vaughn April 10.

The personalized bricks, purchased and engraved through the company Fundraising Brick, brought in around $9,000 from the sale of 78 bricks purchased by local residents, organizations and businesses.

“I was really excited to see some of the older families, like the Olsons. Some of the Olson sisters were there,” KPCCA Board and Executive Committee member Rachel Newhouse said. “We got to hear a lot of stories about back when the center was a school and how it came into the hands of the community and some of how it’s been run since then.”

KPCCA honored its founders by listing their surnames on two large bricks. The last surviving founder, Wally Cornman, is now 96 years old and recently moved to a retirement center in Gig Harbor.

The personalized bricks are engraved with dedications to family, friends and pets, quotes from well-known locals, and memorials for Ted Ralston and Joanna Gormly, Eric Leo Collins and other beloved friends who have passed away.

“Our brick thanks those who laid the way for a great community asset,” Margo Macdonald of Vaughn said. It reads: “To those before us to those yet to come, our appreciation and gratitude for the civic center.”

There are bricks with inside jokes, such as “Mindy Rowland The Pink Dog” and pieces of advice: “If you want something you’ve never had, then you have to do something you have never done.”

“In my opinion, the corporate logo bricks turned out the most spectacular,” KPCC Operations Manager Stefanie Warren said. “The Purdy Cost Less brick and KP Suicide Prevention Coalition brick look really great.”

Newhouse said the Great Brick Reveal event was a nice way to come together in a small way as a community.

“That was part of the purpose of the brick sale,” she said. “It was kind of born out of the depths of the pandemic and thinking how can we stay engaged with our community and also do a little fundraising because we had to cancel all of our fundraising events.”

KPCCA plans to sell more personalized bricks later this year.

“I’m hoping that installation is there, you know, close to forever,” Newhouse said. “I’d like to make sure that every one is as represented as possible.”