Want to immortalize your name on Benicia High School grounds? The school’s Memory Bricks Project will be setting up bricks with donors’ names outside the new Drolette Stadium. (Photo courtesy of Carrie Smith)

As Benicia High School’s stadium of yesteryear fades into the soil to make room for a new stadium— scheduled to be completed in Spring 2017— many changes to the Drolette Stadium will be instated. These include a new all-weather track, upgraded lighting, new bleachers and so on. One of these new features is a redesigned red brick entryway emblazoned with the names of Benicia High students and community figures past and present.

Benicia High recently announced its Memory Brick Project, in which alumni, current students, future students, family, community members and businesses purchase bricks to have their names or the names of loved ones engraved on them which would then be placed along the entryway to the renovated stadium. Memorial brick walkways are commonly used by institutions. Local examples can be seen outside the Benicia Public Library and the Benicia Community Center, located at the former site of Mills Elementary School.

Carrie Smith, a Benicia Parent Teacher Student Association member and project chair, said the idea came from Benicia High Principal Brianna Kleinschmidt, who brought it up at one of the PTSA meetings as a way to raise funds for the school.

“I felt like it would be a terrific project to head up,” Smith said. “With e-script no longer contributing to our district, this became a perfect alternative to still raise funds.”

In addition to allowing students to have their names visible to future high school students entering the stadium, proceeds from the project will support the PTSA. This in turn will help provide money for scholarships, mini-grants, teacher appreciation events, recognition for honor roll students and Grad Night.

“The overall goal of the PTSA is to enrich student learning experiences at BHS, and your contribution to the brick project will help make this happen,” Smith said. “As an added bonus, they will be a part of Benicia High School history by having their custom brick placed at the entrance of the new stadium for all to see.”

Each brick is allowed to have three lines of text with 20 characters per line. According to Smith, the suggestions for messages are wide open, whether it is just a student’s name and graduation year, a memory of a deceased student, the sport a student athlete played, quotes of inspiration following a person’s name, etc.

“Really the possibilities are endless,” Smith said.

To purchase bricks, go to brickorder.com/form/view.php?id=132617. Bricks are currently available at the discounted price of $100 per brick. After Feb. 1, 2017, the price will increase to $150 per brick.

For more information, please contact Smith at BHSmemorybricks@yahoo.com.

Sharing is caring!