Following the One October Tragedy, Olympia Companies rallies partners to create a tranquil private retreat to help the coroner’s office heal.
“We couldn’t have done this without you,” Clark County coroner John Fudenberg announced to Angela Rock, a representative of the Olympia Companies and Southern Highlands Charitable Foundation on Thursday, November 30, at the dedication of a new tranquility garden. The Foundation stepped forward to help coroner workers find healing in the wake of One October.
Through personal connections, Angela Rock, the Foundation’s Executive Director, learned of the trauma the coroner’s office endured on October 1st—days of limited sleep as they moved through the festival ground turned crime scene, examining and identifying the bodies of the 58 victims before delivering devastating news to loved ones.
Quickly, the Foundation engaged Par3 Landscape Management and its key suppliers SYNLawn of Nevada and Arizona Pavers to donate the time, labor, and materials necessary to construct the 50 x 15 space, which features artificial grass, benches for quiet reflection and a mural printed by Patrick Signs depicting the words “Vegas Strong” over a silhouette of the city skyline.
Led by Par3 COO Kam Brian, the transition from barren space to garden took just three days.
A large window at the end of the garden looks into a peaceful meditation room coroner John Fudenberg created weeks ago, where members of his team are offered guided meditation sessions with world-renowned instructor Debra Apsara. Apsara, who has traveled to India more than twenty times for training, leads meditation for coroner workers four times a day and anticipates moving her sessions outside to the garden in the coming weeks.
“We’re honored we could come together in this collaborative effort to make the garden a reality,” said Angela Rock. “Our hope at the Foundation is that this garden will continue to serve as a place of inner peace and comfort for the incredible men and women of the coroner’s office.”