Martin-Klein American Legion Post 133 and the Fort Kent Historical Society are joining forces to pursue a Veterans Museum & Community Center in downtown Fort Kent. The Northern Maine Veterans Museum & Community Center will be a community magnet open to the public to provide a place for veterans to congregate and share common experiences and interact with all generations; providing a living, breathing interactive education to young and old as to the true cost of freedom.
The proposed center will consist of:
 Central multipurpose room
 Surrounding walls will have built-in display areas to display items and artifacts of those who served from the area
 Attached kitchen area that can be secured up when not in use
 Attached conference room with extranet audio visual capabilities to provide global teleconference/meeting capabilities
 Meeting space for community stakeholders
 Veterans Administration/Togus teleconference/outreach capabilities
 ITV feeds for community and veterans to interact remotely with Augusta and Washington, D.C., committee hearings
 Available office space to facilitate outreach and/or service offerings of various visiting VSO representatives.
 Attached meeting rooms.
 Attached reflection room with Kiosk and lounge area for sharing and conversing which can be used to stage various static displays that change from time to time.
 Secure section for archiving and safeguarding of artifacts (Historical Society, Oral Veteran History, etc.)
 Wall of Honor listing all veterans from all wars from the Greater Fort Kent Area.
 Remaining outside space/area could be developed into park bench seating with reflection areas imagine a small central “Freedom Center” in the center of Fort Kent.

The Legion and the Historical Society have already begun to seek grants and donations. A benefit concert, “Freedom Fest” with the help of Vets Rock (www.vetsrock.org) is in the planning stages with community stakeholders and is scheduled for next fall to benefit the community center. Thomas Ian Nicholas, who played Kevin Myers in the American Pie film series is interested in headlining the event. A scaled model of the proposed center is under development and an informational meeting will be announced in the near future to provide more information.

For more information or to lend you support please contact Duane Belanger, commander of Martin-Klein American Legion Post 133 at (207) 951-2874, or Chad Pelletier, president of the Fort Kent Historical Society at (207) 823-2115. Or you may visit the project website at www.IamtheAmericanFlag.com