Stephen Elrod Memorial Plaza Dedication Ceremony

A twenty-two minute video of the entire dedication of the sculpture and the Stephen Elrod Memorial Plaza at Georgetown College.

Memorial Tribute

Short video put to music of friends and family that attended the dedication ceremony reminiscing about Stephen and looking at the sculpture and inside at the cross and fingerprints placed during the bronze process. Music by Sarah McLachlan, "Arms of an Angel"

Celebration Ceremony

On Friday, May 14th, 2010, the sculpture and plaza area was dedicated in a touching ceremony.

Welcome by Dr. William H. Crouch, Jr.,
Readings and Commentary by: Rick Elrod
Pastor Larry Travis giving "The Angel's Message"
Dr. Nancy Lumpkin reading Isaiah 40: 30-31
Mark Surgalski
Dr. Scott Takacs reading Romans 5: 1-5
Coach Happy Osborne on Stephen as a Gatherer
Dr. Tom Cooper reading Emily Dickinson's There is Another Sky, verses 9-12
Amanda Matthews, artist
Closing Prayer by Rev. Robert M. Fox, Jr.

Coach Happy Osborne spoke of Stephen being a gatherer during the ceremony


The focal point of the plaza area is the bronze sculpture, an angelic form expressing forward and upward movement and quiet introspection. Designed by Amanda B. Matthews and fabricated at the Prometheus Foundry in the spring 2010, the sculpture is bronze with stainless steel armature situated on a rough-cut limestone base. Inside the wings are fingerprints of family members Judy and Jon Elrod and Celtic crosses that bear the initials SDE in remembrance of Stephen.

Surrounding the sculpture are landscaping features that are intended to transform the space from a pass-through area into a gathering place. Two arcs are comprised of fourteen stones brought to the site from a barn on the Elrod family farm in northern Kentucky. Five limestone stepping-stones lead to the sculpture and provide a path to the granite boulders that offer a site of reflection on each side of the sculpture. The plantings accentuate the sculpture and serve, also, as symbolic reminders of the homes where Stephen lived. These include: Crimson Pygmy Barberry from the family home in Falmouth, Kentucky; Nandina bushes from their Georgia home: and Snow Fountain Weeping Cherry, Knockout Roses, and Liriope that are present at the family's current residence in Foster, Kentucky.
It was very important to us to have the sculpture completed, installed, and dedicated before Jon graduated. All the graduates would line up in the George Bush Fitness Center and march through the plaza and sculpture area. Although Stephen was not present physically during this celebration, his presence was felt in more ways than one.
May 15, 2010

The history of the Stephen D. Elrod Memorial Plaza

Stephen spent four wonderful years at Georgetown College and we wanted to commemorate his life outside the David-Reid Alumni Gym where he spent many hours playing basketball. He loved just being a part of the team from year to year and the players and coaches became his second family.

We had different options for a memorial, but it wasn't a difficult decision once we heard the suggestion to name the space between the gym and fitness center as the Stephen Elrod Memorial Plaza and place a sculpture representing his qualities in a focal point on the plaza. The search began for an artist to design the sculpture.

In February 2010, we reviewed the qualification of six different artists. Four of the artists were selected to submit a drawing proposing their design for the sculpture. Although there were four wonderful ideas presented, we knew almost from the very beginning that Amanda Matthews was the artist we were to use. Throughout the design and assembly of the sculpture, we visited the foundry multiple times. We discovered different connections to Amanda which made it evident why she also felt "she was supposed to design this sculpture".

Amanda's proposal for the sculpture memorializing Stephen was of an 'angelic form' expressing forward and upward movement, and quiet introspection. It was a three-dimensional bronze and limestone sculpture standing 7' tall. Her inspiration for the design was born from three separate sources.

We had asked for comments and observations about Stephen from his family and friends. Some of the thoughts, observations, and memories written included "angelic, contagious smile"..."enormous smile"..."friend, an informal angel"..."gentle determination"..."Godly, faithful"..."humble, generous, kind"..."quiet leader"..."uplifting and always greeted you with his smile"..."valued important things in life--family, friends, God"..."respectful"..."displayed the gentleness of God's grace"..."helped you remember that each day is a blessing"..."giving--would find time for you no matter how busy he was"...

As Amanda read over the comments, she began to realize that a sculpture representing only one facet of Stephen's life would not do justice to the memorial. He represented a dynamic combination of uplifting, dedicated, encouraging, spirited leader and unselfish, humble, sincere, thoughtful, hopeful, kind, generous, quiet, faithful angel. One epitaph simply said LOVE.

The second inspiration for the sculpture came from Biblical accounts of Stephen. Amanda told of a Biblical essay by John MacArthur titled Stephen: A Profile in Courage, The Man with the Face of an Angel. The essay notes that Stephen was one of the great men of faith in the early Church. He was described as a "man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit" and "of honest report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom." Furthermore, as Stephen stood before a council of men (who were determining his fate), even they saw that "his face was like the face of an angel." MacArthur writes "Besides moving history, men also move the hearts of others by their individuality. Stephen was not only important because he had great historical effect (his martyrdom causing the expansion of the church), he was also important just because the very character of his life. This is great proof that the effect of a man's life or ministry has nothing to do with the length of the man's life. This essay's description of the Biblical Stephen, the first Christian martyr, bears striking resemblance to the wonderful remarks and comments made by Stephen's friends and the third inspiration for the sculpture came from the meaning of the name Stephen. Some of the traditional meanings of an angel are:

* a typically benevolent celestial being that acts as an intermediary between heaven and earth, a guardian spirit or guiding influence,
* a kind and lovable person, and
* one who manifests goodness, purity, and selflessness.

The sculpture has a forward, upward swooping motion separating out into two 'wings', which make a crowning circle and come back together near the tips. The south-facing orientation represents the quiet, humble, contemplative, listener like one who is bowing and praying.

Shown to the left is one of the early stages of the sculpture. Jon is shown placing his fingerprints in the soft clay with the artist, Amanda.
The process of bronze sculpting has not changed since the Bronze Age. In the photo is the actual process of pouring hot bronze into the ports in the molds.
To the eye of someone unfamiliar with the process of bronze, this picture would appear the the bronze pour was unsuccessful. However, it was a very successful pour. The molds were unbolted and pulled apart. After the wings are pulled apart, there are still several hours of work before the finished product.
Brad Connell, co-owner of the Prometheus Foundry welded small sections of the wings and the patina needed to be added as well before the finished product could be installed on the site.

Update on Stephen's Organ Donation

The organization that handles all heart valve transplantation, LifeNet sent an update regarding Stephen's heart valves. His two pulmonary and aortic valves have been sent to medical facilities but they do not know if they have been transplanted yet. His aortic valves were sent to a hospital in Georgia in February of 2010. His pulmonary valves were sent to a hospital in Virginia in February 2010 also.

Stephen would be thrilled to know that his heart valves went to Georgia where he spent so many years. They possibly could have benefited someone that he shared the soccer fields or basketball court with over the years.

Safe in the Arms of Jesus

At sunrise and sunset, we remember you. For several years, we have known we wanted to place a proper headstone on Stephen's younger brother Nicholas. But we kept putting this off for some reason. We now know that that we were to wait so that he could share the headstone with his older brother. At the bottom of the stone is the inscription "Sons of Rick and Judy; Brothers of Jon" On the back of the stone the following is written:

In Memory of Nicholas W. Elrod
You were a gift from God born so beautiful and so innocent, giving us a glimpse of Heaven, if only for a few days before God would call you home. We know our God is watching over you, and the angels are gently rocking you, until we can once again feel the touch of your little hand and the warmth of your tender face.

In Memory of Stephen D. Elrod
The lives he touched were immeasurable, and anyone who met him was fortunate enough to have their life enriched. We will forever use our memories of his smile, his sense of humor, his humility and generosity, and his big heart as an inspiration to make our lives and the lives around us more complete and whole.

The Eternal Charger #5

Eagles Landing Christian Academy, McDonough, GA., was home for Stephen beginning in the sixth grade and until he moved back to KY his senior year (1997-2002). It holds such special memories in our heart. His brother Jon was a student also, his mother taught there, and his father was the basketball coach. There Stephen excelled in and out of the classroom, and adopted his southern charm. He participated in junior varsity basketball and football, varsity golf, tennis, track, and basketball.

ELCA is a private Christian school for K-12 grades. When he first attended in 1997, there were 160 students in 6-12th grades and 270 students in the entire one-building complex. In 2000, the new complex was built. All the students knew one another, appreciated, and respected each other. This was evident at the ceremony in the new ELCA gym on January 29th, 2010, when Stephen's jersey was retired. There were students who were seniors when Stephen began as a 6th grader and students who were much younger than him. There was a closeness that could not be explained. Not only did many students attend, the stands were full of parents of old classmates, and past faculty members.

Pastor Tim Dowdy, friend and pastor of Eagles Landing First Baptist Church spoke of his memories of Stephen and what he stood for. He asked for all the students to come join us on the floor. We stretched our hands out to each other as he prayed.


















Next, Coach James Hunter relayed the story as to how he came to ELCA. Rick had been his assistant coach on the Henry Co Recreation and YBOA teams Stephen had been associated with. Rick called him and asked him to bring his son to ELCA and be his assistant. He went on to tell about the impact Stephen had had on peoples lives in such a short period of time.

It was evident with the amount of friends that came that evening. But it was also so clearly seen at his funeral. He said that the seventeen/eighteen people that came from Georgia witnessed it. (Although I counted up that there were at least thirty-one people that drove or flew in from Georgia for the funeral.) Stephen had only been back in Kentucky for a short time, but there was a constant line for hours at the funeral. James reinterated what others have said about Stephen's Christian character. They unveiled the jersey that will hang in the gym.


Rick had the pre-game talk with the team earlier that evening. He told them they would only have one opportunity to go out on the floor and give it their all...to play their best. He also told them they only have the one opportunity in life to make a difference...to live as God would want them live.
James told us the next evening that earlier in the season he had told Stephen's story to his team. As a result, he had two players give their lives to Jesus. We knew that Stephen's death had to have a reason. If these were just the only two lives saved, it would be worth it. However, we feel there are more we know nothing about.

Clay Reeves, close friend and teammate of Stephen's spoke afterwards about a memorial scholarship for a graduation senior they are starting for Stephen. The recipient must have a Christian character, be an athlete, have a strong academic standing, and possess citizenship qualities.