An effort to bring a space monument to the capital city is moving forward.
The Florida Space Exploration Monument, created by HB 1189 and approved by the governor, will be led and funded by the Florida Department of Management Services. The goal is to develop a design plan, location within the Capitol Plaza and cost projections. The next major move will be creating a committee and selecting members to serve for it.
“Just like the legislature and the governor signed it right away, I know there’s like a tremendous amount of momentum for them to be able to select the committee,” said Eddie Gonzalez Loumiet, CEO of Ruvos in Tallahassee who’s spearheading Launch Tally, a local effort to bolster more awareness of the city’s technology-based sector.
Separate from the bill, residents backing the Launch Tally push were brainstorming ways to bring a space-themed image to Tallahassee when the legislative measure surfaced.
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Space exploration in Florida, home to the first space rocket that launched from Cape Canaveral in 1950, became Launch Tally’s focal point as seen with its logo illustrating a rocket soaring through space.
The group was in the midst of fundraising and pushing a brand awareness campaign in order to bring a space-themed image, such as an actual rocket or space capsule, to represent innovation that’s both inspiring and captivating.
Now Launch Tally hopes to have a member from the group serve on the state’s committee as a means to offer input, said Gonzolez Loumiet. In addition, the state’s committee will facilitate a competition for ideas on what the space monument will look like.
“It’ll be cool to see who will submit whatever structure. For me, honestly, even if let’s say for example they get 10 submissions and one of submission is obviously selected, they may choose from more than one,” he said. “Then we (Launch Tally) have awareness of other people or other artists that submitted so then we can get to know them and potentially help them put structures not only in the Capitol Complex but another area. That’s more forward thinking but that’s the way I’m looking at it.”
Contact Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on Twitter.
