The front entrance of Broomfield High now holds a resonance of tragic loss.Two benches were erected in memory of two of our own Eagles, Mason Wedan and Chad Britton. The benches would not be here without the community and especially the involvement of a two dedicated Eagles.

Kendra Tacoronte is a senior this year, and with some help, she brought the school a unique way of commemorating our fallen Eagles. The benches themselves are symbolic of the boys as well as what can be accomplished when Broomfield is brought together for a common purpose. Every project starts out as an idea, and the benches in memoriam were no different.

“Alayna Sohail and I came up with the idea together and I stuck with it,” Tacoronte said. “I got money donated to me from my work to buy memorial bracelets for both of the boys to be sold to raise money for the benches. I talked to Mrs. Ramsey […] about my planning and got everything approved through her.”

The project was coming together and the bracelets were flying onto wrists everywhere. At five dollars per bracelet, Tacoronte was making thousands of dollars in just a few hours every night for funding. She also made a broad outreach via social media to keep people updated on the project. As the project grew by the day, Tacoronte realized she would need more help to make these benches a reality. She found that help in the class of 2017’s Nate Torrez, a very close friend of Mason Wedan.  

“Once I started this process I got in touch with Nate because he was Mason’s best friend and knew him better than anyone else. Nate stepped in and started helping with everything,” Tacoronte said. Every fan in the student section could see the passion that Tacoronte and Torrez put into their fundraising. The two of them were able to raise roughly $6,000 dollars in a short amount of time. “Nate is one of the biggest reasons I was able to make this project possible. He helped me out in more ways than I could have imagined,” Tacoronte said.

After the money had been raised for the project, the duo started designing a pair of iconic benches. They worked alongside local companies Arc Innovations and Insane Fabrications to turn the boys’ benches into a reality. Supplemented by the ideas of Tacoronte and Torrez, the companies put countless hours of effort into the project.

“Nate and I told them what we wanted the benches to look like, and they designed and put more time and effort into them then we could ever thank them for,” Tacoronte said.

The project was nothing short of a success. Both benches were revealed to the school on a rainy morning in May 2015. More than 100 people, students, teachers, and parents, attended the unveiling.

“I wanted the boys to be remembered by the great people they were and for people to remember all the good memories that they were able to share with them,” Tacoronte said.
The unveiling was an emotional event, and the families of the departed were more than grateful for Tacoronte and Torrez’s involvement. The benches are standing proof that even in the face of tragedy, community involvement and a good cause can make a idea into a reality.