Evergreen Cemetery Association, Brainerd, recently held its annual meeting and election with the re-election of three to the nine-member board.

John Boeder, John Van Essen and Don Crust will continue for three-year terms. Conrad Bye, Frederick Casey, Duane Blanck, Laurie Hall, John Krueger and Robert Tusler fill out the board membership.

“This has been a very busy and productive year for the association,” according to President Boeder. “Our new executive director Karen Lentz had a full year to organize and deal with many new regulations and State Statutes governing Evergreen and Memorial Gardens. Records for owners of nearly 2,700 lots are now filed in five new fireproof cabinets purchased this past year with donation funds.”

A main project, approved at the meeting, is to move ahead with construction of a Columbarium at the 25-acre Memorial Gardens cemetery at the east end of Wise Road (County Road 49). The $30,000 addition includes a 48-niche unit on a landscaped site at the southeast area of the cemetery.

Grounds Committee Chairman Duane Blanck reported continued improvements at the Evergreen Cemetery in Brainerd. Installing new water system valves and faucet repairs are projected to save several hundred dollars per year. He noted that over 50 grave sites were reclaimed at Evergreen.

The nonprofit association owns and manages a total of about 120 acres of cemeteries on an annual operations budget of about $130,000. The two cemeteries must plan for continued maintenance and improvement long into the future. It has no government support and relies on donations for much of the improvements.