Bending Steel, Healing a Community

In a span of moments, a community’s heart was ripped out, and its sense of civility and security torn asunder … perhaps forever.

The November 2021 Christmas Parade attack in Waukesha, Wis., made headlines nationwide. A 39-year-old man drove an SUV through crowds of participants and bystanders, sowing untold havoc and destruction in his wake.

Six people were killed. The dead included an 8-year-old boy, and several performers in a senior citizen dance group. More than 60 innocent people were injured, some seriously.

Twenty-two months later, the driver, Darrell Brooks, was convicted and sentenced to six consecutive life sentences.

News coverage eventually faded. The pain of the incident, though, lingers in Waukesha – a community where, prior to the unprovoked attack, the notion of such a heinous act would have been unthinkable.

Plans for a memorial to the parade attack’s victims formed. A Parade Memorial Commission was chartered in early 2022. It chose a sculpture design of six ribbons – one for each life lost – woven together into a large heart. The sculpture would be placed at Grede Park, an open space at the western end of downtown Waukesha.

Donations were sought for the memorial. Community support poured in. The sculpture was no small undertaking, though – including cost-wise. The Parade Memorial Commission sought in-kind donors to bring its design to life.

Max Weiss Company stepped up. We donated metal bending services to create the stunning curves of each ribbon.

COST of Wisconsin Inc. fabricated and donated six 10” x 20 lb. x 40’ I-beams. Our metal rolling and forming professionals bent them to exact specs. Our team was honored to contribute its expertise to shape the memorial.

Photos here show the extraordinary results of the two companies’ partnership. The Milwaukee Business Journal published a story about the pro bono fabrication and forming services coming together.

From our perspective, the decision to participate was obvious. Waukesha is a neighbor community 20 miles west of our plant. Its residents suffered a horrific tragedy that forever altered their collective conscience. Anything we could do to help, we would.

Beautiful as it is, the Waukesha Parade Memorial honors all who were lost, and those who will never be the same. Max Weiss Company was honored to help make it reality. The most hopeful part of all, though, is that something like this never happens again.