July 16, 2001
Titusville High alumni launch
drive to save rocket
By Selina Roman
FLORIDA TODAY
A 1984 Titusville High School graduate has launched a mission
to save a rocket that never got off the ground.
Angie Sharkey is leading a campaign
to keep the rusted Titan I rocket in front of her alma mater.
She and her husband, John, created
a Web site to raise the more than $50,000 needed to restore
the rocket. In a week, the campaign has raised about $1,200.
The campaign is a last-ditch effort
to save the 30-year-old rocket, which has come under scrutiny
by the Titusville City Council because of safety concerns. It
faced a fate of being moved, some have said to a scrap heap,
but the council gave supporters a six-month extension to come
up with restoration funds.
Sharkey, a career counselor at
Valencia Community College in Orlando, said a high school friend
told her in March of the rocket's impending doom.
"I thought to myself, 'That can't
be,' " she said.
Sharkey then called area leaders
to see what could be done, all the while asking herself, "Who
does it mean the most to?"
With her husband's help, she designed
a Web site which was launched July 4. She has received several
e-mails from people who want to see the rocket restored and
kept in Titusville.
Kathy Canant, a 1978 THS graduate,
wrote that the rocket isn't just metal, but a symbol of teamwork.
"I think they're (people) misjudging
this piece of metal," she wrote. "It's meaning that we can all
soar if we work hard to fly."
Canant said just thinking about
the number of people it took to assemble the rocket "takes your
breath away."
Sharkey said the rocket is distinctive
and wants to keep it at the high school located on U.S. 1.
"When you say Titusville, it's
one of the first things people think of," she said. "It's a
landmark."
Councilman Chris Broome, who went
to school with Sharkey, said the rocket is a reflection of the
city's heritage.
"It's a symbol of our city's continuing
link to our country's space program," he said.
The landmark though, has lost
its luster and is running short on time. Numerous fund-raising
efforts have been attempted, but failed. The Titusville Kiwanis
Club also fell short, raising only about $9,000.
But council members said Sharkey's
energy and confidence convinced them that the money could be
raised.
Councilman Jeff Rainey contributed
$200 to Sharkey's cause because he said she can pull it off.
"I honestly feel that with her
upbeat (personality) and enthusiasm, she'll probably do it,"
he said.
Broome said he believes Sharkey's
mission will succeed. "With their energy and devotion to the
city, if anybody can save it, they can," he said.
