Trafford Borough, in a partnership with the Westmoreland Cultural Trust presents the official unveiling of the Wings Across Westmoreland in Trafford!

The Trafford Wings project is fully funded by the St. Marks Church committee.

More information on the Wings Across Westmoreland Project can be found by clicking this link: Wings Across Westmoreland

This is a Trafford Community Event!  All are welcome!

Where: Trafford Borough parking lot
When: Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 10:00am

The following Trafford Community members participated in the committee for this project:
Pat Bayko, Trafford Council Woman and St. Marks Committee Member
Jean Gregg, St Marks Committee Member
Steve Perovich, Trafford Borough Council Vice-President
Andrew Capets, Trafford Historical Society
Bob Kozubal, Trafford Historical Society
Ralph Deabner, Former Council Member and Resident
Kris Cardiff, Trafford Borough Council President

The story behind the Trafford Wings Project:

Though there are many other communities that have their own wings in Westmoreland County, there is a unique story behind the Trafford Wings Project.

In July 2021, Council President Kris Cardiff was looking for ways to add cultural development into the borough’s already existing focus on economic and community development. After the Trafford Theatre Factory merged with the Apple Hill Playhouse, Councilman Cardiff was inspired and had a discussion with Ashley Stack, the borough’s manager at the time. During the discussion, Stack mentioned that about a month earlier she had a conference call with the Westmoreland Cultural Trust where the Wings Across Westmoreland project was presented. Councilman Cardiff formed a committee to be made up of three council members, residents, and community leaders. The group met over the next few months for discussions and planning but ultimately, the primary objective was how to pay for the project. Several of the wings committee members offered to donate their own money towards the project but with the current economic situation in the country, the committee found that they may not be able to fund the project on their own.

By what may be an act of divine intervention, Ms. Stack received a phone call from the now former St. Mark’s Church. Unfortunately, St. Mark’s Church closed down in 2019 due to low attendance and diminished finances which ultimately lead to the church being sold. The St. Mark’s group asked Ms. Stack if there were any projects in Trafford that they could donate the remainder of their funds to and that is when everything came together.

Ashley reached out to Councilman Cardiff and informed him of the St. Mark’s group’s intent to fund a community project and Cardiff invited them to the next Trafford Wings meeting.

“The connection was surreal” Cardiff said. “At the same time we are working on a project that involves angelic wings and here’s one of our community churches that had recently closed, and they have just enough leftover funds to cover the project. Talk about divine intervention!”

Over the next few months, the Trafford Wings design started taking shape with the help of the Trafford Historical Society. Council approved the location of the wings to be installed on the wall of the parking lot next to the Trafford Community Library and the Wings Committee approved the final draft of the wings that was presented by the Westmoreland Cultural Trust associated artists.

Councilman Cardiff said, “This is what I’ve always strived for. Our community leaders working together to do great things for our little dot on the map. I hope this inspires more cultural development in Trafford Borough.”