The initial phase to build an outdoor park on the downtown Sebring Circle to fill a physical and emotional void began April 14.
And through a spirit of altruism, volunteering and philanthropy — brick by brick, column by column, wire by wire, plant by plant — the Garden of Joy is getting closer to completion.
The 7,600-square-foot plot, next to the Circle Theatre, is being built to honor Jimmy Polatty, a Boy Scout Eagle Scout from Sebring who had planned to become a physician but died at age 23 of a heart attack Dec. 31, 2013.
Friday, two of the people instrumental in the project met at the park to go over what had been done and what remains to be built or installed.
Standing under the park gazebo, Jim Polatty, Jimmy’s father, and Kevin Roberts, chief executive officer for the Champion for Children Foundation, took stock of where things stood to officially open the park.