Rock-On Award Goes To Healthcare Workers During Granite City Days Opening Ceremony

(KNSI) – St. Cloud area health care workers were honored, and a new award was presented during the Granite City Days opening ceremony.

This year, the summer celebration has chosen to make music its theme. The ceremony began with a performance from the St. Cloud Symphony and a special performance by James Calacsan, the Granite City Days chairman.

Mayor Dave Kleis then presented the 2021 Rock-On Award to a group he says we all owe a debt.

“We normally do two or three of these awards every year. But this year, I can think of no other greater recipient than a large group of people, but one award. And that is to CentraCare St. Cloud Hospital and all of the health care workers, they have stepped up, folks that have been there. It’s a difficult job, to begin with, but they stepped up during a pandemic. And we owe them such a debt of gratitude as a community.”

Normally, the Rock-On award is a small piece of granite given on behalf of St. Cloud.

But Mayor Kleis announced other plans in honor of the thousands of health care workers who’ve been on the front lines during the pandemic.

“This is such an important award to such an important group of people. We’re actually going to put this award in a granite monument in one of our 96 parks probably at Lake George, where we will recognize this year, we will not only put the monument in the Rock-On award, but we’re going to we’re going to bury a time capsule that depicts all of what has happened over this last year and a half.”

Jake Judd (KNSI News)

Keeping with the musical theme, the Mayor presented the first St. Cloud Music Legacy Award posthumously to Bobby Vee.

His grandson Bennet accepted on his behalf.

Mayor Kleis also presented a $500 winner to the winner of the write a song about St. Cloud contest. The money went to former St. Cloud City Clerk and now songwriter Gregg Engdahl.