We are the Monk Council of New Haven. Our cousins are the late Jazz musician, Thelonious Monk and Football Hall of Famer, Art Monk. But, just to tell you a little about the Monk Family of Connecticut. Our civic contributions started in Connecticut, and now, we are branching out to North Carolina. Our parents are North Carolina natives, and they have provided care for over forty-five foster children, as well as raising nine children of their own to be successful citizens in the city of New Haven. They not only lived in the house that Thelonious Monk was born in, they owned the property until it was taken from them by the City of Rocky Mount through eminent domain. Many of our siblings were born in the house as well. Our family has continued humanitarian and philanthropic traditions; which involved completing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Monument on Long Wharf in New Haven, and helping to start and promote area businesses, Breast Cancer Awareness, Homeless Shelters and Scholarship Pageants. The City of New Haven has erected a street sign in our family's honor. Presently, we are embarking on another civic contribution in North Carolina, cemetery preservation. We are assisting in the development of a preservation master plan to serve as a framework and timeline for phased preservation projects, decision making, fundraising, and appropriate historic interpretation; which will be a worthwhile effort.