Planning

William Joy launched a community fundraising effort to bring the project to life. This campaign was designed to generate the capital needed for the carillon by relying on broad local support.

The primary funding strategy allowed local residents and families to sponsor most of the proposed bells as permanent memorials. Donors were given the opportunity to have their names, along with personal, literary, or poetic inscriptions, cast directly into the metal.

To manage the ambitious project, organizers established the Centralia Carillon Construction Committee with Joy serving as a primary leader for the group. To find capable builders for the monument, the committee initiated a formal bidding process. The committee then reviewed the bids and selected building partners.

Project leaders recognized the need for regional experts to design a tower capable of supporting the massive weight and acoustic requirements of the bell instrument. They enlisted the St. Louis architectural firm Becker & Flowers to handle the technical and structural design of the tower.

For the construction of the tower and installation of the bells, the committee selected local professionals. They formally engaged the Centralia-based general contracting firm Depew & Owen to manage the site preparation and building construction.

This coordinated planning effort united local organizers, regional architects, and local contractors. Together, they finalized the structural design specifications, paving the way for construction to begin by the summer of 1982.