Joplin tornado victims honored with sculpture transfer ceremony
JOPLIN, Mo. — A sculpture meant to honor the lives lost in the 2011 Joplin tornado, now has an official home, on what is now the 14th anniversary of that devastating tornado.
A ceremony was held Thursday (5/22) at the Harry M. Cornell Arts and Entertainment Complex, to transfer ownership of the Joplin Memorial Run sculpture.
The sculpture has been there since November 2022.
'Active Lifestyle Events' and local artist, Jorge Leyva, was responsible for the sculpture.
The organization oversaw the Memorial Run and held the final one last year.
'This is a memorial that serves a dual function with it having been shaped like the banners that came to symbolize the run and yet memorialize and remember the 161 names and people that were lost that day,' said Active Lifestyle Events President, Audie Dennis.
'Were honored that they decided to have it here. They were pleased. We said we would have it, that we will be trying to maintain the sculpture and care for it over the years so that it is a part of our community's history,' said Cornell Arts and Entertainment Complex President, Sharon Beshore.
The sculpture is located near 8th Street and Joplin Avenue, on the Cornell Complex property.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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A sculpture honoring the 161 lives lost in the 2011 Joplin tornado was officially transferred from Active Lifestyle Events to the Harry M. Cornell Arts & Entertainment Complex on Thursday, the 14th anniversary of the storm. Standing 17 feet tall, the stainless steel sculpture near Eighth Street and Joplin Avenue resembles the banners used during the former Joplin Memorial Run and bears the names of the 161 people who were killed as a result of the tornado the evening of Sunday, May 22, 2011. Active Lifestyle Events, the organization that oversaw the Joplin Memorial Run, created the sculpture, and, as a final act of the organization, officially transferred ownership of the sculpture to the Cornell Complex. Its location near Eighth and Joplin Avenue is significant because it marked the start/finish line of the original Joplin Memorial Run. 'While Mother Nature did her very best effort to wipe Joplin from the map, the citizens of this city and this community refused to allow that to happen,' said Audie Dennis, former president of Active Lifestyle Events. 'Rather than do what typically happens in natural disaster situations and flee, our citizens stayed and helped each other and rebuilt our city, I would say even better than it was before. What a tribute to this community. At the same time, we want to continue to honor and remember the 161 lives that were taken from us that day. We'll never forget.' Dedicated in November 2022, the sculpture was created by local artist Jorge Leyva and took about six months to complete. 'Jorge Leyva spent a lot of time coming up with this, and it was a very important project to him,' Dennis said. 'He did a great job accomplishing exactly what our vision was. To me, personally, this sculpture represents the resilience of this city and the fact that we not only look forward and rebuild but also that we remember. Our theme of the run was always, 'Run, Remember, Rebuild,' and I feel like it accomplishes all of that. It's a tribute to the runners, the rebuilding and to those we lost.' Dennis said the Joplin Memorial Run became known for its banners that listed the names of the tornado victims and that it was appropriate to incorporate the same design into the piece. 'It was a no-brainer, and we reached out to ... the board here and asked if they would be willing to allow us to transfer ownership of the sculpture over to them,' Dennis said. 'They very graciously accepted, and for me personally, it means a lot that it will be continued to be taken care of and continue to be a great memorial to those that we lost that day.' Sharon Beshore, president of the Cornell Complex, said that they're grateful to care for the sculpture. 'This sculpture stands, not only as a piece of public art, but as a deeply meaningful tribute created to honor the 161 lives lost in the devastating EF5 tornado that struck Joplin on May 22, 2011,' Beshore said. 'Fourteen years later, we continue to carry those memories with us, and this sculpture ensures that those memories will remain part of our city's living history.' Beshore said the sculpture serves as an additional way to memorialize the victims of the storm with a centralized downtown location.
