In collaboration with Teri Maher Interiors, Alex and the team at Cypress Woodworks volunteered to help build a Memorial Bench in honor of former Harwood Union High School student, Eli Brookens, who passed away along with 5 other students in a car accident on I-89 in Williston. The custom wood bench, which can be found in the garden behind the Waterbury town library, overlooking Dac Rowe Field, is inscribed with a poem written by Eli titled, "Alive."

A special thank you from Cypress to everyone involved, including Teri Maher Interiors who helped with design, Antique Beams Boards who supplied the wood, Smyth Metal Works for fabrication of the steel components, Deb Kehoe and Mike Cortigiano for the typography and laser etching of the poem, and Chad Wheeler for applying a beautiful top coat finish to the reclaimed wood.