FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — As part of World AIDS Day, Lindenwood Cemetery cut the ribbon on a newly refurbished and rededicated AIDS monument Thursday.

Before the ceremony, Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry and Jeff Markley, executive director of Positive Resource Connection, both spoke. Della Lish McGee also performed.

“We care enough about our fellow citizens and those who have been afflicted with AIDS that we are willing to stand beside them arm-in-arm and say ‘we will continue to work on behalf of them,’” Henry said. “Continue so much that we’re going to put together a memorial in our community to say this is how much it means to us.”

Henry concluded by saying Fort Wayne is made special because the city “takes care of its own.”

Markley was emotional after the event when recalling the history of AIDS. 

“When we talk about what people went through with HIV and AIDS in the ’80s and ’90s, it was pretty horrific,” Markley said. “We have just come so far with treatment, with testing, with prevention tools.”