Fundraising for the increasing material costs of the Greenbrier Valley Aquatic Center (GVAC) is done!
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the initial fundraising goal had to be increased in order to match an increase in construction and material costs. The team created the ENHANCER program in order to raise the additional $800,000 needed and now, as of September 17, these funds have been raised.
According to a recent update from organizer TAG Galyean, over $6.6 million has been raised in total for the under-construction Aquatic Center.
“GVAC is now able to complete both development and start-up operations as intended,” wrote Galyean. “We are paying all bills within 48 hours. Donations and grants for programs will be sought as we expand operations this fall. … Moving through construction completion and into operations is complex, busy, and, in 2021, uncertain! There are supply surprises every day.”
Expanded operations include the official opening — the aquatic center plans for more than a single community pool — the building would have three different pools, classrooms, party rooms, terraces, and more. If everything goes right, the facility still plans to be open later, but not much later, this year.
“We hope and plan to have the Competition pool available for Donor-Member swimming the week of October 25,” Galyean wrote. “Control panel chips, folding doors, clear story enclosure, and steel panel deliveries may delay the use of the recreation and therapy pools. Landscaping, sod, and fencing are scheduled for early November. … [The] pools will be ready to plaster and fill in late September. Paving will occur in early October.”
This also means that registration for members will get started soon.
“Member registration and payment arrangements will be processed online,” Galyean wrote. “We will begin enrolling all others in late October online and at our front desk. Membership categories will be: family, single-parent family, no-children family, and individual, [with] discounts provided at each level for seniors and students. Billing will not begin until swimming is available.”
The naming partners and members of the FOUNDERS, CLOSERS, and ENHANCERS program will have memberships with “no initiation fees” on September 27. Emails will be sent out to contact these donors.
In addition, the Greenbrier Valley Aquatic Center Scholarship Program “will be developed this fall as we become operational. GSC scholarship funds will ensure that the GVAC will be accessible to children, families, and seniors regardless of their financial circumstances.”
Although the center has already found a central management team, some positions are still looking to be filled.
“Darcie McCraw, General Manager, and Brett Falls, Director of Operations, have been working remotely since July 19. Keith Brookman, Facilities Manager, Billy Shrewsbury, Front Desk Manager, and Delphine Houssin, Aquatics Manager, will be on board over next 30 days. Many good candidates for GVAC Lifeguard Team are applying and being hired.”
Jamie Hamilton, the director of community and donor engagement for the aquatic center, explained the center best back in 2019, during the initial fundraising stages.
“A lot of people, just out of habit, will say pool,” explained Hamilton. “In this community, when people think of an indoor pool, if they’ve been here long enough, they think of WVSOM and … New River Technical College. Those were literally just indoor pools. This is much more than that. … [There is] the competition pool, I think in their head that’s what people think of when they think about what this is that we’re building, that’s where swim meets, practice, lap swimming, the competitive element of it will exist…. The recreation pool is a little smaller than the competition pool but I think of it as more of a general community pool. … The third pool, the therapy pool, is smaller than the rest. It’s almost like a really big hot tub; it’s kept at a much higher temperature and much more for therapy.”
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