Celebration Friday of OTH project

ODESSA – When Odessa received a $68,000 grant from Lowe's to restore the Old Town Hall, the opportunity to renovate the 100-year-old building created excitement, says Terri King, advisor to the Odessa High School FBLA chapter. Once renovation began, she adds, it soon became apparent that additional work was needed beyond what the grant was paying for. Three of the walls in the south room of the Old Town Hall were in serious need of a facelift. The cracked lath-and-plaster walls had been repaired numerous times over the past century. Joe Mallory, Odessa's project manager for the Lowe's grant, suggested using hat channels to create a space between the old and new walls by installing new studs, and then hanging new sheetrock over the hat channels. Zeigler Construction, already hired to work on the Lowe's project, agreed to do the additional work if Odessa could raise the money.

The members of the FBLA chapter initiated a campaign called "Nature Calls, Let's Restore the Walls" to raise $12,800 initially by asking for 100 donations of $128 each. Over the next six weeks, the group received 99 donations ranging from $25 to $1,280. They achieved their goal! Odessa residents, former residents and families and friends around the state and the country believed in the project and provided the funds needed for a thorough renovation. "The funds donated ensure that the work completed this fall will last for generations to come," says King.

Last week, the hardwood floors were installed, sanded and sealed, after which the building was locked to allow the seal coats proper time to dry. This week, the final electrical installations are being completed, and Matt Gorman of Rescue Heating and Cooling is repairing a vent damaged during the demolition and relocating another vent. Installation of the garage door, which separates the two rooms, then represents the final step. (although its current whereabouts is unknown by Northwest Doors, it is somewhere in transit). The hollow-core doors in the south room are also being replaced with solid-wood doors, and volunteer Dale King is building a trim package for the doors that replicates the original door trim used upstairs in the building.

As part of the Lowe's grant, Odessa will host a "Red Vest Volunteer" day on Friday, October 22. Lowe's volunteers will be on site to assist with the final stages of the project. At 11:30 a.m. on Friday, celebrating begins, honoring Lowe's, the community volunteers and those who donated to the wall campaign, followed by lunch at 12 noon. The guests of honor will be Odessa's senior citizens. After all, the project began as an effort to meet the needs of seniors by making the Old Town Hall more functional and safe with FBLA's "Renovation for the Senior Generation" submission to the Lowe's 100 Hometowns grant program funded as part of the company's centennial celebration.

See list of donors on page 4.