Blue Ridge Electric Pledges $50,000 to Help Build Blowing Rock Community Arts Center
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee R. Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, Phone: (828) 758-2383; Pager: 1-800-471-1323; E-mail: Renee Whitener
Blowing Rock, North Carolina (October 23, 2001) – Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation has pledged $50,000 to assist in building the planned Blowing Rock Community Arts Center.
The Blowing Rock Community Arts Center will be a 22,000 square foot facility located on three and half acres on Valley Boulevard just north of the intersection of Highway 321 north and Sunset Drive. The Blue Ridge Electric donation will be distributed over a period of five years and is part of $3.3 million dollars in pledges received for construction of the Center so far.
“The new Arts Center will be an asset to the community and a valuable learning tool for all ages,” said Doug Johnson, chief executive officer of Blue Ridge Electric. “The Arts Center is especially important in an area like ours that is rich with artistic talent and heritage.”
The Blowing Rock Community Arts Center will provide a permanent home for a multitude of arts groups in the Blowing Rock area including, both regular and children’s live theater, dance groups, musical performances and visual arts displays. The new facility will include two auditoriums, a banquet room with a kitchen, and two large conference rooms. It is expected to serve as a gathering place for civic and cultural interests as well as a meeting venue for local businesses.
The board of directors for the Center has set a goal to raise $6 million to complete the project.
“We are thrilled that Blue Ridge Electric has come forward to help us provide the Blowing Rock area with a community center,” said Kim Johnson, a member of the Blowing Rock Community Arts Center Foundation, Inc., board of directors. “It takes the support of community-minded organizations like Blue Ridge Electric and others working together to make a project of this magnitude a successful reality. We appreciate their support,” Johnson said.
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