Chamber of Commerce building progressing

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

New McMinnville/Warren County Chamber of Commerce Director Don Rigsby shows the progress of the chamber building addition downtown. Officials say, weather permitting, the brickwork should be complete in less than a month. (Charles W. Johnson photo)

Brickwork on the McMinnville/Warren County Chamber of Commerce building should be completed in less than a month, if weather permits, marking a milestone for the project.

“That’s the big thing right now,” said Phil Whisenhunt, the Chamber of Commerce’s newly installed board chairman. “To get the brickwork finished, to get the roof finished, so that it’s all dried in is big. Then we can move inside and start getting the work done there.”

Those who have been around Court Square recently may have noticed how far the brickwork has progressed. And even though the scaffolding still obscures the effect somewhat, it’s easy to see the building taking shape.

However, Whisenhunt said the interior still has a long way to go.

“We’re probably looking at another year before we get it completed, but once we do, it’ll be a nice looking building.”

Financing has been problematic from the start since much of the money has come from fund-raising and contributions from local businesses, many of them in-kind contributions where a local business agrees to do work or provide materials as their donation.

The problem has been that some of these contributors have to wait until the exterior is complete. Still, Whisenhunt feels the financing is coming along, though there is some work to be done.

“We’re still a ways away,” he said. “But it will be there. We will get it done.”

He noted it was hard to estimate a dollar figure on how much more is needed to finish the facility due to the nature of the contributions.

“A lot of that’s in kind, so you can’t tell exactly how many dollars that you’re going to need,” he said.

Newly hired Chamber Director Don Rigsby is also confident the building is well on its way, and feels it will be a major asset to the community, noting the building will provide multiple functions.

“It will be the Chamber offices and headquarters for all the Chamber activities,” he said of its main function, but noted some other areas as well.

“The front part of the new building will consist of a community room. It’s a large room that will be available to any community activity. The front entrance will have a 40 foot porch-like awning stage area where you can have community events, downtown events, whatever anybody wants to use it for.”

The building will provide office and meeting space for other local organizations as well.

Rigsby said the building will provide amenities for businesses looking to locate in Warren County.

“We’re going to have a small business center there where we’ll have computers available for business folks who come in where they can research loans and how to go about starting a business. We’ll have all that information. We’ll have fax machines, copy machines available for them to use too.

“So it’s going to be a large extended area that will be for the use of the whole community,” Rigsby said.

As there is an ongoing need for funding at present, anyone interested in making contributions of money, equipment or services can contact the Chamber of Commerce at 473-6611.