Ribbon cutting at the new Poarch Community Center Thursday
"What happens here will have a lasting impact on not just this generation, but on our next seven generations," said Stephanie Bryan, Poarch Creek Band of Indians Tribal Chair and CEO at last Thursday's opening ceremony, of the Poarch Creek Community Center at 517 Martin Road in Atmore. "This is a place that I hope will be filled with laughter, caring, academic achievement and a sense of history. And I hope it will also be a place where young people feel they belong to a wonderful community and the extended family that is Poarch. Thank you all for being part of this opening ceremony today, and for your service to our tribe."
The $20 million facility is a 71,000 sq. ft. multi-purpose building located on 15 acres and will provide integrated facilities for the Poarch Creek Indians Community Services Division, which includes the Boys & Girls Club (includes the TEEN Center), the Education Department (includes the Fred L. McGhee Learning Center), the Cultural Authority Department and Administrative areas for the Community Services Division. Each of the departments has dedicated spaces for their programs, and there are shared spaces and support spaces for use by all.
The teen center features an activity room, two gaming and TV rooms, a cafe and two study rooms.
Included in the education department are classrooms for kindergarten through sixth grades, all with interactive touchscreen TVs, a mentoring room, activity room, music and two attached outdoor play areas with fencing.
There is a state-of-the-art kitchen with stainless steel appliances and a walk-in freezer and cooler, and a dining room where children will eat breakfast and lunch, with a snack before they go home during the school year. The dining room doubles as a safe room, with a dedicated emergency generator for backup power.
The multi-purpose room has a large open area for indoor play during inclement weather, designed to hold 400 people seated at tables. There are risers that can extend out to accommodate 385 seats and a stage with audio and video systems and theatrical lighting. There is a concessions stand and separate locker rooms for men and women, both with showers.
The cultural department offers community members the opportunity to enroll in classes and workshops at the community center, with a limited number of class participants. The classes will be posted on the website http://www.pci-nsn.gov in the future.
There is a teaching kitchen for culinary experiences, a pottery studio, complete with a kiln, for pottery making, a sewing studio, a language studio, a dance studio and a carving studio, offering various forms of art teaching.
The outdoor area had two fenced playgrounds with equipment, full sized asphalt basketball court, grassy areas, outdoor classrooms, a walking trail, covered parking and other amenities.
The entire building is designed to Risk Category IV for wind speeds up to 149 mph and the dining room, which is also a safe room, is designed to Risk Category IV for wind speeds of up to 200 mph.
According to a press release, the entire project took 48 contractors 285,000 man-hours to build.
"This is an impressive building," said Bryan. "But the most important thing for us to recognize is what happens inside these doors."
