FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“Only good things happen in Farmville,” and on Monday, November 29 at 1:00 pm, the town will break ground for the Nathan R. Cobb, Sr. (NRCS) Foundation, Inc. Pavilion. The new outdoor event venue is located on South Main across the street from the Community Center.
“The Pavilion is conveniently located in a space that is already community based,” says Alma Hobbs, president of the NRCS Foundation and Town Commissioner, “and its purpose is to serve the town. It is an outreach to the community.”
Financed through a USDA Rural Development grant, the new structure will provide an outdoor area for people to gather as well as an enclosed space that houses a kitchen, restrooms, and storage area to help facilitate a variety of events. JKF Architecture designed the building, which is being built by Burney and Burney Construction. It is scheduled to be completed by May of 2022.
“We will use the Pavilion for NRCS Foundation, Inc. events, but we want to add value to Farmville,” says Hobbs. “We plan to rent it out to community groups and the proceeds will help us provide more scholarships, which is one of the mission programs of the Foundation.
Welcoming people to the groundbreaking ceremony will be the Rev. Dr. Jerry Spruell, NRCS Vice-President followed by Dr. Alma C. Hobbs, NRCS President and daughter of the late Nathan R. Cobb, Sr. The Mayor of Farmville, John Moore, will bring greetings and State Director of the USDA, Reginald Speights, will be the speaker.
NRCS Board Members, Town officials, and the Farmville Chamber of Commerce representatives will be invited to help break the ground. According to Hobbs, a young family member representing the future also will have a small shovel and participate in the noteworthy occasion.
“It’s about the future but it’s also about the past,” says Hobbs. “The boundary line of the property where the new Pavilion will sit, is next to the boundary line of the land where my grandparents’ house sat in the 40’s and 50’s. My grandfather Walter Bullock, Sr. owned the land, and his grocery store and soda shop were located nearby.”
The mission of the NRCS Foundation is to promote youth development through scholarship assistance and to assist families in distress to reduce disruption and hardship. The Foundation provides financial assistance for tuition, fees, books, and use of technological tools to support students in the Farmville community who are pursuing an Associate or Batchelor’s degree at a Community College or University, respectively.
With regard to the Families in Distress initiative, the Foundation provides support to families to help people transform their lives from survival mode to better sufficiency and improved quality of life. Founded in 2000, the Nathan R. Cobb, Sr. Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation established by the State of North Carolina under the auspices of the Secretary of State.
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For more information, contact Lori Drake, Executive Director of the Farmville Chamber of Commerce at 252-753-4671 or send an email.