<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4JZD3l_0vjYBE8e00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4JZD3l_0vjYBE8e00" width="1260" height="840" ></figure>Altavista Journal News CorrespondentAvoca Museum held a special event on Tuesday, September 17 from 5-7p.m that offered a formal presentation of Avoca's expansion project.Officials are excited to announce the planned expansion of the Avoca Museum, a project that could be supported by the VA250 Virginia Department Historic Resources program. This expansion will allow them to significantly enhance their exhibits and better serve the community. However, to fully unlock the potential of the matching grant, it is crucial that they raise $250,000 in donations or pledges by October 10. Every dollar raised by that date is key to securing the threefold match and ensuring the future success of this important project.Caleb Lafoon, Executive Director at Avoca, welcomed everyone. When Lafoon announced the expansion he said it could have a deep and positive impact on both the community and primary goal of this museum. Guest Speakers included: *Joan Woodson; she has served on the Board of Directors since 1995. She has served as Secretary and currently is President. She received her M.Ed in Administration, Supervision and Elementary Principalship. She worked in the Campbell County School System as a Teacher, Asst. Principal, Principal, and Director of Federal Programs. She has served on several community volunteer organization boards, including the Altavista Chamber of Commerce, Altavista On Track, Altavista YMCA, and the Elpis Center. She has been named "Teacher of the Year" and Citizen of the Year" for the town of Altavista. Woodson welcomed everyone and thanked them all for coming to create this “wonderful&nbsp;turnout." She said, "Avoca is unique in many aspects and serves as the cultural center of the town, offering a variety of opportunities for the diverse demographic&nbsp;of Altavista and surrounding area. The goal has always been to provide all-inclusive programs.” She continued, "One feature of the museum's offerings is within the education realm, which includes field trips for elementary and early middle school students from public, private, and home-schooled sectors; Night at the Museum (historical reenactments) in collaboration with the Campbell County System of Libraries. Avoca offers tours for individuals and school students of the mansion highlighting the history of the home, its family, and pertinent documented events covering the home's time period. Avoca is currently endeavoring to begin a partnership with Altavista Combined School with the history teacher utilizing some of the museum's resources and Avoca supporting their "Standards of Learning."Woodson explained that there&nbsp;are many historical items stored in closets that can be brought out and displayed, other items are being stored in non air-conditioned spaces that may lead to deterioration. Also, they currently do not have ample space for the library collection that is becoming quite extensive; this is vital for the school students doing their research as well as the general public for their interest. Space is needed for educational&nbsp;and community gatherings during&nbsp;inclement weather. This expansion would also offer a larger area for the community to hold business lunches and school related instructional meetings, civic organizations, special events, and private rentals. This expansion project will continue to strengthen the community in every single way, hosting special guests, and beloved historical speakers. There will be space for everyone to attend and grow from valuable&nbsp;leaders, a shelter in the event of rain or winds, and a safe place to house field trips. Educational opportunities&nbsp;will abound from this exciting space. Children will benefit from&nbsp;learning within this new place. Avoca has become a jewel in the town and is a home for priceless memories to be made forever.*Dr. Samuel Smith is a professor and Chair of the History Department at Liberty University, where he also serves as the Graduate Program Director. Specializing in early American religious history. Dr. Smith has a Ph.D from the University of South Carolina and has published extensively on topics such as Colonial America and evangelicalism. He said, "Avoca is getting on the map, in discussions around the area last week I was in a meeting with the Dean of the College of Arts and Science and Avoca came up and Caleb Lafoon’s name came up as well.”Smith went on to say, "This is an amazing opportunity for the community, it can be a laboratory for the community for history students, and also for college students who do internships and who have all sorts of roles to play. There is a lot of history here. I encourage them to get the ball rolling.” *Dr. Scott Lowman is the Director of Research at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) in Danville. Lowman shared his thoughts on Avoca as well as the town and how it fits in with economic development. Lowman has been involved in nonprofit work for about 20 years now and over that time he has seen the good and the bad.He said, "Without a doubt Avoca is a very strong organization. The board of directors is willing to roll up their sleeves and get involved; it is one of the most active forces I have been around." Volunteerism is nice to see with so many people coming out and supporting the organization. The second part is that almost all the businesses in this community support Avoca: that says something in itself.Events alone bring a lot of people through here. It takes a lot of work, but this organization is able to pull this off. On top of that they add cultural events like manumission that is very important, Gospel singing, and tours. It has so much to offer that brings people in from the outside such as Harvest Festival, Mother's Day Tea, Kentucky and Derby Day. Lynchburg Regional Alliance held a young professional meeting. Altavista is a destination place to live, work and play. *Abbi Leisure, Coordinator of Outreach and Special Events, expressed the need for the construction of a large, enclosed venue space. It will provide a controlled environment for events and protect them from inclement weather allowing the museum to operate more effectively year round. The museum recently went to a year round schedule and wants to operate effectively within that schedule. This will allow Avoca to host more programs and create a stronger and more reliable revenue stream for the museum. Leisure said they are privileged to host dozens of events here, both community and private events. She added that the Harvest Festival, Derby Day, Gospel music festival, and Mother's Day Tea are all fundraising opportunities for Avoca that are growing.In addition, this event was originally&nbsp;scheduled to be held outside, but due to the rain it was moved indoors; space was tight. Since the pandemic they have seen a steady increase in private event rentals here&nbsp;at Avoca that include weddings, as well as family and school reunions, baby showers, bridal showers, memorial services, and corporate parties. In 2023 they accounted for 12% of Avoca’s revenue. “We are very optimistic that this can grow in the coming years as we attract more people here and provide these different spaces for them indoor and outdoor. Availability has been extremely limited in the last few weeks and I had quite a few people reach out for Christmas parties, weddings; close to 150 to 200 people. People see the facility and they love it. Sometimes we have to pass, unfortunately. The year round venue is crucial and will be extremely beneficial&nbsp;for the museum. People are booking wedding six months and up to a year or two out. They don't know what the weather is going to be like on their day, so unfortunately many people&nbsp;again unfortunately are passing by this beautiful&nbsp;place. With the expansion of the indoor space that tremendously expands our capabilities and accommodation to guests.”The Booker Building in Altavista is of similar size to the proposed expansion here at Avoca. In 2023 the Booker building was rented 57 times. In 2024 so far this year there have been 69 rentals and the year is not over. With indoor space you have much more availability with technological setup that is crucial for a lot of these types of events. *Mikel Griffin is a managing principal and Director of Branch Offices at CJMW Architecture. He joined the firm in 1999, specializing in designing and managing projects for colleges, museums, theatres, research labs, and historic structures. Griffin thanked Avoca for including his firm in this important project. He went through the feasibility study for the museum. There are three parts to the study assessment to the existing building, a programming session, and consensual sign taking; intangible things and starting to make them tangible. They have had some staff on the property seeing how it works and how visitors enter the property. Providing more exhibit space is important. The new event center for public and private events includes: 4,000 sf for 200 people, relocate gift shop 250 sf, expanded exhibit space 750 sf, flexible hospitality space including buffet and cafe 1,500 sf for 50 people, catering kitchen 500 sf, classroom space 500 sf. Avoca thanked everyone for attending.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

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Avoca offers formal presentation on proposed expansion project

Avoca Museum held a special event on Tuesday, September 17 from 5-7p.m that offered a formal presentation of Avoca's expansion project. Officials are excited to announce the planned expansion of the Avoca Museum, a project that could be supported by the VA250 Virginia Department Historic Resources program. This expansion will allow them to significantly enhance their exhibits and better serve the community. However, to fully unlock the potential of the matching grant, it is crucial that they raise $250,000 in donations or pledges by October 10. Every dollar raised by that date is key to securing the threefold match and ensuring the future success of this important project.