Justin Hill
Kinston Free Press
July 15, 2012
Over the past year, there have been countless tours of the Woodmen Center. What started with Bill Ellis, director of the Kinston-Lenoir County Parks and Recreation Department, pointing to where the basketball courts or exercise equipment or locker rooms would be located has slowly evolved into tangible locations around the $13 million, 58,000-square-foot complex.
With a week to go before the opening, the tours that have been scheduled for this week are perhaps the most important toward ensuring the long term stability of the Woodmen of the World’s first community center. Starting today, and running through the week, the completed center’s staff will be offering tours to the public in order to obtain memberships.
Ellis said the goal is secure 1,500 memberships for the state of the art facility. If the center is not able to secure 1,500 membership per year, the Woodmen will subsidize the facility for five years.
According to an agreement forged in December 2010: “The Woodmen Foundation shall be responsible for any expenses not covered by the membership dues, including but not limited to debt service and operating shortages.”
The 30-year operating agreement calls for the county and city to each cover 25 percent of any operational shortfalls, up to $50,000 each. That requirement kicks in five years after the facility’s pool and water park — which are tentatively set to open in mid August — are constructed.
Kelly Cannon, who was named the center’s director in June, said she has already scheduled several tours and even has some membership applications that are waiting to be processed — which can start today.
She believes the goal of 1,500 members won’t be difficult to achieve.
“This is kind of a sneak peak, a preview before we open our doors,” she said of the June 23 launch. “Once you step into this place, you’re going to love it.”
Danny Rice, who serves on the national board of directors for the Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society, has been involved with the project from the very beginning. He said he is very proud of the efforts that have gone into the Woodmen Center.
“We’re just so excited to have this facility in the middle of Eastern North Carolina,” he said. “(The Woodmen) are very impressed by the double gym, the meeting rooms, the facilities for all the guests, the fitness equipment — really we’ve got a great deal of enthusiasm about every part of the project.”
For more information about the Woodmen Center call 252-939-1330 or visit WoodmenCenter.com.
Justin Hill can be reached at 252-559-1078 or jhill@freedomenc.com. Follow him on Twitter @mjhill.
Breakout1: Woodmen Center monthly memberships
Family — $60
Single — $44
Senior — $35
Senior Couple — $50
Student — $35
Military (active duty) — 10 percent discount