Morgan Hill
– The hundred-year-old Grange Hall on Fourth Street is being
targeted for a facelift this summer, thanks to the efforts of local
non-profit organization Leadership Morgan Hill.
n Greg M. Schwartz staff writer
Morgan Hill – The hundred-year-old Grange Hall on Fourth Street is being targeted for a facelift this summer, thanks to the efforts of local non-profit organization Leadership Morgan Hill.
The group revolves around a nine-month class that “teaches all of the foundation of what makes up the Morgan Hill community,” says city councilman and organization member Larry Carr of the 13-year-old program. But in order for students to graduate from the class, they must complete a project that gives back to the community.
“It’s designed to help people who want to be more involved in the community to find ways of doing that,” says Carr, who also noted the current class of 28 people is the largest yet.
Class member Diane Silveira, a construction project manager for Pacific Gas & Electric, wanted to find something related to her interests in construction, and the Grange Hall fit the bill.
“What caught our attention is this year is the centennial anniversary of the building,” says Silveira. The class will focus their efforts on refurbishing the outer appearance of the building, including painting, landscaping, and fixing up stairways and railings. Silveira said the inside could use some improvements as well, but that such work would be way over the group’s budget.
Carr says the budget for the project isn’t solid but looks to be around $10,000. The group has raised some money through donations and plans to raise the rest with a dinner and dancing fundraising party on June 29 at the Morgan Hill Community Center entitled “An Evening of Elegance.”
“We were looking for a way to create a fundraising event that would allow us the necessary funds… to refurbish the hall,” says class member Lisa Atlas, principal at Barrett Elementary. Atlas says she came up with the idea since she has “some past experience and success in dinner dance events.”
Atlas says the evening will feature a no-host cocktail hour from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., dinner catered by the Golden Oak Restaurant from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., and dancing with music from the Jimmy Dewrance Band from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. There will also be a silent auction throughout the evening where each class member will offer up goods or services.
