Wilson Auditorium project moving forward

With the floor repaired, painting half completed, and 212 seats currently being refurbished, the Wilson Center Auditorium is beginning to breathe new life as each day brings it closer to becoming the “star” that the committee had envisioned for our mid-Michigan community. Phase One of the renovation project is well underway.

“People in our community will not believe their eyes when they step into this gem of a theatre” says Tom Webb, co-chair of the project. “They will absolutely be amazed – the colors are vibrant and work so well together – we can’t wait to start reinstalling the seats before Thanksgiving.”

The main floor of the auditorium will eventually have 376 refurbished seats reinstalled with the committee looking to have sponsors for each of those seats.

“Right now, we have sponsors for 55 seats, a little over ¼ of the 212 seats we are working on at this time,” says Bill Tennant, committee member. “The seat sponsorships will be ongoing until we have our 376 sponsors, but we are in need of immediate sponsors to quickly meet our financial obligation for this first phase of the project.”

Donations are coming in from as far away as San Diego with many of them coming from former Rodney B. Wilson students who sat in the auditorium for many concerts and programs during their school days in the building. Classes from the 1950’s lead the way in former student support.

“It’s really neat to read the notes that accompany the checks as the former students reflect on their school days at RBW,” continues Tennant. “The auditorium was an important school and community facility over the many years and meant a lot to those students and others – they all are very appreciative that this project is taking place.”

The auditorium will be ready and open to the public for three events that will happen in December. There will be a community Christmas Concert the evening of the 5th, the second annual Messiah Sing on the afternoon of the 6th, along with a wonderful community Holiday Show the following weekend on the 11th and 12th. More information will be forthcoming on each of those events.

Anyone wishing to sponsor an auditorium seat or make a donation to the project can mail a check, made out to the “St. Johns Foundation for Excellence”, to: Wilson Auditorium Project, P.O. Box 331, St. Johns, MI 48879. Seat sponsorships at $250 each will have an engraved plaque with your name attached to the seat – donations of any amount are most welcome. The donations are tax deductible. Please call 989-224-8159 for any questions you might have.