The official grand opening for the newly renovated Northern Wake Senior Center will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, March 27, and everyone is invited to share the celebration.
The grand opening will include a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony, brief remarks by Mayor Vivian Jones and other town officials, tours of the facility, class demonstrations and light refreshments.
Jennie Griggs, the senior center director, wants to honor all the town
residents who helped to raise funds and made possible the construction
of that first building.
Allene Williams was one of those along with Rufus Forrest, E.G. Macon Jr.,
Tom Arrington, Inez Hall, Miriam Fonville, Anne Belle Bullock, Luna Marshall,
Nannie Brandon, Worth Jackson, Thelma Wright, Mabel Shearin, Hope
Newsom, David Hafer, Hattie Merritt, Ida Holding and Bertha Harris, the
retired school teacher who gave $250,000 in the spring of 1993, money
that ensured the construction.
There have to be people we have not identified. If you know of them, please
send the names to either jgriggs@rfsnc.org or cwpelosi@aol.com. You can
also call 919-556-3409. Please leave a message if there is no answer.
Construction on the new and improved 18,000-square-foot facility began in June 2018. Located at 235 East Holding Avenue, the center re-opened on February 3.
In addition to an expanded site area, more than 50 new parking spaces and an additional driveway entrance/exit, the renovated and expanded senior center includes a new entrance vestibule, the addition of exercise and multi-purpose rooms and a new roof.
A 2014 Wake Forest Bond Referendum initiative, the center’s renovation and expansion was completed at a total cost of approximately $4 million.
See a related article in this issue by Griggs, Engage with Age.
