WINONA LAKE – Grace College and Seminary held a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday for the Ray “Butch” and Sandra Shook Welcome Center, which will be located at Westminster Hall.
This project will feature the current Winona History Center and community banquet room while adding new space for an admissions office, a modern campus store and lakeside rentals, according to Grace College’s website.
Tuesday, John Sloat, vice president of advancement, said the college was commencing with the construction of the $2 million project.
“We want to celebrate all the God has accomplished with our donors and what we will accomplish with the Shook Welcome Center in the future,” he said.
Grace President Dr. Drew Flamm said Grace College is exited about the welcome center project and believes it is more than brick and mortier, as it embodies hospitality.
“It will serve as a front door to our campus,” he said. “We believe it will be a place where relationships begin and thrive and Christ-centered education shines brightly.”
Dr. Mark Pohl, vice president of enrollment management, said the welcome center will connect guests to the Grace campus and the town of Winona Lake. Families will be able to learn about Grace for the first time in a living room area “that makes them feel right at home. We imagine people strolling through the museum, checking out bikes or powerboards at a lakeside rental area that directly connects guests with our stunning lakeside community.”

    Grace President Dr. Drew Flamm speaks during a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Ray “Butch” and Sandra Shook Welcome Center Tuesday. Photo by Jackie Gorski, Times-Union
  

Pohl said the project is more than a facelift. “It symbolizes the college’s commitment to hospitality, excellence and ensuring every campus guest leaves Grace with a sense of God’s work taking place.”
Flamm asked those in attendance at Tuesday’s ceremonial groundbreaking to take in Westminster Hall’s history. It was built in 1905 by the Presbyterian Church and “has seen everything from Bible conferences” to Bill Graham being commissioned in the Rainbow Room. In the 1990s, Westminster Hall was almost demolished and replaced with a parking lot. Flamm said Grace College stepped in with a $4 million restoration project and now the building is home to student housing, student spaces and the Winona History Museum.
“And now this grand old building is getting ready for a new chapter, a refresh. And this new chapter will provide welcomed space for admissions guests, campus tours, community gatherings” and a space for students to relax, Flamm said.
Flamm said in a few, short months, the fundraising goal of $2 million has almost been met and Sloat ensured Flamm the goal would be met by the end of the day. There was a $200,000 matching grant for the project and the Shook family gave a $500,000 “gift to make sure this project came to fruition.”
Grace College Board member Cory Colman said one of his favorite books is “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey and one of Colman’s favorite habits in that book is to begin something with the end in mind.
He said at the end of the project, Grace will have a beautiful building. The end goal is for Grace to have an opportunity to catapult students into their college careers and life with the realization they are a Christ-center college and giving them an education that applies biblical principles to strengthen their character and prepare them for service.