Grace To Work with Local Group On Multi-use Facility
Posted
Staff Report-
WINONA LAKE – Grace College and Seminary today announced the leasing of Rodeheaver Auditorium to a local area business group. The leasee, Living Winona, will invest significant resources to update the current Rodeheaver Auditorium in Winona Lake, according to a press release from Grace College. While the newly purposed building will retain the name Rodeheaver Auditorium, the business will operate as the Winona Heritage Room. Plans for the renovation are not yet finalized, but will revolve around creating a first-class facility for banquets, wedding receptions, conferences and other Grace College and community uses. In addition, the stage portion of the auditorium will be maintained, allowing for continued hosting of concerts and musicals. All current contracts with Rodeheaver will be honored through the new leasing agreement. The leasing and renovation of the facility are just another continuing area of innovation as Grace College continues to add value to its private Christian education for students, the press release states. In recent years Grace has introduced a number of measures with this in mind including three-year accelerated degrees, tuition reduction for students and free textbook rentals. “We are excited for these changes and believe they will serve the needs of Grace College, our students, and the community,” Dr. Bill Katip, president of Grace College and Seminary, is quoted as saying in the press release. “In addition, Living Winona’s history of supporting Grace as well as the community makes them the ideal partner.” “We are passionate about strengthening community through place-making, while creating vibrant public places that encourage nature and people to thrive, taking what we know about our neighbors and surroundings to better our future. We are thrilled to help build on the very deep heritage that Grace College, the Village at Winona and The Town of Winona Lake have created over the years and are proud to announce the opening of Winona Heritage Room,” Caleb France, Living Winona LLC, is quoted as saying. To help kick off the musical events at the new Winona Heritage Room, the Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts has announced that the Symphony of the Lakes will perform four upcoming concerts in the upgraded space. “Our ‘Heroes’ concert on Oct. 10 will feature popular scores from famous movies that have inspired superheroes, wizards, spies and gladiators,” said Will Dawson, executive director of Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts, in the release. “While we’ve always enjoyed playing in the Rodeheaver Auditorium we are looking forward to the improvements that Living Winona is undertaking.” Anyone interested in scheduling an event with the Winona Heritage Room should email joni@winonaheritageroom.com.
