Members of the Building Thriving Communities Foundation: Back row, left to right: Pat Caldwell, Emily Crump-Saddler, Joe McDonald, Barbara Chapman, Andy Husk. Front row, left to right: Travis Reeder, Barbara Miller, Carlton Kinard, John Glasgow, Sarah Eargle (not pictured, Krista Hughes).
Courtesy of Jackie Holmes
NEWBERRY — At the meeting of the Newberry County School Board on December 13, the School District deeded the historic Gallman High School building to the Building Thriving Communities Foundation of Newberry.
Gallman was the high school for African American students from 1954 until 1970 and then became a home for a middle school, a grammar school, an alternative school and then adult education. The foundation will transform the building into a multi-use community center, called Gallman Place, that will provide valuable programs, services, and resources for people throughout the community. This continued use of the Gallman School will also be a tribute to the students who attended Gallman by preserving the history of an institution that served so many, so well. The plaques that remain on the walls within the school are a testament to the role the school served in producing graduates who have made a difference in Newberry, across the state, and throughout the nation.
Patricia Caldwell, chair of the Building Thriving Communities Foundation and also a Gallman graduate, greeted this event with excitement and anticipation.
“We have been working on this plan for the Gallman School for several years. We thank the school board and Superintendent Pressley for their support. We are ready to move ahead with renovations and implementing programs,” she said.
The foundation will seek grants and awards to assist with renovation costs but also reach out to the local community. Caldwell said the foundation has kept Gallman graduates advised about this project and they are gratified the building will continue to be of use.
“We hope these graduates can offer some financial assistance for the renovation but, if not, they can offer support in other ways. We will be announcing our fund-raising plans soon,” she added.
The Building Thriving Communities Foundation began as a brown-bag lunch group. Convened in 2016 to discuss more comprehensive ways to provide needed services and programs in Newberry County.
Eighteen people, representing many nonprofit organizations and community programs, gathered data on the county, talked about different kinds of service delivery, and created a vision for a community center. The group focused on the old Gallman High building as a site for the center when the school district announced its plans to move the Adult Ed Program, the First Steps Program and the Bright Beginnings Children’s program out of Gallman in 2019. The brown bag group submitted a request for the building, along with the plan for its use as a community center. At the biennial reunion held for all Gallman graduates in 2019, Caldwell explained the plan and asked for support. A list of those willing to help with the project was created and a Facebook page established. The proposal for a nonprofit entity to manage the Gallman plan was submitted to the IRS and the Building Thriving Communities Foundation was approved in the fall of 2020.
The governing board of the foundation consists of the chair, Caldwell; the vice-chair, Krista Hughes; the treasurer, Sarah Eargle; and the secretary, the writer of this article. Other trustees are Carlton Kinard, Andy Husk, Emily-Crump Saddler, Barbara Miller, John Glasgow, and Travis Reeder. Barbara Chapman is the interim Director of the Gallman Place Project.
The foundation has done some preliminary work on the renovations needed, established a timeline, and crafted a plan for the introduction of the first programs. The overall development plan calls for education and recreation programs for children and adults, satellite offices for some social service programs, cultural events, meeting space, a working kitchen and spaces for entrepreneurs to rent. The Muller Center at Newberry College will provide student volunteers to help with cleaning the building and operating programs. It is appropriate that serious work on the building starts on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day when community and college volunteers will clear the building of remaining trash and begin serious clean-up.
Anyone wanting to join this effort can contact Carlton Kinard ([email protected] or 803-321-5615) at Newberry College.