Theater/community center drive begins
The drive to build a new movie theater/community center in Marion is now seriously under way, Jeff Cady said Thursday.
Cady is a member of and spokesman for the Marion Advancement Campaign's Board of Directors.
"It's kickoff time now, we're getting things going," he said. "We're getting the paperwork done to give MAC non-profit status as a 501©3 corporation. Our committee is established, too.
"We could use a $200,000 donation from a wealthy person. Other than that, we're getting the word out, starting our fundraising, and hoping to begin construction.
"We could do that (start building) if we had a serious amount right now to start with," Cady said. "We had a donation of $500 at Old Settlers' Day, which helped a lot.
The Marion Advancement Campaign had a float in the OSD Parade, and a booth in Central Park that day, explaining its goals and purpose.
"Marketing and fundraising is where it's at right now," he said.
Cady said he expects the total cost of the facility to be about $400,000. A movie theater could possibly be built for half that, but the goal is to have a community center, too.
The board has "a couple of options for sites right now," Cady said. They hope to keep it south of U.S. 56, in the industrial park area.
"We want kids riding bikes to be able to go to the theater without having to cross the highway," he said.
"We hope to make it a project for the surrounding communities, too, so they can come here and have fun. We intend to do other projects, such as perhaps a skating rink, or whatever needs for Marion people can cite.
"We want to get the entire community involved, not just our board of directors," Cady said.
Judge Mike Powers chairs the board. Other members are Cady, Gene Winkler, Susan Cooper, Mickey Lundy, and Jami Williams.
