Rockingham County plans kickoff for shelter campaign

Commissioners are reviewing plans for the fundraising campaign and events schedule for the county’s new animal shelter.

Ginger Waynick, public information officer for Rockingham County, on Monday presented details of a program designed to generate the public portion of the $1.6 million needed to make the shelter a reality. The county is expected to pay in part with the remainder coming from the fundraising campaign.

The fundraising goal established was to raise $900,000 through sponsorships, grants, community events and partnerships with local businesses, online contributions as well as brick-paver and merchandise sales. Four key target areas for the campaign include corporations and major benefactors, local businesses and community organizations, the general public and the media.

The capital campaign will focus heavily on securing sponsorships from corporations and major donors, as well as grants from philanthropic organizations. Local civic organizations will serve as the “feet on the street” to spread the word about the campaign, while business owners will be asked to partner with the campaign by hosting promotions that contribute a percentage of sales to the cause.

Waynick said the public kickoff for the capital campaign is Oct. 2 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the commissioners’ chambers at the governmental center. The shelter’s plans and renderings will be unveiled at that time, as well as detailed information about upcoming events and fundraising initiatives.

The fundraising portion of the timeline is scheduled to run until March 2009, but Waynick said fundraising would not necessarily end then. Special fundraising events already scheduled include a benefit concert in November with local band Mountain Heart, a “Whine and Cheese Social” at Autumn Creek Vineyards in January, the “Fur Ball” in mid-February of next year and “Walk for Animals” in late March.

Construction on the proposed 9,368-square-foot facility is scheduled to begin in April 2009, with completion anticipated for early 2010. The shelter will be built on county property along Cherokee Camp Road near the business and technology center.

In other business, commissioners approved the use of $11,000 from Gold Leaf Foundation grant funds to contract Stimmel Associates for preliminary improvements at the site of the proposed equestrian center off U.S. 29 in Reidsville.

The board also approved a loan of $35,000 from fund balance for the Rockingham County Airport Authority to buy an existing hangar.

Robert Keys, chairman of the RCAA, told board members about $91,000 remained of a $750,000 loan capacity authorized by commissioners in 2005 for hangar construction. Those loans have already provided funds for one new corporate hangar and 16 T-hangar units.

“We now have the opportunity to purchase a privately-owned hangar on the airport site,“ Keys said.

Keys said the 50-foot-by-50-foot hangar is 18 years old and has a heating unit and exhaust system already installed, as well as stubbed-in plumbing.

“The replacement cost of this hangar alone is in the $90,000 to $120,000 range, but the owner, who no longer has a use for it, is willing to sell it to us for $35,000,“ he said.

The authority could lease the hangar for about $500 per month for a single corporate client, or about $750 per month total for several smaller airplanes. Keys said there was a sizable waiting list of people needing hangar space at the airport.

Commissioners also approved $10,526 from contingency funds for RCAA as matching funds for a $200,000 State Aid Grant from the state Department of Transportation for hangar construction. Keys said the windfall grant funds would be used to construct two additional 50-foot-by-50-foot hangars at the airport.

• News editor Steve Lawson can be reached at or at 548-6047.