WGTC receives grant for Callaway upgrades
Published 12:00 am Monday, February 29, 2016
LaGRANGE — West Georgia Technical College will implement more than $350,000 in upgrades to its Callaway Conference Center in LaGrange through a grant from the Callaway Foundation, the college announced recently.
Funding of $353,138 has been awarded by the Callaway Foundation to resurface the main parking area, replace exterior stucco and bring the restroom facilities into ADA compliance. Additionally, two new exterior signs — one with digital capability — will greet visitors at entrances from Whitesville Road and Lukken Industrial Boulevard.
“We are honored to receive such tremendous support from the Callaway Foundation,” WGTC President Steve G. Daniel said. “The Callaway Conference Center is the premiere venue for events in LaGrange and Troup County, and these upgrades will ensure it is more useful and more beautiful than ever before. The investment of the Callaway Foundation is making an important difference in the work we do.”
The 30,000-square-foot Callaway Conference Center welcomes more than 11,000 people each year at pinning ceremonies, continuing education classes, corporate training and other events for West Georgia Technical College, and it offers meeting and event space for Troup County businesses and organizations.
In the last two years alone, businesses such as Interface, Duracell, Hardee’s, Hyundai, Milliken & Company, and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia have held events at the Callaway Conference Center, in addition to community organizations such as the United Way of Troup County, the LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce, and the Troup County School System.
“We are pleased to partner with West Georgia Technical College to keep the Callaway Conference Center — a vital community resource — contemporary and convenient,” Callaway Foundation President H. Speer Burdette III said. The Callaway Foundation typically awards grants for one-time capital projects.
The Callaway Foundation has a long history of support for the Callaway Conference Center, dating back to its construction in 1995. In 2011, the WGTC Foundation received a matching grant from the Callaway Foundation for interior refurbishment and upgrades.
The WGTC Foundation honored the Callaway Foundation in 2013 with its Spirit of Giving Award for outstanding commitment and generosity.