BECKLEY, W.V. (LOOTPRESS) – On Thursday, April 12, Beckley’s City National Bank on Park Ave will sponsor a fundraiser to raise money for the new Raleigh County Veterans Museum.
The museum plans to move into the old Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department on South Eisenhower Drive once the department can move to its new location off of the Beckley Bypass.
According to Raleigh County Veterans Museum President Ron Hedrick, the building will need a complete remodel to turn it from an office space into a museum. Phase 1 is projected to cost $250,000 and will include new interior floors, ceilings and walls.
Hedrick says the Park Avenue City National Bank has supported the museum for years. Aside from hosting fundraisers, the bank often displays artifacts from the museum in its various locations. Uniforms are currently on display at the Park Avenue location.
“They have been a huge supporter of the museum,” he said. “The fact that City National is one of the local banks that has been here a while, it’s nice to have that support from the community and from a business like that.”
As the museum moves forward in becoming a larger facility, Hedrick wants to reach out to more community and local businesses to gain their support.
“We want them to become part of our family, and we want to become more of the community ourselves. We have some things lined up and are working through. We have a lot of other fundraising events coming up to help us reach that goal.”
On Thursday, the bank will host “Food, Friends and Painting.” According to Johnathan Grose, assistant vice president for City National Bank and treasurer for the Raleigh County Veterans Museum, a local artist will come in and step-by-step instruct participants on how to paint a rustic barn with an American flag flying in front.
While layers of the paint dry, participants will have a chance to grab some refreshments and hors d’oeuvres.
The event is scheduled to take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and is operating with limited seating.
Those wanting to participate in the event must call 304-255-7000 and reserve a seat by Tuesday, August 10.
Seats are $40 per person.
“The bank is the heartbeat of the community, so we really strive to support our non-profits and community organizations as much as we can,” Grose said. “We had this event scheduled before the pandemic, so we are happy to be able to move forward with that. We had it planned a year ago and now we can get it off the ground and get people in to support a great cause.”
Grose is expecting the event to yield a good turnout.