Southeastern Begins New Construction

On July 5, 2023, Southeastern received its building permit to break ground on the new maintenance facility. The new building will house a woodworking shop, vehicle maintenance area, welding area, and carports to accommodate the college’s buses. 

Deconstruction:

In the spring of 2023, Maintenance Director Wayne Price and his team disassembled and removed the old barn maintenance building. While the barn served its purpose for thirty-five years, it was definitely time to remove it due to its deterioration. Mr. Price converted the storage/shipping container into a temporary maintenance building by adding a 600 square ft. lean-to and electric to accommodate the tools and supplies from the barn.

New Opportunities:

Mr. Price is excited to have a new wood shop equipped with $25,000 worth of commercial woodworking equipment. Last summer, Director of Development Steve Berry and his wife Cindy Berry traveled to a long-time Southeastern donor’s house and picked up the generous equipment donation. Everyone around the college is thrilled at the possibility of tackling projects like building new bed frames, shelving, and general maintenance.

It has been long anticipated to be able to park the college buses out of the elements when not in use. This should prolong the life of these much-utilized ministry tools. Additionally, the building will be equipped with two areas to wash cars, vans, and buses. This, too, will help maintain the tools we have been blessed to own.

The last area of the facility is the two garage bay areas. 10’x10′ garage doors will open to a 40′ x 32′ open area to work on vans, mowers, or assemble projects. We hope to obtain a welding machine to accomplish small welding jobs. Since alumnus Danny Bailey and Tim Gaynor completed the construction of the Campus Corner furniture, it has been known that the ability to weld on-site is a needed tool. The building will be outfitted with electricity sufficient to run a wire welding machine in anticipation of obtaining a good welding machine.

The back wall of this area will be equipped with hat channel from floor to ceiling to accommodate the building of storage shelving. Organizing and keeping plumbing parts and electrical parts on hand saves thousands of dollars annually. As seen at a big box store like Lowes, a shelving unit system would be perfect.

Funding:

The college has set aside funds in the budget to cover the expenses of this project. Due to it taking so long to remove the barn and obtain the building permit, inflation has raised the initial anticipated cost of the project. Your gifts would be welcome if our partners wish to participate in this project. You may contact Steve Berry if you want more information on the projected cost and cash on hand for the project. 

Wish List:

Occasionally, our partners ask us to supply them with a list of wishful items that could be utilized at the college to advance the mission. Therefore, the following list related to the maintenance ministry is being presented.

•  Tractor & Frontend loader – A 30 – 50 horsepower tractor and useful implements:
• frontend loader pallet forks
• 3-point wood chipper
• frontend loader man lift
• 3-point backhoe
• 3-point post-hole digger
• 3-point Lawn aerator 
• Welding Machine
• Wire Welding table
• Welding helmets and supplies
• Rolling staircase for reaching things off the top shelves
• Heavy-duty water hoses 
• UTV maintenance vehicle or golf cart
• 4’x8′ lawn trailer
• Mechanic’s creeper
• Hydraulic car jack
• Bottle jacks
• Jack stands
•  Lawnmower lift (tilt up one end to sharpen blades quickly
• If you want to donate any of these items as new or used, please get in touch with Steve Berry at (321)917-2376 or sberry@sfwbc.edu. Thanks for your continued partnership with Southeastern Free Will Baptist College.