Sowers Community Center Ready to Serve NCW

Multi-use Facility a Culmination of Faith, Dreams, Vision and Hard Work

by Dennis Rahm

A combination of faith, dreams, vision and good old fashioned hard work has led to the development of a community center intended to serve individuals and groups from local communities.

Sowers Hall at North Shore Bible Church in Manson has undergone and continues to undergo a major facelift since it was first constructed in 1996. Remodeling and improvements to the space began in 2016. It was at that point the focus shifted to remodeling the site into a community center concept.

The decision to embark on a community center project necessitated the creation of a 501c3 foundation as well as the need to establish a separate seven-member Board of Directors. Timi Starkweather was named Project Manager in 2017 and after a “Miracle Sunday” event organized by Pastor Craig Rayment in August of 2018, it was decided to move forward with the project. More than $300-thousand dollars was pledged to the Sowers Hall Community Center project and that doesn’t count the thousands of dollars in donated labor for much of the construction and remodeling that has been completed and for what remains to be done.

Starkweather is an energetic former construction contractor who is passionate about the center. She proudly gave me a tour of the facility that includes a full-size AAU basketball court designed to feature three pickleball courts. The gymnasium portion of the center is nearly complete with the state-of-the-art Dyna floor and professional grade removable stage already in place while an updated sound system is currently being installed.

Work still to be finished includes a remodel of the commercial kitchen, construction of an expanded coffee shop area (artists rendering shown below) and flooring and new paint where the Kid Haven child care center is located.