“Friends of the Glennwanis”
celebrates 1st anniversary

    The Friends of the Glennwanis Hotel was established on May 28, 2009.  That same day, the first meeting was held at the Glennville Welcome Center to discuss the future of the historic hotel.  Individuals present at the meeting ranged from the town mayor and council members to local business owners and retirees.  After the first meeting, the consensus of the group was to restore the hotel and establish it as the cornerstone of the downtown development and revitalization project.  It was agreed that interesting and fun activities involving all age groups of the community would be utilized to raise the funds necessary for the restoration.  Additionally, various grants would be applied for as additional resources of funding.  This industrious group has grown over the last year and now ranges in age from 12 to 91 years.  The Friends of the Glennwanis Hotel meet regularly on the second Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. in the Glennville City Hall Conference Room.  The public is also invited to come and share ideas for projects or available funding.

Fundraisers and
Community Events
    The sole purpose of the fundraisers is to contribute to the restoration of the historic hotel.  However, along the way, these events have become a great means of awakening a community spirit and pride in Glennville.  The group has witnessed a renewing of generosity and kindness, and experienced an overwhelming reception for the hotel restoration project.  These fundraisers have provided families and all age groups activities to enjoy while helping restore a landmark building in the community.  On Page 2 is a list of fundraisers the Friends of the Glennwanis Hotel have sponsored to date and exciting upcoming events.

Community Involvement
    The citizens of the community have been very generous in donating needed materials, supplies, exterior decorations, and incidentals.  Some of the donations have included rocking chairs, tables, hanging baskets, potted flowers, shrubbery, site designation sign, funds progress sign, patriotic banners, yellow ribbons to welcome the military, and Christmas decorations.  Hardware stores have donated materials while local carpenters and a local artist contributed their time to the success of the painted wooden onion project.  These onions were displayed in recognition of the annual onion harvest in Glennville.  Local grocery stores and restaurants supplied food at many of the events with no charge.  Significant publicity has been provided by The Glennville Sentinel and The Tattnall Journal as well as several area radio stations.  Also, the Friends of the Glennwanis Hotel will be featured in the September 2010 issue of the Tattnall Magazine.

Restoration Progress
    The funds generated to date have been used to replace a door that
was not original to the hotel with a specially made arched window.  This exterior improvement helped to restore the integrity of the historic landmark by returning it to its original design.  Additionally. an architect has been contracted to provide a preliminary design for the restoration of the interior of the Glennwanis Hotel.
    For those who would like to make a contribution to the Glennwanis Hotel restoration fund, please send tax-deductible donations to Friends of the Glennwanis Hotel, c/o City of Glennville, 134 S. Veterans Blvd., Glennville, Georgia  30427.  You may also call Paulette Weaver (Friends of Glennwanis Chairperson) at 237-1302 or Pam Waters (Glennville Downtown Development Authority Chairperson) at 654-2515 or cell 237-0248, and one of them will be glad to pick up the donation.