Labor of Love

This year’s class of returning students will notice big changes to Hutchinson Auditorium since they left in May, thanks to dozens of volunteers who participated in the fifth annual Florida College Labor Camp. Forty-four “campers” converged on campus during the week of June 15 to preen and polish the campus and make repairs and improvements to FC’s most iconic building before the school year begins.

“It's the most visible building, whether you are on campus or on the website,” says camp director Craig Bean.

Bean is right; the auditorium is featured on the Florida College logo and is therefore splashed across FC's website, publications, and letterhead. Yet, the building is not memorable just because it is unique and recognizable, but also because it is where morning chapel services are held and where most FC students begin making memories.

“And it is probably the one building on campus that tugs at your heartstrings the most,” Bean says.

According to Paul Greiving, Vice President of Operations, everyone was on board to give the A-frame auditorium an extreme makeover. Ron DeLisle, manager of the company that handles campus maintenance, initially suggested the idea. DeLisle indicated that there were a number of improvements that needed to be made to the building and that it might be the perfect project for a group of hard-working volunteers.

So, first thing on that steamy Monday morning, labor campers tackled task after task. While several areas on campus received some sprucing up, the main focus was Hutchinson. Outside, they landscaped all the surrounding beds, pressure washed the sidewalks, and touched up the outdoor paint. Inside, they repainted the walls, poured concrete in the once pebble-filled areas backstage, hung a huge, twenty by twenty-five foot projector screen, and cleaned the building top-to-bottom and front-to-back.

Most notably, the group also ripped up the carpet and the old cork tiles under the seats that were likely original to the building. The concrete floor is now cleanly re-painted and is expected to receive new carpet in the next couple of weeks. This task was particularly grueling, says Greiving.

“This was a heavy duty, manual job,” he says, particularly because it required the group to move all the auditorium seats at least four times.

But it was all in a day’s work for the group of dedicated alumni and employees, who attend the labor camp for the fun and fellowship as much as the hard work. After each long day of back-breaking tasks, the campers gather after breakfast and in the evenings for devotionals on a spiritual theme. This year, they focused on the blessings and promises of God.

And so the camp offers a two-fold blessing: for the campers, a spiritual recharge and the chance to give back; for the College, many very valuable helping hands. Greiving indicates that this year’s camp was the most successful yet in participation and value to the college. He calculated a total of 844 volunteer hours worked, valued at nearly $30,000. And since the first camp in 2005, volunteers have saved the College nearly $100,000 in labor costs.

This year, the group was more diverse than ever, with workers ranging from future freshmen set to begin classes this fall up to senior citizens returning decades after their FC graduation. According to Bean, every member of their “volunteer army” is a blessing to the school.

“Lots of people help the college in lots of different ways,” he says. “This is something we can do.”