By Lindsey Rowland
lrowland@wbcowqel.com
The journey to convert Fairview Manner into Trillium Event Center has been a long road but, according to Dick Gervais, the finish line is fast approaching.
Gervais is the supervisor of food and facilities for the Crawford County Board of Developmental Disabilities and has been a part of the project from its inception. His current duties include being involved in advertising, rentals, and even some cooking. And now, as Gervais oversees some final touches being put on the banquet hall, he proudly declares that there is a good chance that everything will be done by the end of this month, with official booking of the space beginning on Sept. 1.
The fun begins before that, however, with the annual Crawford County Board of Developmental Disabilities Appreciation Night being held in August, as well as a Bucyrus Chamber of Commerce After Hours event, with the date and time to be announced.
The public will be able to have their first glimpse at the grand opening on Aug. 22, with an official time to follow. In addition, there are already two weddings booked at the Trillium space, one for this October, and one for next.
“We want to use August to rehearse and touch up and make sure that we get things in place,” Gervais said, “We have a lot of big plans and hopefully the public will step up and use our facility.”
And in that facility, much has taken place over the past few months. At last check in, the banquet hall was completely gutted, but now there is drywall, lights, ceiling tiles, a sound system, Wi-Fi connection, and four 65-inch TVs. The painting is almost finished, as well as the three meeting rooms off of the main hall, which need only to be touched up around their trims. These meeting rooms will be spaces for business meetings, board meetings, and small birthday parties of under 30 to be held.
Also off the main banquet hall is a large storage area, where Trillium will be able to house company tables, chairs, and portable dance floors, that can be anywhere from 15-by-15 feet to 21-by-21 feet.
Much like Delectables, the concession stand at the Aumiller Park pool in Bucyrus, Trillium is an outlet in which the Board of Developmental Disabilities can provide individuals with job training and experience.
“The Trillium is the state wildflower,” Gervais says. “The three petals stand for what we’re about at Crawford County Board of DD, and that is education, training, and employment.”
Gervais also says that, though much hasn’t been done yet, there have been a few individuals with job coaching who have helped prepare the fully equipped kitchen for its health inspection, which passed with flying colors. Gervais has had some individuals get some training experience in the kitchen, where they will continue to learn as he offers up the Trillium kitchen, and his services, for catering to events of 30 people or under. In the future, there is also the hope of holding hands-on cooking classes in the kitchen itself.
As it stands, the banquet room can fit up to 280 people if the tables are arranged correctly, and the next project will be to utilize the patio and adjoining wings with landscaping, lighting, and potentially renting to a local business.
Gervais has quite a few mixed emotions.
“I didn’t think I’d ever see the day we’d be standing on carpet…it was a long drawn out process but it had to be because we took an old building and we converted it and turned it into something we think is very nice…I’m feeling a little apprehensive. Now we’ve got to keep marketing, keep advertising, we’ve got to sell it…I think excitement is probably the most accurate term right now.”
For more information about booking at Trillium, contact the CBDD office at 419-562-3211 ext. 100.