The Ground Was Broken . . . Now We Wait for the Groundhog's Prediction to END

We are moving quickly toward construction of WindberPlace.  It is one of those projects that has been on our drawing board since the early part of the 21st century.  It has gone through about four or five iterations, and was finally funded through a myriad of creative grants, complex matching formulas and generous donations.   

What the heck is WindberPlace?  It's a room. 

If this was the 60's, it would be as famous as the site of the first Woodstock.  If it was the 70's, it would be like the Disco hall where John Travolta danced.  The 80's?  I'm not sure that anything significant happened in the 80's... Oh, yeah, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. The 90's?  Woodstock II.  It's easy to link that to a place as significant as WindberPlace, definitely not a stretch.

Back to my question; What is WindberPlace?  It is all things to all people.  Remember the old gymnatoriums, or the multi-purpose rooms that smelled like a cross between lunch and a Lakers game?  Well, hopefully, our aroma therapists will be able to help us redefine that olfactory equation, but the room will indeed change lives in many ways.

First and foremost it will be a center for "at risk kids."  When you consider that there are probably more "at risk kids" now than any other time in our country's history except for frontier days and the flu epidemic, it's good that someone is looking out for them.  We plan to have portable rock climbing walls, giant exercise balls, jump ropes and dance pads that can be moved in and out of this room of approximately 1750 sq. feet.  Why, you might ask?  It's to help us establish on site programs for children who are challenged by their weight; who might have metabolic syndrome or diabetes in their families.  One in three kids are in danger right now of developing Type II diabetes.

Lest we forget our PhD's and MD's, we now can hold classroom-style video teleconferencing lectures, workshops and mini-conferences.  We are already linked internationally, but now can actually accumulate the necessary critical mass of human beings into the room for significant scientific and medical interactions and workshops.

There will be space for meeting half of our employees at any given time for workshops, education, town hall meetings, and updates.  Right now, our largest room holds about 35 people.  WindberPlace will hold about 250 people.  It will hopefully discontinue the kid-like game of telephone where we meet with 20 groups of 25 people and by the end of the cycle the message morphs from saving lives to catching flies.  It's tough to deal with 20 different groups in the hope of delivering the same cogent message.

Support groups will have access as will individuals involved in classes and programs for stress management and the like.

Finally, there will be a wonderful meditation area that can be utilized by family members from hospice overlooking the beautiful pastoral scenes of Windber.

For those of you who are worried about parking, I've agreed to allow some of our trees to be moved and removed so as to create another 20+ spaces on the hill.  It will also widen the treacherous curve at the top of the Breast Center road. 

So, all we have to do now is wait for the Groundhog, let the snow melt, the ground thaw out and the sun shine a little so that we can get things rolling.  It should only take six months to build it and then WindberPlace, like Woodstock I and II, Saturday Night Fever, Thriller, et al will soon be available at a big room near YOU.