If you’ve strolled through Virginia Wesleyan’s Honors Village (Village
IV) recently, you’ve likely seen construction of the building I’ve
previously referred to as the "VWC/YMCA Partnership Facility." I write
this morning to share that this facility will be named the Frank Blocker
Youth Center in honor of S. Frank Blocker, Jr., longtime Board of
Trustees member and now Trustee Emeritus of Virginia Wesleyan College.
The
Blocker name is well known in the Virginia Wesleyan community. Blocker
Hall, the College’s original natural sciences and humanities building,
was named for Mr. Blocker’s parents, S. Frank and Wilma Williamson
Blocker, in recognition of an estate gift made by S. Frank Blocker, Jr.,
in 1992. In recent years, Blocker Hall has received close to $4 million
in renovations, among them the creation of several research labs,
updates to Blocker Auditorium, and the addition of a state-of-the-art
scanning electron microscope. Blocker Hall will be complemented by the
forthcoming Greer Environmental Sciences Center, and together, the
buildings will enhance the College’s growing programs in the natural
sciences.
The Frank Blocker Youth Center, once completed, will be
a 6,000-square-foot space containing three classrooms, a large
multi-purpose room, four offices, a reception area, kitchen, and an
adjacent outdoor amphitheater with stage. Scheduled for completion in
May, the facility will be used during the academic year by Tidewater
Collegiate Academy—our laboratory school and early enrollment
partner—and in the summer months by YMCA Camp Red Feather.
Recognizing
an avid supporter of both the YMCA of South Hampton Roads and Virginia
Wesleyan College, I offer our sincerest thanks to Mr. Blocker for the
donation that made this project possible. Thanks, also, to William H.
"Billy" George, President and CEO of the YMCA of South Hampton Roads,
for his leadership in facilitating this gift and joint project.
