FORT SILL, Okla. (June 12, 2014) -- Fort Sill celebrated the grand opening of its newest community center with a ribbon cutting ceremony June 4.
The Old Cavalry Post Community Center will serve Soldiers and their families who occupy some 500 post housing units on the north side of the installation.
The $2.5 million facility is similar to the Southern Plains Community Center on Geronimo Road here. It boasts an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a fitness center overlooking a playroom for children, a recreation room, a kitchen area, a meeting room and a laundry.
"This is our 30th community center that Corvias Military Living has built on the military installations it serves. I'm just as proud standing here for out 30th as I was for our first one 10 years ago. These facilities are truly what we are all about, and this never gets old," said Brian Beauregard, Fort Sill program director for Corvias Military Living.
Beauregard said the Residential Community Initiative, which partners the Army with civilian organizations like Corvias, has been hugely successful across the United States, changing the housing landscape across the Army.
"At Fort Sill alone, by the end of 2016, we will have constructed 510 homes and completed over 800 renovations. However, we truly believe the community centers are truly the icing on the cake," he said. "We consider this an extension of your living room."
Col. Glenn Waters, Fort Sill Garrison commander, spoke of the great opportunity that the community center provides for Soldiers and their families.
"It's a high-end, quality facility that gives another option to the family members, the children and the Soldiers, to come and enjoy the services provided here," said Waters. "The new facility will have an immediate and positive impact on the quality of life for the Fort Sill community.
Waters went on to point out the amenities the center provides, starting with the pool, a covered playground, the workout room with an adjacent playroom so parents can watch their kids while they work out, and a recreation room complete with video games, an air hockey table and a pool table fashioned out of a 1965 Mustang. Waters also said there are washer and dryer facilities, for families who don't have access to laundries. The center also has a full kitchen with a meeting room for events, such as birthday parties and family readiness group meetings.
Joining Waters and Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Miller, garrison CSM, in cutting the ribbon were post residents Maj. Sean and Katie O'Berry and their sons, Dylan, 14, and Ryan, 10.
The entire Old Post Community Center is handicapped accessible, which means a great deal to the O'Berry family, since Dylan is disabled.
"Corvias came in our house on post and built three ramps and installed handrails in both bathrooms to make it safer for him. Even the pool, the way that it just slowly gets deeper and deeper, so he can go in with no problem," Katie said.
What are her favorite features of the new center?
"I would say the pool, because it helps Dylan exercise his legs and his back after his recent spinal fusion surgery. Also the workout room, because I can work out here instead of going to the gym, and I can watch the boys while they are in the playroom," Katie said. "We're not the only family on post with a handicapped child, so this facility will benefit a lot of families."
Ryan, who will be a fifth-grader at Sheridan Road Elementary School this fall, said his brother will be able to use just about everything in the facility.
"Dylan can play the video games and he can use the workout room, the treadmill and such. I plan to come over and work out a lot, so he can be there with me. It's great," Ryan said.
Major O'Berry is on his fourth tour at Fort Sill and is assigned to the Directorate of Training and Doctrine at the Fires Center of Excellence. He said the center is like a resort within the community.
"It provides an opportunity to come here and relax. We've already been in the pool a couple times. I'm very pleased with what Corvias has been able to do here. They've demonstrated a caring that really leads to an awesome relationship both now and in the future," O'Berry said. "It's a top-notch facility."
Waters summed up what the partnership between the Army and Corvias Military Living means to the Fort Sill community.
"Corvias has paid attention to a lot of things that our Soldiers and their families expressed desires to see in this facility, so we thank them for listening. This facility increases our quality of living even during the fiscal constraints, and it is only possible because of the professional partnership we have with Corvias Military Living. So I say, 'Job well done.'" Waters said, adding that the garrison is looking forward to another new community center in the Buffalo Soldier Acres housing area in the future.
Social Sharing