Ellinger Chamber Gets $21,315 Grant from LCRA, Bluebonnet

LCRA and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative representatives present a $21,315 grant to the Ellinger Chamber of Commerce for improvements to the Ellinger Community Center. The grant is part of LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program. Pictured, from left to right, are: Paula Urban, Ellinger Chamber treasurer; Paulette Urban, Ellinger Chamber director; Margaret D. “Meg” Voelter, LCRA Board member; Mark Johnson, Bluebonnet community development representative; Nicole Ramirez, Ellinger Chamber vice president; Tom Kubena, Ellinger Chamber director; Byron Balke, Bluebonnet board member; Michael Schlabach, Ellinger Chamber president; Charlotte Michalsky, Ellinger Chamber director; Miranda Schlabach, Ellinger Chamber grant writer; and Kyle Merten, Bluebonnet community development representative. The Hechler-Walla-Sula tradition continued, dogs and all. The Gips family and friends aboard Allende in the British Virgin Islands. The Kindergartner students were each gifted a Thanksgiving book.

The Ellinger Chamber of Commerce will make significant improvements to the Ellinger Community Center, thanks to a $21,315 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative. The grant, along with $9,135 in matching funds from the Chamber, will allow for purchase of a walk-in cooler for food storage, HVAC unit and additional duct work.

“Our large event hall takes a lot to air-condition,” said Michael Schlabach, Ellinger Chamber of Commerce president. “With this grant, we get to improve the temperature control in the dining hall, which will make things much more comfortable for everyone, especially our older generation.”

Built in 1935, the center offers an affordable location for family reunions, weddings, trainings, church services and other events. The center has served generations of Ellinger residents.

“It has hosted local church feasts, fundraisers for the fire department and weddings,” Schlabach said. “Great-grandmothers who were married in this building see their great-grandchildren getting married here.”

The center also serves as an important venue for residents to give back to the community. Each year, volunteers make over 200 gallons of chicken noodle soup in the center’s kitchen as part of a fundraising event. The walk-in cooler will improve food safety and the working environment for volunteers.

“One thing I’m very proud of is that our center teaches children the act of volunteering – learning to do physical labor and that what you gain from it is pride in seeing what you’ve done for the community,” Schlabach said. “As a community center, we try to always keep growing so they see what they’ve contributed and can say ‘I did that. I helped with that.’

The community grant is one of 32 grants awarded recently through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in January. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.