Highground Rising campaign takes a new turn
It has been four years since the thought of The Highground expansion was conceived. Now, Highground leaders still plan to expand the facilities, but instead of building a new building, they are looking to add on to the existing museum, to meet the need for additional space in a way that is financially feasible.
“This will still fulfill our goal with a little smaller footprint,” said Highground Executive Director Chris Pettis.
Located at W7031 Ridge Road, Neillsville, The Highground was founded in 1984. This veterans memorial park has grown greatly over the past four decades in terms of the number of tributes available for viewing, and the events and programs offered to veterans and their families. The park does not have enough indoor space to accommodate the crowds that come for events such as Honor Stone or Memorial Day ceremonies, if the weather causes the event to have to be moved inside. There is also limited parking space and the lawn frequently gets used as parking for large events. In addition, the park has received many donations of military memorabilia that volunteers would like to display at the museum, but there simply isn’t enough space. All of these concerns and more prompted The Highground staff and board of directors to consider an expansion project to carry the park into the next 35 years of honoring and serving veterans.
In 2019, The Highground conducted a feasibility study that encompassed research on the size, scope and projected fundraising needed to bring a new “Welcome Center” to fruition. Based on the compiled data, it was determined that $4 million would be an obtainable goal. At that time, the 12,000-square-foot building was estimated to cost $2.5 million and the remaining funds would be used to enhance the flow of traffic in and out of the park, add additional parking and become Americans with Disabilities Act compliant throughout the park. Highground staff initiated “The Highground Rising” capital campaign to raise the necessary funds.
However, “while battle plans were being conceived, we did not anticipate natural and economic adversities to complicate the mission,” wrote Pettis in a news release.
After a few years went by, Highground leaders recognized the need to reevaluate the overall goal.
“We started talking about this towards the end of 2022 and start of 2023. We had sat down with our architectural firm and a local builder. The estimated cost of the original building plans went up $1.2 million, just for materials and labor. With inflation and the material costs jumping up, we don’t feel we can pursue a new building with the donor pool we have at this time. We don’t want to put our organization so deep in debt,” said Pettis. “So we looked at, what can we do to meet the need now and meet our promises to the donors who have already contributed?”
Pettis said it was difficult to navigate between wants, needs and must-haves to produce a revised vision of what the “Welcome Center” would look like. Highground staff met with Excel architects to strategize a plan that would contribute to The Highground’s mission and growth of veteran programming, while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
The new project has an estimated cost of $3 million. The plan is to build a 6,000 square-foot addition extending west from the existing museum.
“A lot of people drive right past the learning center and museum as it is now, even though we have a sign. So we wanted to expand the building towards the park itself, to be closer,” said Pettis.
The expansion will include a multipurpose room and restrooms, and the museum will be moved into the new addition. The new multipurpose room will be big enough for approximately 80 people. It will have two regular doors and a garage door. If there are more than 80 people at an event, the garage door will be opened to the foyer of the building, which will provide space for an additional 20 people.
“Having that space is really important, because in the wintertime, since we don’t have an indoor facility, we are really limited on what we can do. Right now, we just have a two-car garage, which is not conducive to meaningful experiences,” said Pettis. The multipurpose room will also have a TV screen and be set up like a theater, allowing for the showing of presentations or documentaries like “We Were There: Stories of Vietnam” that The Highground is currently working on.
The current museum will be turned into a 20-person chapel, counseling rooms and a meeting space. Of late, The Highground has had an increased focus on providing counseling to veterans affected by post-traumatic stress disorder and encouraging one-on-one conversations between veterans, so the individual meeting rooms will fill that need.
With the new design, the gift shop will need to remain in the “Timber Frame” building, instead of being moved to the addition as originally planned.
The Highground has received approximately $1.7 million in pledges and one-time gifts for the capital campaign.
“With the donations and pledges we have, we plan to proceed now with the project and make payments into the future,” said Pettis. “We hope to have the building built and open by Memorial Day 2024, but there are too may variables to say for sure.”
The next step is the architectural firm finalizing plans and submitting them to the state for approval.
“This past year has proven the need to expand our facilities to accommodate the growing interest of those seeking participation in our veteran programming and events. In short, we are not surrendering; we are just attacking from a different direction!” Pettis wrote.
The Highground is grateful for all the contributions received up to this point. Donations are needed to finish the job, so The Highground can provide an even better experience to veterans and visitors through its new welcome center.
For more information on the project, call The Highground at 715-743-4224.
“If people would like more information, I’d be happy to meet with them at the park or come to them and show them the plans,” said Pettis.
To donate, visit thehighground.us and click on “The Highground Rising Expansion.” Checks can also be mailed to The Highground Veterans Memorial Park, P.O. Box 457, Neillsville, WI 54456.
Editor Valorie Brecht contributed to this report.
