Lee Civic Center a cultural gem, rural royalty
Thank you Commissioner Mike Greenwell for trying to protect and resurrect the Lee Civic Center. The Lee Civic Center has a long and famous history. It has drawn many famous singers throughout the years. Seeing concerts there with Garth Brooks, Willy Nelson, Alabama, Fabian, Hank Williams Jr., Rush, Chris LeDoux and more is a tribute to this great venue. We all need all of you to support and and make the Civic Center flourish again like old times and bring back concerts and more expos to the center and to keep the fair there. The fair is very important to the rural community and its way of life
The Civic Center needs new bleacher seats as they have become outdated and not usable for many years and never replaced. Please email your commissioners and tell them to fund new chairs and update a new more modern stage with new advanced lighting, etc. included. We could have high class acts, concerts, plays come to our Civic Center if we can only reclaim all of the 7,500 seats which the building is capable of holding..
Where can we get the money to reclaim this building? One fund we could use is the 20/20 money. Renovate the seven lakes on the Civic Center grounds for kids, oldsters and others to fish. Make oak plantations and plant may other trees and shrubs to make the grounds truly green. Stock some quail. Make space for individual and community gardening. In other words make it a green park with a renovated rodeo grounds, horse arenas and modern facilities for the fair. Another way is to petition an industrial group, corporate headquarters, etc. to sponsor the center like Hertz does for the Everblades to help keep the arena staff going. Make the center available for an NBA or an NHL team. Make sure the seats could be moved within each other to have enough room for gun shows, RV shows, fishing shows and more on the Civic Center floor. The Civic Center needs to host the county fair for the second hundred years. This means the developers, builders, planners must think rural for Alva, Buckingham, Bayshore, Olga, the rest of the DRGR (Density Reduction/Groundwater Resource) and even parts of the Babcock Ranch. How do they think rural? It is quite simple. All developments will be 10 and five acre parcels suitable for horses and livestock. Are you listening developers?
Why is the gem of rural royalty, the Lee Civic Center, so highly important to rural life in Southwest Florida? Among the reasons are the vast 4-H community and Future Farmers of America that use it throughout the year, with the county fair being one of the high points. The members work diligently throughout the year raising everything from gerbils to steers and horses so they can exhibit them in the fair, winning ribbons and receiving handsome checks at the livestock auctions, equine competitions, too. The members benefit greatly, learning to raise their livestock, riding their horses and handling their charges and how to care for their animals in sickness and in health. A way of life that is so beneficial to our world in Lee County.
Our commissioners need to recognize this and keep our county truly rural. Preserve our wonderful Civic Center for future generations to come for all of Lee County. Otherwise the farming community will move out of Lee County. It is not just the Lee Civic Center but also the wonderful carnival that goes along with the fair.
A special note for Commissioner Mike Greenwell for his enduring approval for the Civic Center and his recognition and support of our rural lifestyle in Lee County. I can only hope he will change his developments to rural ones.
In summary, commissioners and Lee County planners, encourage all of our great building industry to only build ranches and farms in our rural areas of Lee County. No houses plastered next to each other or apartments stacked up, many stories upon each other. Stop this by commission denials and lawful edicts. Support a modern Civic Center with all the different facilities for clubs and expos to make this wonderful fairgrounds and Civic Center a proud area we can all use for the next hundred years. The 4-H clubs, rural community and residents of Southwest Florida will thank you all.
Oh yes, please stop this RV park in Alva. Obviously that is not a rural entity.
Carl Veaux of Cape Coral is a past 4-H club member and is active with Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Lee Civic Center a cultural gem, rural royalty
