Meals on Wheels breaks ground on

new McKissick Center in Liberty

By Ben Robinson
Staff Reporter

brobinson@thepccourier.com

LIBERTY — Many gathered Friday at the former site of the lunchroom of Liberty Middle School to break ground for Pickens County Meals on Wheels’ new McKissick Center for Senior Wellness.

Courtesy Photo
From left, Pickens County Meals on Wheels board members Drake Curry and Les Hendricks, are pictured with Pickens County Council member Neil Smith and Appalachian Council on Aging executive director Steve Pelissier taking part in Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the McKissick Center for Senior Wellness in Liberty.

The facility was donated to Meals on Wheels by Pickens County after the county purchased the entire facility from the School District of Pickens County for various uses.

For example, the gym and football stadium will be utilized by the Liberty Recreation Department, the Crotwell Auditorium will serve the city of Liberty, and several classrooms will be used as magistrate offices.

Meals on Wheels is making moves to take care of the growing senior population in Pickens County.

“We knew that drastic measures would need to be taken to meet that challenge head on,” PCMOW executive director Meta Bowers said. “With this facility, we will be able to safeguard the services we provide for hundreds of seniors every year, helping them maintain their nutritional health, their independence, their security, and their quality of life.

“In 2010, when the school district began their building campaign, we saw the opportunity to establish a kitchen, and doing so would allow us to increase the number of meals we serve, to use the facility to diversify our revenue stream, but also change the way that we operate.”

Currently, Meals on Wheels delivers seniors one meal a day, Monday through Friday.

Bowers saw that the organization would need to do more for the growing senior population in Pickens County.

Courtesy Photo
From left, Rep. Gary Clary, Rep. Davey Hiott and Sen. Larry Martin take part in Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the McKissick Center for Senior Wellness in Liberty.

“In 2013, Pickens County Council, under the leadership of councilman Neil Smith, deeded this building and a fully equipped kitchen to Meals on Wheels,” Bowers said. “Over the past three years, how we would use this building has changed dramatically.

“When we open, we will not just produce meals. We will also provide a variety of educational, cultural and social activities, because what we know is that when we engage seniors and their active and healthy relationships, we help them retain their independence.”

The former middle school will house much more than just the Meals on Wheels kitchen, Bowers said.

“It will also our Young at Heart dining and activity center,” Bowers said. “It has taken a very strong public/private partnership to get us where we are today.”

Bowers praised Smith for his help in getting the project started.

“Your vision and leadership led to this campus becoming not just the focal point for Liberty, but for Pickens County,” Bowers said. “We are very honored to be a part of it.”

Bowers also expressed a thank you to the McKissick family, the leaders of Alice Manufacturing, who were major sponsors of the project.

Bowers also said thanks to the state lieutenant governor’s office for a permanent improvement project grant.

Bowers thanked the Wal-Mart foundation for an estate foundation grant, which was the first grant for this project.

“It really was a shot in the arm that got the ball rolling and us to thinking about how great it could actually be,” Bowers said.

Bowers also thanked Reliable Sprinkler Company for its donation of sprinklers that will keep the facility safe.

Bowers thanked Julie Capaldi of the United Way of Pickens County, the Duke Energy Foundation and the members of the Pickens County delegation — Sen. Larry Martin. Rep. Davey Hiott and Rep. Gary Clary — for their support.

Bowers also thanked Liberty Mayor Eric Boughman and Easley Mayor Larry Bagwell for their support.

“You were part of making these dreams a reality,” Bowers said. “If you will just step back, and think (about) why this project is so important, I think all of us would agree that it is because it focuses on the long-term needs of seniors in Pickens County.

“I can tell you from experience that no one sets out to need the services of Meals on Wheels. But the effects of aging, illness, isolation and diminishing resources do not discriminate.”

Bowers is excited about the future of Meals on Wheels.

“Going forward, it is our vision to provide continuous care for the active, the aging and the homebound in Pickens County,” Bowers said. “Programs like Meals on Wheels make a tremendous impact every day.

“While we’re best known for food and senior hunger, to our clients we are so much more. We also deliver comfort and dignity, but most of all the knowledge that someone cares.”