BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — After a community effort, Berkeley Springs High School now has a renovated gymnasium for the first time in almost 20 years, including a new 10,000 square foot floor.
History teacher Ron Bittinger spearheaded the project, which overall was valued at an estimated $60,000. Community volunteers rebuilt the floor, while financial donations and sponsorships were made to fund the project, which also included updated scoreboards and wall pads.
“We had gone through our gym and looked at various needs and updates on some things – at first, we were just looking to update some signage that was really dated,” Bittinger said. “But we kept coming back to the gym floor and it was something that had not been touched for close to 20 years. That was what really needed something the most.”
Bittinger estimated 40-50 different volunteers helped complete the project, ranging from students, former students, parents, coaches, faculty, administrators and the Morgan County superintendent. Bittinger was there for almost all of the renovation, often spending 10-11 hour days on the project.
“It took 31 days from start to finish,” Bittinger said. “It’s incredible. You would never believe a group of amateurs did this. Our end result is better than I would have imagined. That’s what we were hoping for, we wanted to get that ‘wow’ factor and so far we have.”