Most would agree with Rev. Kinkead’s assessment of Wesley Chapel. But have you ever stopped and wondered how this 1,800-seat house of worship—the home of the West Virginia Annual Conference—is maintained? The shear size of the Chapel alone makes it a daunting task. From the beautiful hand-carved wooden statues of the twelve apostles; to the 4,244-pipe Rohrbough Memorial organ; to the soaring bell tower and steeple, and to even the statue of John Wesley himself, the care for the Chapel can be daunting.

But, with the help of a $250,000 campaign gift from Gene and Datha Smith of Vero Beach, Florida, Wesley Chapel will have its first maintenance endowment fund to help it continue to shine as one of the College’s most enduring features.

The Smiths were long-time residents of Fairmont, W.Va. and members of First United Methodist Church there. Active in the United Methodist Conference, Mrs. Smith spent many of her summer days on Wesleyan’s campus at Annual Conference, Summer Youth Celebration and United Methodist Women’s Conference.

“We established this endowment for West Virginia Wesleyan College for the maintenance of Wesley Chapel because God has been so good to us and we wanted to share some of our bountiful gifts with others,” said Mrs. Smith. “We also feel this is a way to support Christian education. I have fond memories of chaperoning Methodist youth groups to the campus and attending Methodist Women's events and the significance of the Chapel in a Christian learning environment.”

“The College is extremely grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Smith for their generous gift,” said President William R. Haden. “With their active Church and family connections, they have honored these ties with a gift that will help preserve the campus landmark for our Methodist heritage.”

Gene and Datha are the parents of E. Robert Smith of Fairmont, Sue Post of Fairmont and Vero Beach, FL and Sharon Brown of Vero Beach, FL. Their granddaughter Elizabeth Brown Brock '96 graduated from Wesleyan as well as their son in-law, David Brown MBA '94, who was also an adjunct professor in the MBA program.

“We have such a beautiful Chapel, and so many wonderful gifts inside of it,” stated Rev. Kinkead. “But there is a tremendous amount of upkeep. The Smith’s gift will allow us to address more maintenance issues and help with accessibility. There was a great vision for this Chapel when it was built under Dr. Stanley Martin, and we need to keep that vision going.”

In addition to maintenance issues, the campaign priorities are to also make the Chapel more handicapped accessible. Already, with a gift from the West Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, a hearing assistance system was added with 24 ear speakers for the hearing impaired. This gift was a part of a larger commitment the Conference made to update the Chapel sound and projection system. The sound system was replaced last year and the high-powered projector will be added later this summer.

The remaining major accessibility need is an elevator. “The ground floor isn’t accessible at all,” stated Kinkead. “The second floor is only accessible through the Meditation Chapel. And really, people cannot get upstairs at all where we have classrooms and offices.”

Mrs. Smith added, “We hope others will join us in this important endeavor to further the growth of the College."