We first reported last week about the emergence of a local 501(c)3 non-profit group that has come together with the hopes of creating the Panorama Community Health and Wellness Center (PCHWC).

The group’s goal is to acquire Panora’s vacant Cargill egg plant, renovate it and ultimately transform it into a state-of-the-art fitness facility for community members to enjoy.

PCHWC has recently received support from the City of Panora and Guthrie Center, as well as from area Chambers of Commerce, so we caught up with the project’s leader, Bill Douglass, to ask him… what’s next?

“We’ve got to finalize a deal with Cargill because at that point we’ll know how much we have to go out and fundraise.  Then we’ll go out and hit up the whole area, and we’re still trying to get all the little towns surrounding (on board) because we really need to make it a county-wide effort to make it a success.”

Douglass says he doesn’t have an official deadline in terms of when he’s like to work out a deal with Cargill, but he thinks it could take as long as a year.

Douglass says the idea of having a wellness center in the Guthrie County area has been around for over 20 years, but when the Cargill facility became available, it marked the first time the idea became tangible.

With many different community members currently on the Board of Directors, Douglass believes a wellness center is something the area wants and needs.

“It’s been one of these things where you pitch the idea and people are like, ‘man, that sounds great, what can I do to help?’  Then I say, ‘well, here’s a start, if you’re really interested let’s get you on the Board and start making some decisions’.  So that’s kind of where we’re at and it’s been working really well.”

Douglass is just one member of what comprises PCHWC’s Board of Directors.  The other project leaders are Lynnea Andersen, Dave Kemble, Pete Leiferman, Rod Nelsen, Rusty Pearson and Bryan Richey.

Douglass says he and the rest of the Board can be contacted at any time by visiting the project’s website, which can be found by CLICKING HERE.