County and city officials, donors and community members gathered in the Briggs Woods Golf Course parking near the site of the new conference center. Members of the Conservation Board, Hamilton County Board of Supervisors and major donors donned hard hats and picked up the gold-tipped shovels to officially break ground.

“This is a joyous occasion as we commemorate the physical beginning of this new facility that will provide residents and out-of-town guests a premiere venue that is equipped to handle corporate and personal events, including conferences, wedding receptions and golf tournaments to name just a few,” said Darcy Swon, development director of Enhance Hamilton County Foundation.

Swon also said that the conference center would be the only facility in the county that would be a full-service venue, providing set-up and tear-down for events, food preparation, wait staff, on-site event planning and a state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment.

“And let’s not forget this scenic view,” she said, gesturing to the rolling hills of the golf course.

Kelly Haman, special events coordinator for Briggs Woods Golf Course, Wednesday morning thanked the project donors and others who made the project possible.

The new conference center will be a 11,250-square-foot single story building with four conference rooms that can be used independently or combined to seat up to 360 people. The facility will also feature a commercial kitchen.

Swon said her organization was proud to be one of the first groups to support the project with $150,000 in grant funds. She emphasized that fundraising was ongoing to help furnish and equip the new building and to establish long-term sustainability of the project.

“We’re in the fourth quarter, but we’re not at the finish line,” said David Young, chairman of the Board of Supervisors. The dream of the conference center started more than two years ago and to date, enough funds have been raised to begin construction, he said.

“For Hamilton County, I think this is a very bold move,” said Young. “This isn’t something that other counties would have the capacity to start to deal with.”

Young said he was pleased to be part of the team that worked to make the conference center project a reality.

Daniel Ortiz-Hernandez, city manager of Webster City, speaks to the crowd gathered at Briggs Woods Club House for the ground breaking for the new conference center.

“This took a team. We need to keep the team together and cross the finish line together,” he said.

Dennis Bahr, conservation board member, outlined the history of the project.

“This project is designed to meet the needs of Hamilton County and the surrounding areas. It goes back over a decade as various people and committees have recommended a facility such as this,” he said. One study, Bahr said, pointed out that there are 750,000 people in a 60-mile radius that could potentially use the facility.

“In August 2012, the golf course purchased an events tent. After that point, people started asking for more and more services,” he said. What started initially as a renovation of the existing club house has developed into the new building project.

“We hope to complete construction in late 2018,” he said.

Hamilton County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Young, left, chats with Bob Van Diest of Van Diest Supply Company at the ground breaking ceremony for the new Briggs Woods Conference Center Wednesday morning. Van Diest’s three companies, First State Bank, Town and Country Insurance and Van Diest Supply Company, contributed $500,000 to the project.

“The City is looking forward to seeing this project come to fruition,” said Daniel Ortiz-Hernandez, city manager of Webster City. He added that the city had contributed to the project through grants from the Hotel/Motel Tax Board. He said the economic impact could be substantial for Webster City and the surrounding communities.

“Briggs Woods is the jewel of our community and the county,” he said. “And this is going to be a great amenity that will draw a lot of people. Our hotels are looking forward to the additional capacity it will generate and it will benefit the local restaurants and businesses, too.”

Kelly Haman, special events coordinator for Briggs Woods and one of the driving forces behind the project, thanked the many project collaborators for their contributions.

“Today is a big day for all of us, a milestone for the conference center, the result of two years of hard work, collaboration and coordination by many partners,” she said.

“Many of you have been able to envision the potential of the Briggs Woods Conference Center to bolster tourism and to have a positive impact for Hamilton County,” she said. “Enough of you also believed in the project vision to get us here today.”

Conservation Board members Dennis Bahr, center, and Jim Richardson, right, talk with Dean Bowden before the ground breaking.

Haman said originally, the plans called for $400,000 addition to the golf club house.

“We’ve come a long way since then,” Haman said, adding that the expansion of the project paid tribute to the county, cities and residents and continued commitment to the future of Hamilton County.

She said the project had received grants from Enhance Hamilton County Foundation, Hamilton County Economic Development, Webster City Hotel/Motel Tax Grant Board and Enhance Iowa. She offered thanks to area business for contributions including Webster City Custom Meats. the first major donor in the fundraising campaign, and the combined donation of First State Bank, Town and Country Insurance and Van Diest Supply totaling $500,000.

Peterson Construction of Webster City was awarded the contract for the construction of the conference center. The local firm turned in the lowest bid of $2,223,000 of the seven bids submitted for the project. Workers have already begun the ground work at the site.

Ground has been cleared adjacent to the current Briggs Woods Club House for the new conference center. The ground breaking ceremony was held Wednesday morning.