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Homestead ARB opens first Air Force Reserve training and conference center

  • Published
  • By Dan Galindo
  • 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOMESTEAD ARB, Fla. --  Air Force and community leaders gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate the new Heritage Hall Training and Conference Center here on Jan. 27.

Former 482nd Fighter Wing Commander Maj. Gen. Charles E. Stenner Jr. and former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek attended the ceremony before a short tour of the $2.6 million facility.

“This [Homestead] Air Force base was the center of the community and provided jobs,” said Rep. Meek, who helped obtain funding for the project in 1998 while she was a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “It was a privilege for me,” she said.

HARB is the only stand alone Air Force Reserve base to have its own conference center.

“As the word gets out across the command, the phone will begin to ring,” said Jess Holcomb, 482nd Chief of Services. “With all of the conferences, it will bring high ranking personnel from all areas, making Homestead a very highly visible base. This will help to ensure a continued mission at Homestead and fight against future [base realignment and closures].”

General Stenner, now the director of plans and programs for Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command at Robins AFB, Ga., conceived the idea for the center while commanding the 482nd FW from December 1998 to May 2001.

“You’ve got to use the leverage you have,” he said. “And the leverage we’ve got is the location. The weather and area are attractive to units everywhere, so we can use that to bring business to this base.”

“Heritage Hall is attractive to other units because it’s a short distance from a major airport at Miami, it’s new, it has all the latest, state of the art audio visual equipment, and it has a Services staff dedicated to supporting catering needs,” said Mr. Holcomb.

The appeal of the conference center is already apparent, being completely booked for the month of February, which saw the Florida Installation Commander’s Conference on Feb. 10 with Gov. Jeb Bush. More groups are tentatively scheduled to use the facility in April and May, too.

The focal point of the building is the main conference room, which can seat nearly 200 with a large conference table and stadium style seating. The room can support video teleconferencing and classified top secret briefings.

Located immediately adjacent to the Falcon’s Nest Club and a short walk from base billeting, the center is in a highly convenient location on the base as well.

Contractors completed construction on Heritage Hall in April of last year. Since then, Services Squadron has added a patio between the Falcon’s Nest Club and center, audio visual equipment, replaced conference seating and installed a kitchen.