Chat with Cat: Uncovering the Foundations

This week we pulled up the carpet in Upper Anderson--a meeting space for 250+ in the Anderson Auditorium building. Underneath the carpet is the 80-year-old stone floor that is almost iconic in Montreat's historic buildings.

Now those floors are being buffed and shined to look like they may have when the building was new. A couple of years ago we did the same thing in the Assembly Inn lobby.

When there is the possibility of change in an organization as old and as special to many as Montreat, it is often met with nostalgia. When I was first told that there was no more carpet in the Assembly Inn Lobby, I thought about all the time I spent there and tried to imagine what it would look like.

When I heard about plans to uncover the original floors in Upper Anderson, I immediately thought of the hours of choir rehearsal I had there during the Worship & Music Conferences, and the good times playing Montreat Family Feud during Summer Staff orientation.

It can often be very exciting to uncover pieces of the past. The floors that Montreat has uncovered are beautiful. All of the stone was mined locally, so they are a reminder of Montreat's heritage in more than one way.

As Montreat Conference Center undergoes some exciting changes in the next several months, we will be uncovering more stories from our past. Our hope is that like these beautiful floors, these changes will bring out the rich history alive in Montreat. Some of the changes, like redoing the floors, will help us offer this special "place set apart" to new guest groups, who can use the spaces to uncover the foundations of their own group or to plan the next addition to their organization.

It's the perfect time to discover more about who we are, and to help our guests and congregations learn about their histories as well.

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Cat is the Sales Associate at Montreat Conference Center. She loves helping people plan the perfect Montreat Experience and would love to hear from you about how this blog can help you.

Cat can be reached at catw@montreat.org or at @Cat_Montreat.