The historical Samford Farmers Hall is connecting online to keep contemporary, thanks to a grant from Community Bank Samford.
Funding has been used to establish a website and social media presence for Samford Farmers Hall, which will include a booking system, list of facilities, photo gallery and an outline of the Hall’s history.
“Community Bank Samford’s grant will underpin the dawn of a new era for the Hall and enable us to switch over to the digital age,” said Don Cousins, President of Samford Farmers Hall.
“Most importantly, it will enable us to establish an online Hall booking system, complete with events schedule, Hall hire forms and T&Cs. To date, this has been done by long hand and the exchange of phone calls and emails.”
By allowing bookings and engagements to be completed electronically the burden of administration on volunteers will be greatly reduced, as will the Hall’s carbon footprint.
Creating an online booking system has been in the works for a number of years, however, the Samford Farmers Hall committee was hit with a reduction in revenue due to COVID restrictions. The committee relies on Hall hire to fund the upkeep and maintenance of the historical building.
“Community Bank Samford’s grant has allowed us to grasp an opportunity to manage and use our new digital presence in the near term rather than waiting several more years to accumulate the funds ourselves,” Don said.
“The anticipated result of this project includes a readily accessible website and a social media presence that will boost the number of bookings and noticeability of the Samford Farmers Hall, and allow those within the local community, and further afield, to see what Samford and the Samford Farmers Hall has to offer.”
Since 1918, Samford Farmers Hall has been the local go-to venue for a variety of social gatherings, which continues to the present day. Community groups that currently use the Hall include churches, choirs, children’s dance classes, self-defense classes, local theatre groups, alcoholics anonymous group, and fitness groups. It is also a hub for community gatherings, such as the meet the candidate nights, community meetings to address local issues, plus local, state, and federal election activities.
Community Bank Samford is excited to play a role in digitally connecting an important part of Samford’s history to the 21st century.
