County Grant Approved
The current phase of the Sample-McDougald House project — site development and landscaping — received a big boost when Broward County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs recommended that $250,000 in Broward County Park Bond funds be made available in the form of a grant to assist in the creation of Centennial Park, with the County Commission unanimously approving the award.

At its meeting on April 14th, the Pompano Beach City Commission voted unanimously to accept the grant from Broward County, and at the following meeting, the commissioners approved the agreement between the City and the Sample-McDougald House Preservation Society, again by a unanimous vote.

In July of last year, the Pompano Beach City Commission voted to designate the Sample-McDougald House grounds “Centennial Park’ as a way to memorialize the municipality’s 100th birthday celebration.

The Big Breakfast
The first annual Breakfast for the “Big” House, held on March 20th, was a huge success. The event was sold out, and everyone who attended had a great time while helping a good cause.

The Breakfast was co-sponsored by the Sample-McDougald House Preservation Society and the John Knox Village, with the proceeds raised at this event going to facilitate the final construction of the grounds and landscaping to complete our new home in Centennial Park. Florida Shores Bank provided Sample-McDougald House coffee mugs for the attendees.

What made this event unusual and incredibly fun were the celebrity table waiters -- some of Pompano Beach and Broward County’s finest community leaders who worked for “tips.” The celebrity waiters included Pompano Beach City Commission Rex Hardin, Broward County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs, School Board Member Dr. Robert Parks, Dirk DeJong (Furman Insurance), Jerry DuBois (JWR Construction ), Dottie Faurerbach (Publix Super Markets), Bill Gallo (Gallo Architects), Michael Garretson (School Board of Broward County), Cady Griffin (the Farris family), Dan Hobby (Sample-McDougald House), Betti Masi (Seawood Builders), Bob Milanovich (John Knox Village), Marvin Scharf (IBI Group), and Sarah Yonn (the McDougald family).

An important feature of the Breakfast was the presentation of the annual “Champion of the “Big” House Award” and the “Special Recognition Award”. These awards are in recognition of an individual, business or non-profit organization that has provided significant contribution toward the success of the preservation of the historic Sample-McDougald House. This year’s recipients were the Honorable Kristin Jacobs, Broward County Commissioner and The John Knox Village.

The event was chaired by Dodie Keith-Lazowick and raised over 17,000 dollars.

Waiters (left to right) Rex Hardin, Dottie Fauerbach, Bob Milanovich and Kristin Jacobs

Breakfast committee member Margaret White and chair Dodie Keith-Lazowick

Construction for Preservation
One of the Sample-McDougald House’s most noticeable architectural features is its wooden awnings. Although they were not an original feature of the house, they have been a visual part of the landmark for over sixty years.

The awnings were severely damaged by Hurricane Wilma, but thanks of a historic preservation grant and the expert craftsmanship of Alltech Construction, the wooden awnings are as good as new. This was a complicated and painstaking task that involved the milling, cutting and piecing together hundreds of slats to rebuild and repair the damaged awnings. Some awnings had to be built from scratch.

The Alltech carpenters also rebuilt the bases to the distinctive columns on the house, as the previous bases had deteriorated in the South Florida weather. The new bases – which had to be custom-made – are made of pressure-treated wood so we expect them to survive for many years.

The awnings and bases will be painted by Pompano Beach’s Bell Painting.

One of the news column bases constructed for the Sample-McDougald House.

Scanning the House
There were high tech happenings at the Sample-McDougald House recently, when surveyors from Craven Thompson and Associates used the historic structure for a demonstration project. Using cutting edge equipment, the house was digitally scanned, with the end product being a precise computer-generated three-dimensional image of the house which can be used not only for presentations, but also for architectural drawings.

Rick Pryce and his crew have completed the outside of the house and are planning to scan the inside in the near future.

We thank Craven Thompson for its donation of this valuable resource to the Sample-McDougald House.

Craven Thompson crew sets up scanning equipment.

Thank You Publix
Publix Super Markets recently presented the Sample-McDougald House with a donation of 5,000 dollars to assist in the completion of the site work and landscaping. Sample-McDougald House president, Dirk DeJong, and executive director, Dan Hobby, attended a ceremony in Miami at which 67 South Florida non-profit organizations received contributions from Publix.

New Old Furniture
Darlene Swan, daughter of Pompano Beach pioneer George Robertson, who passed away last year, recently contacted the Sample-McDougald House and offered to donate some of her parents’ furniture to the organization.

Mr. Robertson came to Pompano as an infant in 1928 and over the years had acquired many unique furnishings, including the first television sold in Pompano Beach. Many of the pieces were appropriate in age and style for the Sample-McDougald House, and we gratefully accepted them in memory of Mr. and Mrs. George Robertson.

A hand-cranked phonograph was one of the pieces of antique furniture donated by the family of George Robertson.

Where Are We Now?
We are ready to begin the development of Centennial Park – the grounds of the Sample-McDougald House. Right now, the final step before we can break ground is approval from the Federal Aviation Authority (we are located in the flight path of Pompano Air Park), which we expect to receive soon.

Our first task will be the installation of water and sewer lines. We are extremely fortunate to have commitments for in-kind contributions from Lanzo Construction, Ferguson Enterprises and Chuck’s Backhoe Service for this phase of the project. Work should begin on this soon after we receive FAA approval.

We will then begin work on construction of public bathrooms, driveways and parking lot, sidewalks and lighting and then landscaping and site amenities.

Even though we have received a significant amount of in-kind and financial support, we will still use more to complete this million dollar phase of the project. Become a part of this important community project.