City Needs Help Naming Banquet Hall at Senior Center

You’re young, you’re in love, and you’re planning the big day. How about celebrating it at the senior center?

Before you say “Uh, no,” and take your wedding elsewhere, picture a bright and airy indoor space boasting French doors that lead out onto a large, landscaped patio. Additionally, there’s a full-service kitchen and a hall that seats 200 in a banquet setting, or 300 in a theater setting.

Curious now? Odd as it may sound, the is something of an undiscovered gem in the city and has the potential to be a charming venue for parties of all kinds, from cocktails hours to catered dinners.

Problem is, it’s about the last place anyone would think of for a lively celebration.

The city is working to change that by holding a contest to give the center's banquet hall a catchy name.  Yes, they want to make something old new again, and attracting more revenue for Lemon Grove is one of their main goals.

“We’ve been trying to think of ways to market the banquet hall, because it’s beautiful and people don’t know it exists,” says Keri Yednak, the city’s marketing specialist. One of the problems: The name.

“It’s not appealing to put ‘Lemon Grove Senior Center’ on invitations,” she says.

You can help name the hall—but you’ve got to act fast. Realizing a good opportunity for community engagement, the city launched an online survey this week asking participants to suggest names.

The first round of voting is open until Sunday, says Mike James, public works director. To enter, simply go to the survey site and enter your suggestion, and your name, email address and phone number.

City staff will sift through the entries Monday, and a poll will go up with the five most popular names the same day.

Voting in a second round will be open through March 12.

Yednak says the survey has received dozens of entries so far, with some repeats names.

The most popular names suggested by the public will be presented to the City Council at the March 20 meeting. The name will be chosen by the council, and the winner will be awarded a $50 gift certificate to Lido’s Italian Restaurant.

“It’s kind of exciting to do this type of event and integrate that feedback into the naming of a facility that a lot of people don’t really now about,” James says.

The survey can be accessed by clicking here, or through the city’s website.