The county's largest meeting facility, its premier entertainment venue, and the biggest competition swimming facility all opened last Sunday.

About 400 people attended the ribbon cutting and dedication hosted by the Russell County Board of Education

The newly opened Russell County Auditorium / Natatorium Complex on South Hwy 127 in Russell Springs at the intersection of French Valley Road will next host the National Day of Prayer event May 7th at 6 p.m.

The ceremony last weekend began with the Master of Ceremony, Chanson Davenport introducing the dignitaries on the stage and the Invocation, given by Brother Jim Kingry. The NJROTC presented the National Colors, while James Bean sang The National Anthem.

Ted Eysenbach, from the Russell County Industrial Authority, included praise for all those involved in getting the program off the ground, with special recognition of the past and present swim team members, but most especially the determination of Superintended Scott Pierce.

Joking about the lengthy name of the building Eysenbach said, "They should name it the Scott."

Pierce passed on commenting on that suggestion, instead focusing on the dedicated support and hard work by local legislators Jeff Hoover and Vernie McGaha as well as Senate President David Williams of Burkesville.

Brother Tony Stephens gave the Benediction before Steve Branscum, President & CEO of Branscum Construction Company made his remarks and presented the scissors to Clifford Wilson.

The Board of Education and Dignitaries cut the ribbon and the gathering in the auditorium dispersed for refreshments and building tours.

The New Russell County Auditorium and Natatorium Complex consist of 63, 464 square feet with an Auditorium seating capacity of 742, a 2,400 square foot multi-purpose room, 10 classrooms, exercise room and Natatorium.

The ceiling in the Auditorium has acoustical panels to help enhance the large state-of-the-art lighting and sound system, 2 dressing rooms on either side of the stage and there is a 16 x 20 drop down projector screen.

The Multi-purpose/Conference room is outfitted with a presentation center and a sound system that can be connected in with the Auditorium.

The 10 classrooms will be used by high school students in the district who are taking college accredited classes.

One of the classrooms is wired to be a computer lab.

An exercise room consists of 2,000 square feet and overlooks both the pool and the foyer.

The Natatorium competition size pool ranges from 4ft to 12.6 with both low and high diving boards.

Michelle Pettey, marketing coordinator for Branscum Construction added that their company served as the Construction Manager for the new Russell County Auditorium / Natatorium Complex; RBS Design Group was the architect on the building; Jeff Cook, of Branscum, served as the project manager; Larry McGowan, and Jim Gilbert were the superintendents on the project.