In Inter-America, Church leadership inaugurates new wing at headquarters
From left to right: Hilda Montero, Faye Patterson of the IAD office, Moises Reyna of Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union and Myrna Costa of the IAD office cut the ribbon during a ceremony to inaugurate the new two-floor addition to the the Inter-American Division Headquarters in Miami, Florida, on May 8, 2015. Top church leaders toured the new wing which includes six offices, a conference room and a large storage room. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD
May 9, 2015 | Miami, Florida, United States | Libna Stevens/IAD
Top church leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America inaugurated a new southwest wing office and storage complex at its headquarter office in Miami, Florida, during a special ceremony yesterday.
Photo showing completion of the southwest wing expansion of the IAD Headquarters Office in Miami, Florida. Image Courtesy of Luis Castañeda/3L Builders Corp.
Dozens of top leaders from across the church in the Inter-American Division (IAD) territory witnessed the special dedication, which took place during pre-meetings of the church’s executive committee meetings which begin this week.
The new 3,120-square-foot addition includes six new offices, a conference room, one cubicle and space for more cubicles on the second floor, as well as a large storage room on the first floor.
The new wing resulted from a need to have a large storage room, according to Pastor Israel Leito, president of the church in Inter-America.
“When this Division office was built in 2000, the church had 12 unions and the strategy was to not include a storage area that would house items for very long,” he said. But as the territory grew, it prompted us to rent containers behind our building.”
Architects Elizabeth Henry and Luis Castaneda pose for a picture on the second floor after the special inaugural ceremony of the new wing expansion took place. Image by Libna Stevens
Today the IAD territory boasts 24 major church regions, hence the plans for the new wing – with a large storage area – were drawn, explained Pastor Leito.
IAD Treasurer Filiberto Verduzco praised the work of architects Luis Castañeda of 3L Builders Corporation and Elizabeth Henry, who is employed at the IAD, for their valuable work to complete the addition.
During the expansion, the roof was to be redone, as well as the pavement resurfaced, said Verduzco.
“We are happy to dedicate this new addition of the building to the Lord for the good use of this facility so God can bless the work performed in those areas,” Verduzco said.
The expansion becomes the second one done to the original structure. In 2010, seven new offices and five cubicles were built on the second floor above the auditorium and fellowship hall in the southeast wing. The auditorium and fellowship hall were also remodeled at that time.
Church leaders from across the Inter-American Division tour the new wing on the second floor. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD
With the new southwest wing complex, the IAD headquarter building includes 51 offices, 34 cubicles, four conference rooms, two workrooms, a 192-seat auditorium, a fellowship hall, an employee’s lounge, and a media room.
The Inter-American Division oversees the work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church across Mexico, Central America, The Caribbean, French Antilles, Colombia and Venezuela. There are 3.67 million members worshipping in more than 20,000 churches and congregations.
To view photos of the inauguration ceremony on May 8, 2015, click HERE