Event raises about $2,000 for Northside band, shows off rebuilt McDonald’s

WARNER ROBINS — Community members commemorated the recent rebuild of the McDonald’s at 1879 Watson Blvd. and kicked off a fundraiser for Northside High’s band during an event featuring a ribbon-cutting and the unveiling of new band uniforms.

More than $2,000 was raised for the band, said Tim Bergl, who co-owns five other McDonald’s restaurants in Warner Robins, Byron and Houston County.

Band officials said that money will go toward purchasing new uniforms and subsidizing away road trips with the football team.

Ed Rodriguez, president of the Warner Robins Area Chamber of Commerce, said the event was another sign of the area’s improving economy. He noted that Thursday’s event at the McDonald’s was ribbon-cutting No. 14 so far this year.

“The economy here is good,” Rodriguez said. “The economy here is getting better, faster than anywhere else.”

Jane Bergl, another owner, presented a shirt to former Northside football coach Conrad Nix, who gave the benediction for the event. Tim Bergl said the restaurant has a long-standing relationship with Northside High, so extending its fundraising abilities to the band was a natural fit. He said the process leading up to the event was educational in all he learned about the band and how it’s subsidized.

Northside band director Paul Guilbeau said every dollar from the fundraiser will help.

“Every time we have an event, we’re sewing and stitching and fixing buttons,” Guilbeau said of the constant fixes that go into the current uniforms, some of which are 15 years old.

The new uniforms Guilbeau showed off were blue and orange, with a silver sash across the jacket.

Rodriguez said the event was also a chance for the community to commemorate the rebuilding of the McDonald’s “into a beautiful facility.”

“By doing so, (the business) committed itself ... to the community and its employees,” he said. “That’s something to celebrate.”

The location shut its doors in early June and was rebuilt over the summer before reopening Aug. 31. Tim Bergl said it was to modernize the location and to give it a more welcoming feel for patrons choosing to dine in. The new dining area includes, among other things, big-screen televisions and fireplaces.

To contact Marlon A. Walker, call 256-9685.