Donors who have given millions and those who have given a bit less were honored recently for their efforts to build the Fontana Library and Resource/Technology Center. Actually, it has a new name, thanks to the Lewis Group of Companies, which recently gave $5 million to the effort. The facility, slated to open next spring, will now be called The Lewis Library and Technology Center, in honor of the family's and company's generosity. That singular gift has boosted the fundraising campaign past its halfway mark to $14.4 million. "Our motivation to support the Fontana Library project is simple we strive to better the communities in which we live and do business. As active business and community members in the Fontana region, we feel it is important to give back, and we are particularly interested in supporting outreach programs that enhance education," said Randall Lewis, executive vice president for the Lewis Operating Corp., a member of the Lewis Group of Companies. "What better way to help enhance the educational opportunities in a community than by helping to build a state-of-the-art library? We are privileged to be able to offer support to this project that will clearly be an invaluable resource for our families, schools and businesses," he said. Commitments from the Lewis Operating Corp. and countless other community partners speak to the true nature of the library center, said Ken Hunt, Fontana city manager. "We are looking to this library center as a true focal point and a community gathering place. The fact that so many community partners are embracing that mission is wonderful," Hunt said. "All everyone has to do is to look at the building and know it will happen." So as part of the ongoing celebration/fundraising effort and the fact that construction beams were exposed recently before going up, library supporters held a "topping-off" event. Invited were all donors who have made at least a $1,000 gift. That number of donors stands at 80 to date. Kathleen Fariss is the director of development for the center. During the event, there was a program and some speeches and a whole lot of smiles. Then donors were invited to sign some of the construction beams. The signed beams then were hoisted into the air and welded into place. When completed, The Lewis Library and Technology Center will be a 93,000-square-foot community meeting place where residents, young and old, can gather, study, read and enjoy programs. | 
