TYLER, Texas — The Breckenridge Village community and donors and supporters of the nonprofit will celebrate the opening of the new Douglas R. Mehling II Center on Friday, August 16, with an exciting grand opening ceremony including a special performance by country music legend Lee Greenwood.
The Douglas R. Mehling II Center, 15062 CR 1145 in Tyler, is a multi-purpose facility that will provide space for residential programming and bring new opportunities for future events for Breckenridge Village, which houses dozens of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In addition to space for programming and activities for residents of Breckenridge Village, the center will also be available for events for the Tyler community.
"It is an exciting time at Breckenridge Village, and we are honored to share this momentous occasion with our residents, donors, friends and the community," said Melissa Perkins, Executive Director of Breckenridge Village. "We are extremely grateful for our supporters and for our donors who helped make this dream a reality. We look forward to celebrating this historical event with the Breckenridge Village community."
To help celebrate the joyous occasion and newest chapter in the nonprofit's history, Breckenridge Village will host country music legend Lee Greenwood for an invite-only performance Friday night. During the performance, Mr. Greenwood will be joined by the residents of Breckenridge Village for the popular patriotic tune, "God Bless the USA."
The grand opening ceremony will be held after the nonprofit hosts a private ribbon-cutting ceremony for the facility and for the Legacy Center located inside the building.
The center was made possible by generous donors who raised $5 million in 2020 to construct the building. The largest single donation of $2.4 million came from Doug and Patti Mehling of Tyler, in honor of their late son and namesake of the center, Douglas R. Mehling II, who was diagnosed at an early age with Muscular Dystrophy and passed away in 2016.