MYERSTOWN, Pa. — The first thing Eastern Lebanon County School District Superintendent Julia Vicente wants people to understand about the ELCO Legacy Barn is simple: “This is 100% funded by donations,” she said.

In a time when school districts face tight budgets, rising regulations, and constant scrutiny over property taxes, the ELCO Legacy Barn stands as something different — a community-built agricultural learning center rooted in partnership, opportunity, and the future of agriculture in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held May 1, with completion expected by late fall. The nearly 9500-square-foot livestock facility and arena will sit by ELCO High School outside of Myerstown, virtually in its front yard, and it will serve students interested in agriculture, animal science, and related careers, especially FFA students wanting to work with livestock who do not come from farms themselves.

“This actually started about eight years ago,” Vicente explained during a recent Farmshine interview at the site. “We just started kicking around this idea of a barn.”

The seed for the project came from memories her father shared about Delaware Valley College and the iconic chicken coop that once sat prominently near the front of campus.

“He was always amazed at this chicken coop on the front yard,” she recalled wondering: “Why don’t we put a barn on the front yard of the high school?”

At first, the idea was mostly symbolic. The barn was eventually included in plans for a larger high school renovation project that featured what is now the completed Ag-Tech wing. But when costs ballooned, the barn was removed from the renovation plans. The concept sat dormant for a time. Then came an unexpected conversation.

Representatives from GAF, the North American shingle company with a manufacturing plant in Myerstown, were visiting ELCO as part of ongoing business partnerships, when they asked a simple question: “Where is the barn?” Vicente recalled.

When district leaders explained it had been cut due to cost, GAF representatives responded that the barn needed to become a reality. That conversation reignited momentum and led to discussions with the district’s Occupational Advisory Committee (OAC).

Local dairy and beef producer Dave Ziegler, president of the OAC and a former school board member, said the project quickly became something larger than just a building.

“Lebanon County itself, we just have an incredible structure of support when it comes to ag. The interests are still very much aligned,” he said. “We’ve got the connections, one leading to another, which has made it easy for us to keep our foot on the gas because we wanted this to be significant and impactful immediately.”

The project’s fundraising model is as unique as the barn itself. Instead of relying on taxpayer funding, the district and its partners built a “Founders Circle” of businesses, individuals, and organizations contributing monetary donations, materials, labor and services.

In addition to GAF, this includes the Wenger Foundation, Bell & Evans, Farmer Boy, Kathy Barry Agency, Manada, Rigidply Rafters, Fulton Bank and Woodland Contractors.

A major turning point came a year ago when ELCO FFA students partnered with the Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce and participated in the “Great Lebanon Pitch,” presenting the barn vision to local business leaders.

“I know better than standing in front of a bunch of business owners, it’s better to put kids in front of them,” Vicente said, explaining that the students worked with the chamber to prepare their presentation and pitch the project directly to community leaders and potential supporters.

“The response to the kids was overwhelming, it was just an amazing night,” she reflected. “They did the whole thing. We walked out with about $200,000 to $250,000 pledged that night. That’s when we knew this was actually going to work.”

Today, they are roughly halfway toward the project’s $1 million goal.

The 104 x 120-foot Legacy Barn plans include an attached arena, indoor feed room with outdoor access, eight indoor holding pens with outdoor access, indoor tack room, indoor wash bay, eight swine pens, pasture space, and a pavilion.

The barn itself is designed primarily as a livestock facility with flexible pen systems allowing students to work with goats, sheep, pigs, and eventually cattle. An attached indoor arena will provide space for clinics, demonstrations, community events, and educational programming. FFA students were intimately involved in providing valued insights and suggestions.

The project addresses a growing reality in agricultural education: many FFA students are interested in livestock and animal agriculture but do not live on working farms.

“The barn is going to allow a greater number of these students to actually raise larger animals,” Vicente observed, noting current students rely on local farmers to provide space for FFA Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) projects.

“This is going to expand the SAE opportunities,” she said, adding “There’s medicine, anatomy, nutrition, research — all kinds of things attached to animals.”

She shared the story of a student who planned to pursue veterinary medicine but had never given an animal a vaccine or handled livestock. After spending time working with a calf through ELCO’s ag program, the student realized veterinary work was not actually the right fit.

“That’s exactly why exposure matters,” Vicente noted. “Kids need the opportunity to figure out what their path is.”

That theme — opportunity — surfaced repeatedly throughout the interview.

Vicente, now in her 34th year in education and preparing for retirement this summer, said she has always believed in opportunity. “Beyond the students, it is the partnership for the community and future pathways for employment and careers,” she said.

She also sees the project as a model other districts could follow.

“This is a different approach,” Vicente explained. “You too can build a barn. Let me show you how.”

While rooted in agriculture, she believes the same partnership model could apply to other educational fields as well.

ELCO already has an expanding agricultural education program that includes aquatics, ag mechanics, and career-readiness initiatives. The district created a “Future Ready Facilitator” position to connect students with businesses through job shadows, industry tours, and workplace experiences.

“I want every student walking across that stage at graduation to have a plan. That plan may change, but I didn’t want to see ‘undecided’ anymore,” Vicente said.

Ziegler noted that FFA is often misunderstood when people associate it only with farming.

“If you want to learn how to organize something, become a public speaker, understand nutrition, work with animals, or build leadership skills, FFA is the place to go,” he affirmed, noting that the communities that thrive are built on giving back.

“You have to contend for the things you value,” Ziegler declared, noting that many people in the Myerstown area, even those not directly farming, still have ties to agriculture through other layers of community, especially local businesses.

“They understand agriculture matters,” he said. “It’s not something we have to sell them on.”

That community support will be on full display Saturday, June 6 during ELCO Community Ag Day, a major fundraiser and celebration for the Legacy Barn project. It will take place on Saturday, June 6, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at ELCO High School, 180 ELCO Drive, Myerstown.

The event will feature a classic car show, tractors, live auction, food trucks, barnyard animals, games, vendors, and even “cow pie bingo,” where participants purchase squares on a giant grid and wait to see where a cow leaves the winning mark.

“Why not?” Vicente laughed.

All proceeds benefit the Legacy Barn, and the auction proceeds will help purchase items needed inside the barn, from wheelbarrows and brushes to livestock equipment and supplies. In addition to auctioning items, experiences such as goat yoga and visits with miniature donkeys will be auctioned.

“It’s really a celebration of agriculture,” Vicente said, “and exposing our community to the power of agriculture.”