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Wendy Coschignano-Ford
Did you know, for more than 30 years the Osceola Council on Aging (OCOA) operated out of an old, remodeled vehicle inspection station owned by the Osceola County government?
As the OCOA’s need to support the community increased from year to year, it became inevitable we would need to build a facility to better meet the social needs of Osceola County residents. After many years of planning and fundraising, which were necessary to achieve our goals, the Barney E. Veal Center opened in July 2007, at 700 Generation Point, in Kissimmee. The campus has now been the council’s headquarters and primary point of service delivery for all of Osceola County residents for more than a decade.
The BEV Center as we call it, is named after Barney E. Veal, a legendary philanthropist and community leader who donated the 6.37 acres of land for our campus location. Barney was a self-made, successful businessman who began his career in real estate. His volunteerism, generosity and leadership earned a multitude of awards and recognition including serving on the Osceola Council on Aging Board of Directors. Since Barney was the catalyst who made it possible for the council to relocate to our existing campus and build a state-of-the-art community service facility, our organization has much gratitude for him and his family.
As the Osceola County community has continued to expand, the OCOA services, initiatives, programs, and resources have also expanded. With that said, we are proud to announce we will now be hosting a community event center on our existing Generation Point campus. Our newly renovated, BEV Event Center, will be available as a much-needed community venue to host the many important occasions of our friends, family, and neighbors.
Centrally located in Kissimmee, and close to St. Cloud and Narcoossee, we expect our banquet style setting to become one of Osceola County’s most popular business and celebratory locales to host functions.
We have designed the BEV Event Center to provide a beautiful setting and meeting space at an affordable cost for community members. This new site is a space for you, your family, and colleagues to come together to celebrate life’s special occasions.
We have the ability to host small to large functions, galas, weddings, corporate events, business meetings and even company retreats. Furthermore, it can be an undertaking to plan a company function, and its why we have created a corporate facility team who can easily plan a company event or corporate gathering.
The expanded facility is inclusive of up-to-date audiovisual equipment and exceptional amenity options. We have designed the center for all types of gatherings you may have in mind including birthdays, quinceanera, barmitzvahs, bas-mitzvahs, class reunions, proms, graduation events, retirement parties, business luncheons, holiday functions or any other reason you may have to celebrate. Intimate weddings can also be held in one of our four private spaces. Additionally, we will be one of the only locations in Osceola County that can accommodate more than 300 guests at once, with the ability to host up to 450.
As the largest social services organization in the Osceola community, we continue to expand our services to support the needs of the Osceola residents. We hope our mission to create the BEV Event Center resonates within the community to support our ongoing vision to not only meet, but also expand the social needs of our Osceola families.
The council is planning an open house for local event planners and vendors to visit our newly renovated facility on Oct. 13, from 6 to 8 p.m. Whether you are planning your own family event or work as an event-planning specialist, the council welcomes your attendance at our open house.
To protect the safety of our staff, volunteers, and guests, we request visitors call ahead to reserve your spot for the BEV Event Center Open House. For more information, go to www.osceolagenerations. org/beveventcenter, or call 407-933-9534 to RSVP; please ask for Belinda or Leslie.
