THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 24, 1995 TAG: 9509220173
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 19 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Short : 32 lines
SPECIAL AWARD - The Masonic Community Builder Award was presented Tuesday night to former U.S. Sen. William B. Spong Jr. and Portsmouth Museums Director Betty Burnell for their work in making the new Children's Museum of Virginia a reality.
The awards were presented by Seaboard Lodge No. 56, which is located on Court Street across from the 1846 Courthouse.
Spong, also a former dean of the law school at the College of William and Mary, was chairman of fund-raising for the project which attracted more than $1 million in private funds.
The award cited them for making ``a significant effort to make Portsmouth a better place in which to live.''
The Children's Museum has been visited by more than 180,000 people since it opened last December.
``The work is only half done,'' Spong told the Masons. He said that the second floor, which will house the collection of miniature trains and toys given to the city by A.J. ``Junie'' Lancaster Jr., now must be financed.
``It is the hope of all of us that we can move in (the second floor) in a little over a year,'' he said. ``I believe the attendance will continue to grow.'' by CNB