Scott Dressel has crawled through ceilings, hauled trash, painted walls and pleaded for financial donations and volunteers.

But on Thursday, the president of the Grand Theater Restoration Project sat down for a board of directors meeting in the refurbished lobby of the 87-year-old building on Fourth Street that was once home to live stage shows and countless hours of movies.

It was the first official event in the building since Dressel and the volunteers he enlisted began their efforts to save the former theater and restore it to its past glory.

“We are starting our third year of restoration, and at this point I am looking at another nine years before the entire project is completed. But I am satisfied. We have come a long way in two years," Dressel said.

See the complete story in the Herald Star.