Martinsville Speedway had a VIP suite it needed to tear down. Bassett High School needed a press box for its baseball field. Teamwork and community spirit blended the two needs together for what’s going to be a state-of-the-art high school press box.

The speedway was prepared to raze a small suite in the third-turn area of the track during a building project in the summer. Steve Martin, owner of Steve Martin Trenching and a former Bengal player and longtime booster, was onsite doing some work and envisioned a new home for the building. He huddled with track president Clay Campbell and a plan was born.

“It seemed like a perfect idea to me,” said Campbell. “We had a building we didn’t need anymore and they had a need for a press box. The suite fit the bill perfectly. We were certainly happy to donate it to them.”

That was the easy part. The difficult part was getting the 36-foot-long building from Martinsville Speedway to Bassett High School. But that’s were community spirit and partnership took over.

Martin’s company, Steve Martin Trenching, prepared the building to be taken off its perch some 15 feet off the ground. Guy Turner Crane Service donated the use of a large crane to lift the building and place it on the back of a flat bed trailer.

After the trip to Bassett, Turner again donated the use of a crane to place the building on its foundation again.

Light Electric donated services to get the press box wired and Virginia Blower donated all HVAC services and materials, including a heat pump.

“Everyone in this area should be proud of the community coming together on a project like this,” said Campbell.

Businesses, groups or individuals making in-kind or monetary donations to the press box project include Steve Martin Trenching, Guy Turner Crane Service, Virginia Blower Company, Light Electric, Tim Moore Construction, Boxley Concrete Products, Frith Construction, Joe Rogers and Associates, Nelson Automotive Family, Cunningham Tire, Kiwanis Club of Bassett, Bassett Furniture Industries, Smith River Community Bank, Sanville Ruritan club, Bassett Funeral Service, Dillon Insurance, Robert Haley, attorney at law, Bassett Mirror Company and Virginia Baseball Association.