HOWARD — Years of hard work paid off Wednesday as Pat Maroney and others broke ground for the construction of an $8.1 million expansion of the Rural Learning Center in Howard.

For Maroney — who became the building’s namesake after donating $1 million to the project — the broken ground signified new life for the area.

“This town was dead at one time. All you needed was the dirt to shovel in, but we’ve come back to life and we’re thriving,” Maroney told a crowd of more than 300. “We’re going to move ahead and we’re going to succeed.”

If plans for the building remain unaltered, the Maroney Rural Learning Center will house a hotel, conference center, performing arts theater, office space, multiple gardens and a kitchen. Funding sources so far have included donations and grants, and a “naming gifts” program will begin later this year when potential investors will have a chance to have their names attached to conference rooms and other portions of the facility.

The building will be designed to be “green,” eventually harnessing solar energy and playing host to renewable energy educational seminars. The building also will host classes where rural workers from South Dakota and around the nation can receive training and preparation to meet increasing green-industry workforce demands.

The RLC this year signed a five-year agreement with Airstreams Renewables Inc. to host wind-energy workforce training at the RLC once construction is complete.

It’s hoped that the emphasis on green energy will play a role in making rural areas more appealing to both former and current residents.

“The bright lights and better-paying jobs of large cities are certainly an attraction for many of our kids but, because of projects like this and the possibilities down the road, we can provide better paying jobs that are green and that are involved in renewable energy,” said Ken Stork, president and CEO of Citibank South Dakota.

It wasn’t long after those comments that Stork introduced Pam Flaherty, president and CEO of Citi Foundation, to present a $250,000 check to the project.

Randy Parry, president of the RLC, was visibly moved by the presentation. With tears in his eyes, he thanked the foundation for the gift.

“You can’t believe what this is going to do for us, the building and the community,” Parry said. “It’s not just about the building. It’s about what we do inside that building and how do we help other people to … have better lives.”

Parry said the Howard area has a bright future, especially when one considers that 80 percent of the state’s population is within a 110-mile radius of the area.

Praises for members of the Rural Learning Center, community volunteers and industry partners — including those in attendance from Airstreams Renewables Inc., Knight and Carver, Heartland Consumers Power District and Dakota Wind — were often sung during the presentation.

In August, voters approved a proposed expansion of the RLC, agreeing to vacate portions of an alley and a street to accommodate the project.

“Nobody told us we had to do this. We set about to do this on our own,” said Mike McDowell, general manager of Heartland Consumers Power District. “It is a determination to make Howard and other rural communities places where people are going, not where people are from. I guarantee we’re going to make you proud of your investment.”