LEWISTON — A new year means a new name for the Franco American Heritage Center — and an early valentine for one family.

Executive Director Mitch Thomas said the center updated its name Jan. 1 in response to a donation as part of the 15th anniversary fundraising campaign.

The center is now called The Dolard and Priscilla Gendron Franco Center.

“They gave us a tremendous amount of money — the amount of which we will not disclose,” Thomas said. “It is the largest gift the Franco Center has ever received in its 15-year history.”

Thomas said organizers kicked off the campaign early in 2015, hoping to bolster the center’s day-to-day finances.

“We have always paid our bills, but we did it by dipping into our savings,” Thomas said. “One of our goals was to stop dipping into that. So this allows us to pay our bills without having to borrow from ourselves.”

The campaign was designed to raise $150,000 in donations. People who donated $5,000 or more could qualify to have one of the building’s pillars named in their honor.

Gendron, who goes by “Del,” took it a step further, Thomas said, earning the naming rights to the whole facility.

“We asked if he wanted it named in honor of the Gendron family,” Thomas said. “He said he wanted to have his and his wife’s name up there, kind of a valentine. So it’s really sweet.”

Gendron, a U.S. Navy veteran, is a well-known local businessman, developer and the former owner of Gendron and Gendron Construction.

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