By DEVIN WEEKS

Staff Writer

COEUR d’ALENE — Without the generous giving of the townspeople of Bedford Falls, George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life" wouldn't have had a happy ending.

In the eyes of Dr. Jack Riggs, who led the capital campaign for the Salvation Army Kroc Center 14 years ago, Coeur d'Alene experienced its own "Wonderful Life" scenario. It, too, had a happy ending, and a new chapter to open.

Riggs said he read a news article in May 2007 saying if the campaign didn't raise another million-plus dollars in the last stretch, the project would go on hold.

"We were able to raise it and obviously a number of people in the room here, or your companies at that time, stepped up and we hit the goal," Riggs said, speaking to friends and supporters gathered Thursday in a Kroc Center community room.

Ground was broken in June 2007.

Without those final funds, the Salvation Army could have said no, and the Kroc Center could have ended up somewhere like Boise or Seattle.

"The story about what would life be like if this hadn’t happened, or that hadn’t happened — I always think that relates a little bit to the Salvation Army’s Kroc story in Coeur d’Alene," Riggs said. "Obviously, there’s some people who, without, it would have never happened (including) Ray and Joan Kroc and their success with McDonald’s. If you think of that one person, specifically Joan, who made the decision to donate the initial money to the Salvation Army — without that one human being, we wouldn’t be here today, because none of this would have happened.

"Just think about George Bailey and how good it was that they didn’t turn into Potterville."

Riggs spoke at the State of the Kroc luncheon Thursday afternoon, an event held to celebrate a decade of the Kroc Center and to give the community an update on the far-reaching impact the Kroc Center has had on North Idaho since it opened its doors on May 11, 2009.

"We’ve been looking forward to this event for months now," said Christy Markham, director of development and marketing. "We’ve specially invited some of the businesses that gave to the original campaign that after 13, 14 years, they don't have a whole lot of the same staff, so we’re hoping to educate the new staff on how their company has helped make this possible in this community."

A safe and welcoming space for everyone, from families to the special needs community to senior citizens, the Kroc Center is "the most successful center in the U.S. by far," said Maj. Don Gilger, the local Kroc Center’s leader.

"It’s the little city that could," he said. "In the center of it’s a miracle. Every day."

Gilger shared that more than 10,000 kids have learned to swim at the Kroc Center through the third-grade swim program.

"What a great, great achievement, a real miracle to the community, and who knows how many lives that has saved, how many third-graders have learned to swim?" he said. "But also, it’s not just them being able to swim, it’s them helping other people learn to swim. Who knows the impact of that over time?

"I think that’s an important concept that our kids are no longer the underdogs, our city is no longer that either,” he said. "We all realize that because we live here, we know the power of our community and what it can do."

Outside the celebration luncheon, it was business as usual at the center — people working on upcoming projects with the Kroc theater, kids swimming in the pool, community members of all ages working on their physical health and a few people just relaxing in the peaceful environment.

Mom Estie Parris of Coeur d’Alene enjoyed time reading a book while her kiddo was in the 2-hour play care, an amenity for parents to have a little break in their day.

"It’s a luxury for me because I have my youngest in the play care, and that’s two hours that I get to work out and then catch up on life and read, so I really appreciate it because of that,” she said. "Often I’ll see people I know here too, so it is a friendly place to come.

“It’s a community all in itself."