Trailhead Church Pastor Joshua Gresham understands the importance of making a great first impression. He also understands quality. Those two reasons — and a little bit of luck — are what led Gresham to WeatherPort when he wanted canopies to improve the entrance area of his North Carolina worship center.
Gresham said he “stumbled upon” WeatherPort during an online image search for tensioned membrane shelters that could act as attractive welcome and signup centers.
“We did the research in trying to find what was best. We heard of other churches doing something similar to this,” Gresham said. “They were buying those cheap types of popup tents you take to sporting events or to the beach with you. We just didn’t feel like that was going to be adequate for our needs.”
What Trailhead Church needed was a spacious shelter system that was attractive, offered longevity and could be used year-round.
“When we got our canopy,” Gresham said, “the first one, we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is awesome!’”
Trailhead Church added a second 16’ x 16’ canopy from WeatherPort. When combined, the two canopies provide more than 500 square feet of additional space to ease congestion in the church’s foyer.
“That (16’ x 16’ WeatherPort Canopy) really has given us that,” Gresham said. “It’s really a unique looking structure so your eyes are drawn directly to it when you first come on the parking lot. So having that has been a tremendous help to us.”
Gresham said Trailhead chose black composite fabric membranes and had WeatherPort add the church’s logo to the fronts of the structures. Trailhead then added stone patio blocks, hanging lanterns and wire-spool tables to create an inviting environment for guests and parishioners. When temperatures dip in fall and winter, Trailhead will add WeatherPort curtain systems for added protection from the elements.
Gresham said his church’s canopies arrived on time and he worked with a WeatherPort building specialist to find an economical shipping option that fit in the church’s budget. Gresham said he was surprised by how easy it was for two people to install the first canopy. The second installation was even quicker and easier.
“It was simple. We were shocked,” he said. “When you get the pallet with it all, it’s kind of like, oh my gosh. Then, we started putting it together and it was up within 45 minutes. We didn’t know what we were doing. The second one, we got it up within 20 minutes.”
Gresham said he would recommend WeatherPort to anybody looking for a tensioned structure and the reason why is simple.
“(WeatherPort) doesn’t have a competitor, I’ll be honest, as far as I’m aware of,” he said. “With the look and the structure you’re getting, we really couldn’t find someone in comparison to what we were buying.”
