The Board of the National Quartet Convention at the signing of the steel. (The Herald/ Submitted Photo)

Instead of a topping-out event, the LeConte Center at Pigeon Forge held a ceremony they called the Signing of the Steel. It marked the construction milestone of placing the last piece of structural steel for this $45 million project. The “signing” was directly on the beam, and the signatures gathered were of the people involved with making the project happen.

Workers for Merit Construction signed the steel beam during a lunch break, while city officials and others gathered for a 3 p.m. celebration of the progress.

Tourism Director Leon Downey was on the event coordinator and was present at the ceremony. Downey’s tourism offices are planned to be located in the LeConte building.

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