A new veterans center in Bowling Green, has a new name honoring the project's longtime champion five years after his passing.

Our Laura Rogers tells us more about the center and its namesake.

It's very a long awaited nursing home for veterans in Bowling Green will be called the Robert E Spiller Bowling Green Veterans Center.

It couldn't.

Have been drilled better and.

More deserving when the naming officially announced in a special ceremony at the Kentucky Trans Park, where the nursing home remains under construction.

This is really hot property, but we're locating another business and another business and another business.

And you know what they chose to do with some of that property, to put it aside and to donate it for our veterans, That's really special.

I'm really proud of Bowling Green for doing that.

It comes after years of work on behalf of the project from lawmakers, including State Representative Michael Meredith.

Today is a special day where we get to celebrate Colonel Robert Spiller and his legacy.

And three pieces of legislation, including the most recent House bill to which allocated another $16 million to the center's construction.

Originally, the federal government told us that we had to have it all already appropriated, but now we can be pretty convincing, especially when we're talking about what's right for our veterans.

And so once we got the federal government to extend the period of time, we knew that we could pass it very quickly in the General Assembly, it was unanimous.

We signed it right on the spot.

Just everybody coming together in Frankfort to do the right thing.

Colonel Spiller and his wife, Cora Jane, were longtime fixtures in the Bowling Green community.

You knew the colonel and you knew anything about him.

What you knew was his devotion to this community and his devotion to his fellow veterans.

Many of their family in attendance today, including their son, Bob Spiller, and a great grandchild.

I look at this honor as a culmination of their life's work.

I'm just trying to help their fellow human beings.

Having his name on this facility that is taking care of veterans is just unbelievable.

Veterans expressing appreciation.

And to have this in their community saying it fulfills a major need.

Yeah, actually, many, many veterans here who are around veterans in this region.

So this is a well placed facility.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm Laura Rogers.

Thank you, Laura.

The Robert E Spiller Bowling Green Veterans Center is expected to be completed in 2024.