November 27, 2002 — Someone must think the Ector County Independent School District has been very good this year.

The district received an early Christmas present this month when Odessa cardiologist Suresh Gadasalli and his wife, Arathi (photo, right), donated the old Northpark 6 Movie Theater next to Permian High School for use as a fine arts center.

The 20,000-square-feet building is in very good shape and was valued by the city at more than $1 million last year, Suresh Gadasalli said.

“The community and the city need it,” he said.

ECISD trustees approved a proposal to accept the donation at their Nov. 19 meeting.

Charles Nail, ECISD executive director for fine arts, said at the meeting that the building as is could be used for art exhibitions, receptions and possibly dinners.

Trustee Bill Rutherford said the theater donation was a “wonderful gift.”

The Healthy Heart Center, one of four clinics in the area that Suresh Gadasalli owns and operates, received about 300 excited phone calls the day after the board approved the donation, he said.

“Everywhere I go people are very upbeat and happy,” he said. “They agree that we need a fine arts center. Odessa is growing and this is just one more thing to attract people.”

Probably few of those callers were surprised to hear of the couple’s donation, however. Since they moved to the area in 1994, the Gadasallis have contributed to the ECISD Education Foundation, United Way, the Salvation Army and other organizations that directly benefit the community.

Arathi Gadasalli also volunteers her time to Meals on Wheels. (In her native India, she is also sponsoring a movement to set up pre-kindergarten programs in its poorest areas, she said.)

“The community has been very good for us, and we want to be responsible to the community,” said Suresh Gadasalli.

The Gadasallis, who lived in Wisconsin and India before moving to the Permian Basin, said they moved to the area because it was just what they were looking for: a medium-sized community in a warm climate with kind people.

“The people are so warm and giving,” said Arathi Gadasalli, a former television journalist in her native India.

The couple’s two children, ages 10 and 6, currently attend school in Midland, where the Gadasallis reside. The family is planning on building a house in Odessa, however, so the children will probably end up attending ECISD schools, Suresh Gadasalli said.

The couple purchased the theater when they purchased the adjacent property for another clinic, Permian Prompt Care. They always intended to donate the property to the school district for a fine arts center, Suresh Gadasalli said.

“For kids to have a well-rounded education, they need to be familiar with music and the arts,” he said.

The family has fostered local interest in the fine arts by hosting art shows and concerts in their home.

When Suresh Gadasalli finally has the chance to put his stethoscope away for a few hours — in addition to the four clinics he runs, he is on staff at all local hospitals — the family also takes in symphony performances and collects art, he said.

He said he and his wife look forward to the day when they can sit in the ECISD fine arts center and see a recital.

In the meantime, the couple said it’s up to the school board to decide the details on how to use the building.

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