Pirtle's Community Technology Center

When we started on our East St. Louis adventure on Friday morning, we were tired but excited to start the weekend! We arrived in East St. Louis and were greeted by Billy, our beloved tour guide. We went on a tour of East St. Louis, then gathered at Eagle’s Nest to eat a delicious lunch. We were introduced to Amy Funk, who told us all about the clean air initiative.

After an eventful and educational morning, we all separated into our groups and headed to our work sites. Our group spent the weekend at Pirtle’s. Our task was to paint the new community technology center that is in the process of being built. We had no idea the work that was cut out for us when we started on Friday, and feared that we would not be able to get the room cleaned and the walls painted come Saturday afternoon. However, with the commitment and determination of the FAA 291 students on site, we were able to complete the task.

We were sweetly rewarded after the weekend with Mr. Pirtle’s infamous ice cream. As we all loaded the bus to head back to Champaign on Saturday we were exhausted, but had an incredible feeling of accomplishment. East St. Louis and it’s residents are always so kind to us and we love the time we get to spend there!