Originally Published as: NFBA & Partners Build the ‘Ultimate Learning Site’
APRIL 2000
FLASHBACKRuth Fried had a dream and $10,000. What she didn’t have, the post-frame industry provided. The flashback feature revisit the Sally Butler Memorial City Slicker Barn – built by NFPA members for at risk youth – and the unlikely friendships, donated lumber, and community spirit that made it possible. From a determined Director’s persistence to a contractor who traveled 80 miles twice a week, discover how one industry turned to modest grant into a lasting legacy.
Ruth Fried had $10,000 and a dream. She wanted the children of the Connecticut area City Slickers program to have an eight-to-12-stall horse barn with a classroom to call their own.
Somehow, she found the National Frame Builders Association, and one year later, through the efforts of many dedicated post-frame industry companies, her dream for these children became a reality.
Fried is the director of City Slickers, a program serving 152 children ages 11-17 from the inner cities of Hartford and Waterbury, Conn., and from the cities of Bristol, Wolcott, and Terryville, Conn. The purpose of the program is to provide underprivileged and abused children with character-building and life skills that promote critical thinking, teamwork, problem-solving, and cooperative learning through the different areas of the equine industry. The program offers the children a positive alternative to their daily exposure to gangs, violence, and drugs.
The older children participate in job training and career awareness components. The program uses Hillside Equestrian Meadows, a 50-acre donated site in Wolcott that is home to about 100 horses, for instruction. The City Slickers program wanted a barn of its own, enabling the organization to train students interested in pursuing careers in farm or barn management.
Fried isn’t sure how her path led to NFBA, but it did. “I told Tom Knight that I had little money and asked him if there was some way he could foresee City Slickers getting the barn built in a meaningful way,” Fried said. “After visiting with association members, Tom contacted me and said the group was willing to help the City Slicker barn project any way it could. I call Tom Knight my angel.”
“The horse world is a multi-million-dollar industry, and Connecticut is filled with equestrians seeking boarding, training, horseshoeing, grooming, and other equine-related necessities,” Fried says.
“We were helping City Slickers create a structured learning/working environment that would address some of those needs and prepare interested youngsters for trades and jobs in the equine world,” said Knight, president of NFBA.
So, with only the $10,000 Sally Butler Memorial grant from St. John’s Episcopal Church in West Hartford, NFBA began networking. Industry suppliers and a contractor were found for the project.
Long-time NFBA member and horse barn specialist Brescia Buildings Corp. in Montgomery, N.Y., was named the contractor for the project. “I put my lead crew on the job,” said Vince Brescia, president of Brescia Buildings Corp. “It took a while to gather and schedule all the materials, so we didn’t start building until December. We would work on the project two days a week, traveling 80 miles to get to the site at Hillside Equestrian Meadows. “Vince’s company was very reliable and professional,” Fried said. “What they said they were going to do, they did. If they said they needed 10 of something, they used 10 of something. They did the work well and congenially; they blended beautifully with our staff.”
Brescia Buildings designed and built a 36-ft. x 72-ft., 10-stall horse barn to house City Slickers’ three horses and its boarders. The barn has hay racks, a tack room, a wash stall, and a bathroom. Unfortunately, a classroom area didn’t make it into the finished barn.
Coordination of the materials delivery was a group effort. “Brescia Buildings worked with NFBA to ensure the timely delivery of the donated building materials to the site,” said Mary Edmondson, vice president of NFBA. Brescia handled delivery setup with local lumber sources. Brescia handled all the framing and stall work for the barn, and Fried lined up another company for the turnkey work needed for the barn.
Given the nature of the project, there were some challenges along the way. “It was a challenge to get donated wood products,” Brescia said. “I needed the poles, trusses, and framing members. I am a former lumber dealer, so I got in touch with the president of the Connecticut Lumber Dealers Association, Mike Laureno of Stevenson-Laureno Lumber in Stevenson, Conn. From my contact and through Ruth Fried’s correspondence, his association’s members came through with the lumber for us.”
Fried said NFBA’s effort will improve the lives of many youngsters who need a safe place to go and a positive learning environment. “We believe that vocational education is a very important part of our future,” Fried said. “Through the efforts of NFBA and City Slickers, we have just created the ultimate learning site, a ‘magnet school,’ if you will, that will provide the training, knowledge, and technology for the kids interested in these careers.”
Fried pointed out two success stories of the many yet to come from the City Slickers program. “We have two students going to Wellington, Fla., in mid-February to compete in the Winter Equestrian Festival, which is an A-rated circuit competition, featuring some of the top riders in the country,” Fried said. “These are two inner-city kids, riding borrowed horses, who have worked hard and stayed on task. Your association’s outreach will help kids like this reach for the stars.”
Industry contributors to the City Slickers Barn Project:
Brescia Buildings Corp. Montgomery, N.Y.
Cannon Ball: HNP Beloit, Wis.
Classic Equine Equipment Inc. Trenton, Mo.
Deniston Company Alsip, Ill.
General American Door Company, Montgomery, Ill.
H & H Metal Products Inc. Charlestown, Ind.
MWI Components Spencer, Iowa
McElroy Metal Inc., Bossier City La
National Manufacturing Co. Sterling, Ill.
Pactiv Building Products (formerly Tenneco Building Products) Smyrna, Ga.
Plyco Corporation, Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Others who offered services not used:
Atlas Bolt & Screw Company, Ashland, Ohio
Closure Vent, Inc., Spring, Texas
Construction Fasteners, Inc. Wyomissing, Pa.
Dear Members Of the NFBA:
More than a year ago, I applied to St. John’s Episcopal Church in West Hartford, Conn., for the Sally Butler Memorial Grant, an annual outreach award given to an inner-city youth enrichment program.
Winning the award was a long shot for City Slickers, given that so many worthy nonprofit programs applied. But in December of 1998, City Slickers received the $10,000 Sally Butler grant. At that point, I had enough to buy a small barn that would serve as an educational learning site for inner-city and suburban youngsters who wanted to learn horse-related skills and trades.
However, realistically, to maximize learning opportunities for students, the program needed a larger barn, and ideally, I needed an “angel” to make it happen. Well, that angel appeared: His name is Tom Knight, and he represents the many angel members of your National Frame Builders Association.
And today, thanks to the NFBA and its members, we have a beautiful barn that will teach and train many at-risk youngsters the skills they’ll need to enter the equestrian job market.
Our original City Slicker, Luis Recess, 20, is an apprentice farrier working in Connecticut and New York. Now, Luis will also shoe horses in the City Slicker barn and help train others who want to learn his trade.
I am currently applying for a grant from Bank Boston. that funds “job creation and employment training, school-to-work and summer jobs for inner-city and at-risk youth.” With our excellent track record of attracting foundation support, we hope to secure sufficient funds to target otherwise idle “at-risk” inner-city youngsters and put them to work at the City Slicker barn this summer.
To construct the barn, Tom Knight recommended Brescia Buildings Corp., an association member from New York who blended perfectly with the City Slicker staff. Both Vince Brescia and Doug Higinson are to be commended for their expertise in so accurately converting our wish list into a beautifully constructed masterpiece. Doug headed the Brescia team of skilled workers, and thankfully, the building process went well — no problems, no worries, no hassles.
There are no words to express my deepest gratitude to the National Frame Builders Association for the generosity, kindness, and support shown to our barn project. I have met some wonderful people through the construction process; you are in my thoughts and prayers.
A commemorative plaque at the barn entrance will read, “The Sally Butler Memorial City Slicker Barn, built through the generosity of St. John’s Episcopal Church, the National Frame Builders Association and Brescia Buildings Corp.” I extend an open invitation — to stop by if you are ever in the Waterbury, Conn., area. Come and watch children learn, train, and reap the rewards of your outreach gesture. If you call ahead, I’ll have a batch of Doug’s favorite chocolate chip cookies on hand.
God bless you all.
Sincerely,
Ruth Fried
Executive Director
City Slickers
