January Work - ROLLING!

January was a busy month at the center. The progress is motivating. Every weekend the center was filled with volunteers working on various projects.

This is Arcade Alley:

It was formerly 3 or 4 offices and a hallway. Office walls were torn down, built in cabinets were pulled out, lights were rewired to be on new circuits, walls were re-drywalled, taped and mudded and painted! New drop ceiling was put in - all with materials from the old ceiling. 3 projectors were mounted into ceiling and project life-size games on the new white walls - as you can see in the picture. There is an xbox, wii and Play Station 3. Just a little carpet and trim-work and this room is ready to go.

Wishlist includes cabinets to house gaming stations, couches and coffee tables. Work on this room was done by: Dave Worley, Jerry Mueller, David, Zach and Ben Moehn, Fred Hentrich, Mike, Steven & Thomas Hentrich, Susie Trefny, Andy Hentrich, Sandy Witt, Thomas Sillivan, Matt Wuellner, Wendy, Logan and Morgan Wickenhauser & Ron Tanner. Even Nicholas and Sammy helped out!

The Movie Theater:


This area was also made up of several offices that were torn out. The stadium seating is built and finish work is being done on the walls by volunteers. Hopefully it will be ready for paint in a couple days. Thanks to H2K and Al Manring for their work on this room. Then it will need carpet and finish work. The electronics for the theater are being donated by Alton Refrigeration - they have been so generous in this project. Here are the sample couches they are donating for the theater:



The Dancefloor is complete and the wood floor was donated by Direct Floors. The Main Stage and back wall was built by Jun Construction. It all looks great!


The Old Main Lobby has gone through a major change.
You can see the teller walls have been removed. The marble was used to fill in the columns and the carpet was filled in to match the rest. This is the area where the new pool tables will be going. They will be in tomorrow! They were also generously donated by Atlantis Pools!







Next up The Underground! This is the band room where teens practice without driving their parents crazy! This will be a practice room and also a performance room. For bands wanting to do a set for friends or for the other teens, there will be plenty of space to fill with couches to hang out on. Instruments and amplifiers and electronics all donated by Halpin Music will be available so you don't have to drag your gear over to play. There will be recording equipment for creating your own Cds. This space can also be used for small scale theater performances.

Thanks to our helpers on this room who had to do some demolition, build the stage, and wiring: Dave Worley, Jerry Mueller (got his 10 foot stage!), Byron Birkner, John Hentrich, and Richard Baird.

The Art Room. This room will be a work of art! Right now it is a blank canvas but the palatte is full of color! Sara McGibony has assembled a group working on creating this space. If you are artistic and would like to help with setting up this room, design, materials donations, program ideas, etc., let us know. We are looking for a volunteer to be an ongoing Arts Program Manager.

This is truly going to be a one of a kind place here in Alton. Thanks for all your support!

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Moving Along ... The Teens Join in!

Last week we had a meeting with the Adult Advisory Board to get to know each other, tour the facilities and have a discussion about each person's hopes and dreams are for the center. The week before we held a similar meeting with the Board of Directors. Both went very well and further elevated the group's excitement.

Between the two groups we have assembled an amazing selection of people with exceptional qualifications. The future for this Teen Center is looking quite bright!

Tonight we hold our last Initial Meeting. We have yet another capable and energetic team forming. This group, The Teen Advisory Board, enlists the Teens themselves. They are going to have complete ownership in this process. It is their center, and they will be making all sorts of decisions from what activities will be offered to creating center policies. Oh and there will be plenty of hands-on work for everyone as well!

The Teens will work in tandem with the Adult Advisory Board who will offer their support and guidance through the process of building the historic bank into the Teen Center.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be involved in such a project. We are honored to be working with some of Alton's best and brightest. Our teens are our future adults. It is good to see the willingness on their part to be involved and take responsibility to create this one-of-a-kind center.

Send in the Teens!!!! Can't wait to see everyone tonight!