BBD went back to Kentucky in early June this summer. This was my first service trip with BBD so I really didn’t know what to expect. I have heard all the stories about the previous two service trips the firm went on, but haven’t got to experience it for myself. We made the trip on a Sunday morning and drove ten hours to Salyersville, KY. Once we got close to the location we were staying at, I was very surprised at the range of types of homes. There would be stretches of very nice gated homes, and then there would be stretches of poverty-stricken homes. A representative from the Christian Appalachian Project explained the two extremes and said that this is very common but a large portion of the population was extremely poor. We drove about a half hour to our job site each morning and the final turn to get to the house took us up a dirt road, which was interesting because it was lined with chicken coops. My team was building/finishing an entire new home for a very nice couple. Their house was in very bad condition and needed to be replaced. So our team broke up into three groups for different jobs to be completed. One team sanded and painted the inside of the house, one team build a deck and handicap ramp in the front of the house, and my team was responsible for hanging siding on the outside of the house. After a quick crash course in how to hang siding, we (Mike Boyle, Frank Rongone, and I) went to work. It took some time to get the hang of it, but by day two we were moving. By the end of the week, our team became proficient in hanging siding. Working on a 20 foot ladder while holding the siding up and trying to nail in the siding isn’t an easy task. But it was all worth it knowing you are helping someone less fortunate. I thought the manual labor was a nice change from the typical day in the office.
Of course being from Philly, we had the Phillies on our mind. On Monday night, the Phillies were playing on ESPN. So when we got back from the job site that day, Frank and I decided to make it our mission to find a sports bar in the area to watch the game. With the help of a neighbor’s WI-FI network, we were able to search and find the only sports bar in the entire area. Everyone went out to the sports bar to watch the game and relax. We met some nice local people and got to bond with co-workers over popcorn, a couple drinks, and the Phillies. It proved to be a great trip. We worked hard, helped people in need, and had a good time doing it.