Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day. The weather cooperated perfectly and we had a great turnout. We got started at 9 am on Saturday with unpacking all our tools and materials and getting ready for an intense day of grouting.
We unpacked 3 bags of grout that we quickly went through. We were well short with only 3 bags of grout so we sent Meredith on a "Grout Run". She came through in a big way delivering 10 bags of grout from Home Depot but unfortunately the color was not a perfect match. We had to get creative if we were going to finish on Saturday. Wendy and Corrie came up with a creative solution of mixing 2 different colored grouts to match the first 3 bags of grout. With a full bag of light grey and 17 "Wendy handfuls" (almost a metric system), we were back to grouting.
Here is a picture of the crew getting back to work. We worked the rest of the afternoon until about 3 pm to get the wall complete. Meredith again showed her enormous worth by providing us with a huge bag of tacos from Taco Bell. They tasted so good with a little grout mixed in.
The wall turned out so well. The dark grey grout really made the colors stand out. At the end of the day, we were all worn out but proud of having accomplished so much.
We got a ton of compliments on how great the wall looked. George, a long time St. Augustine resident, also shared with all of us how this wall will give so many children a sense of pride. It was great to hear him share with us its importance to the community.
In all, it was a great day for all of the people involved in the project. I encourage everyone to ride by this wall to see what we all accomplished working together. I know we have more great things on the horizon for 450 Next.
From right to left: George, Leigh, Trey, Corrie, Meredith, Wendy and Rhett (sporting a 450 Next T-Shirt)
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The combined efforts of some 100 youth, under the guiding eyes of artists Wendy McDaniel and Corrie Borglund, created the mosaic tribute to youthful energy. They came from the after school programs at American Legion Post 194, Boys and Girls Club, Collier-Blocker-Puryear Park and Solomon Calhoun Center.
