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Rose-Hulman baseball
players moved building materials for the new processing building at the
Exotic Feline Rescue Center. |
CENTER POINT, IND. -
Thirty-four members of the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology baseball team
donated their efforts on a chilly December Saturday morning to help the Exotic
Feline Rescue Center (EFRC) continue progress on its new food processing
facility.
The Engineer baseball
team helped move cages, large water drums, fencing and other building materials
from the new food processing center to an off-area site, as the center nears
completion of its new project.
"We appreciate the
work that the Rose-Hulman baseball team accomplished. They moved several
of our heavy cages that have been sitting for a long time, because it takes
several strong people working together to make this happen. They were a
cohesive unit and worked together to make a difference for us. We could
tell that they have worked together as a team and knew how to get things done,"
said Jean Herrberg, assistant director of the FERC.
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The team "worked together
to make a difference" according to FERC assistant director Jean Herrberg. |
The EFRC was founded
in 1991 by Joe Taft in Center Point, with a mission of providing "permanent
homes for exotic felines that have been abused, abandoned or for some reason
have nowhere to live out their lives, while educating the public about these
beautiful cats."
The EFRC currently
contains 185 large cats from 19 states that process and distribute 3,000 pounds
of meat per day. The objective of the new food processing center is to
handle this volume of meat, and work is still required in refrigeration,
plumbing, ventilation, electrical and water proofing areas. Nearly 21,000
visitors passed through the EFRC in 2006.
Rose-Hulman's
baseball team battled temperatures in the low 30s along with wet grounds caused
by significant rain throughout the month. The work also included moving
and stacking approximately 1,000 cinder blocks that will be used in constructing
the organization's new incinerator.
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Rose-Hulman's baseball
team also received an up-close tour of the exotic felines as part of their
efforts. |
In return for their
efforts, the Engineers experienced an up-close tour of the facilities, including
viewing many of the exotic felines in their natural environment.
"Getting a chance to
go to the Feline Rescue facility was an amazing experience. We got the
opportunity to see exotic cats that are usually only seen in major zoos or on
television. It was a fantastic experience, and I would recommend it to anyone
with an interest in exotic cats,” said sophomore outfielder Kirk Thompson.
I have always
enjoyed a bit of hard work. It gives me a good feeling when I am done. I
would definitely do it again," added freshman Jeff VanTreuren.
Members of the
Fightin' Engineers contributing to the project included Jesse Baker, Luis
Bougrat, George Carpenter, Mike Cramer, Alex Decker, Sam Deters, Troy Evesalge,
Michael Ferguson, Gabe Focke, J.D. Hill, Chandler Kent, Mike Kovacs, Jared
Kronable, Neil Kruegar, Keenan Long, Allen Malcomb, Nick Maloney, Andrew
Markowits, Michael Matsui, Nathan Miles, Ben Mueller, Andrew Oakley, Andrew
Pinkstaff, Dan Prochno, Nick Rumpke, Gannon Sadzeck, Chris Stemple, Ben Stenger,
Kirk Thompson, Charlie Vana, Cody Van Buskirk, Jeff VanTreuren, Bryan Zemina and
Ben Zobrist. |
