Humble Gym Floor has Ties to Juilliard

... filled a need in a school gym in Oregon.

School districts across the nation perpetually struggle to find funds, so when it came time for rural Lincoln Middle School in Oakland, Ore., to replace the tattered carpet in its gymnasium, its budget left little room for hope. Neighboring flooring manufacturer J & B Wood Products, however, had just completed a custom run of madrone flooring for stages at The Juilliard School in New York and had wood left over. Mill supervisor and local parent Bob Farley approached J & B owners Bill Brownsberger and John Rideout, and the duo were more than willing to donate the necessary 4,500 square feet of flooring. "With our emphasis on wider plank flooring, we don't often run the narrow, 2¼-inch strip that Juilliard had specified. When the gym floor project came up, we realized it was a perfect fit, both for us and for the middle school," Farley says. While the students of the small school may not grasp the connection their gym now has with a renowned school of drama, dance and music, everyone fully appreciates the floor. "Everyone has chosen their own favorite board for its unique color and grain," Farley adds. "We're just glad we could help and can't wait to see the Lincoln Raiders win a few games here."