INDIANAPOLIS (July 17, 2007) - Alex McEathron is used to a hectic schedule of designing and building countertops, desks and cabinets at the Westville Correctional Facility's carpentry shop. However, last fall, the 14-year employee received a unique request from Department of Correction (DOC) Commissioner J. David Donahue to design and construct a new conference table for the governor's office.
"The old table was rickety and in need of major repairs," Donahue said. "Building a new table was an opportunity to showcase the talent of our staff and offenders."
McEathron finalized the design for a 16-foot long by six-foot wide wooden conference table in late 2006. He enlisted the help of eight offenders and construction of the new table began in January.
"We had never done anything like this before," McEathron said. "There were times when we had knots in our stomachs and lost lots of sleep."
The materials for the table come from six varieties of trees on the grounds of the Westville facility. The offenders and McEathron spent 2,000 hours cutting, chiseling, gluing, sanding, staining and finishing the wood. The 900-pound table was completed and delivered to the Governor Mitch Daniels' office in late June.
Daniels showed off the table for the first time today. "When Dave told me he would have a new table made for the office, I wouldn't have dreamed it could be something like this," he said. "It's the most beautiful piece of furniture I've ever seen and the craftsmanship is second to none."
"It was truly an honor," McEathron said. "We hope the table will be used and enjoyed for generations to come."
Westville is a medium security facility. After completing their sentences, offenders are released back into one of Indiana's 92 counties. The woodworking program here, along with programs at other statewide DOC facilities, offers offenders the opportunity to learn skills they can use when returning to society.
"We help individuals learn constructive activities so they can become productive citizens," Donahue said. "This project shows their professional commitment."
A photograph of the table can be found at the following link: http://www.in.gov/gov/uploads/071707Govtablepicture.jpg
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