A community tire collection day was held at our Pryor, OK cement plant. Local citizens delivered 1708 waste tires to the cement plant where the tires will be used as fuel in the cement kilns. The tires weighed approximately 21 tons. This is a new record for Pryor, beating the previous record set in 2006 of 1586 tires. Volunteers from the cement plant staff were joined in this project again by cadets from the Thunderbird Youth Academy. A platoon of eager young men helped unload tires being dropped off, stacked tires for counting, and loaded tires into trailers.

The Thunderbird Youth Academy (TYA) is part of a national project sponsored by the National Guard and funded by the State of Oklahoma. The primary mission of the TYA is to intervene in the lives of at-risk youth. Specifically, TYA targets 16 to 18 year old (male or female) high school dropouts giving them the opportunity to gain control over their lives by increasing academic performance; improving self esteem; and teaching essential life skills enabling them to compete in the workplace and manage a healthy family environment.