“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.”

(Ford City, PA) The eyes of his daughter, he who died at age 58 seven months earlier, welled with tears as she spoke the Greek proverb.

Behind Katie Pyle, who faced a crowd of about 100, stood a new facility that will educate residents of her father’s home county and invigorate the economy of her father’s hometown.

Butler County Community College on April 12 held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a community grand opening for a BC3 @ Armstrong facility in Ford City, whose main entrance reads the State Rep. Jeffrey P. Pyle Building.

It was her father’s vision to have the facility built at 1100 Fourth Ave., on the grounds of a former junior-senior high school that he attended and where he taught.

"Today definitely represents the dream of Representative Pyle. He would always end (conversations) with talking about the vision for this location." 

- Dr. Nick Neupauer, BC3 president

It was her father’s vision to have the facility built at 1100 Fourth Ave., on the grounds of a former junior-senior high school that he attended and where he taught.

“Today definitely represents the dream of Representative Pyle,” Dr. Nick Neupauer, president of BC3, said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “He would always end (conversations) with talking about the vision for this location.”

Pyle served as mayor of Ford City and as a history and American government teacher at Ford City Junior-Senior High, which closed in 2015 and was razed in 2018.

He served as a lawmaker from 2005 until March 2021.

"Every time I would see Jeff during his last term, or last term and a half, (he would say) 'Cutler. BC3. We have to work on that.' Jeff, we're going to work on that. 'Cutler. You can't forget BC3." 

- State Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-100, House Republican leader

Three months before he retired, Pyle was instrumental in helping to secure a $1.75 million state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant toward construction of BC3’s facility.

The construction project received an additional $2 million state RACP grant in October, one month after Pyle died.

Bryan Cutler, R-100, is the former speaker of the state House and today is House Republican leader.

“Every time I would see Jeff during his last term, or last term and half, (he would say) ‘Cutler. BC3. We have to work on that.’ Jeff, we’re going to work on that. ‘Cutler. You can’t forget BC3.’”

Pyle’s 60th legislative district included parts of Armstrong County.

“This is a day to remember Jeff”

“Jeff is not here, obviously, with us in person,” said state Sen. Joe Pittman, R-41 and Senate majority leader. “But I am quite certain that he is here with us in spirit. … This is a day to remember Jeff.”

BC3 announced intentions to relocate BC3 @ Armstrong from nearby Manor Township to Ford City in October 2019.

BC3 @ Armstrong in Ford City encompasses 15,000 square feet – 13,000 more than the dedicated space available at BC3’s former location at the NexTier Adult Learning Center in Manor Township.

It includes, among other areas, up to six classroom spaces, a natural science laboratory and student meeting areas, and is owned by the Nonprofit Development Corp., Butler.

“It also stimulates our economy”

The RACP grants brought to more than $4.2 million the amount of public and private support for construction of the facility.

The BC3 Education Foundation received gifts of $100,000 from Snyder Associated Companies, Kittanning; of $70,000 from BelleFlex Technologies and PulFlex Technologies, Ford City; and of $50,000 from NexTier Bank, toward construction of the facility.

Armstrong County commissioners contributed $250,000.

Don Myers is chairman of an Armstrong County board of commissioners that includes Jason Renshaw and Pat Fabian and is a graduate of the former junior-senior high school.

“The one most important graduate … the late state Representative Jeff Pyle,” Myers said.  “Without his dedication and commitment to this project, to this town, to this county, these things wouldn’t come to fruition.”

BC3 opened BC3 @ Armstrong in Manor Township in 2015 to serve a county under-represented by higher education. It has since served nearly 700 BC3 @ Armstrong students from 95 ZIP codes.

The new facility in Ford City, Myers said, “brings not only opportunity education-wise … it also stimulates our economy by attracting new people to our area that will support our local businesses and industry.”

“My dad’s dream”

Katie Pyle, 24, grew up one block from what would become the $6.5 million BC3 @ Armstrong in Ford City. Her father purchased the home near Ford City Junior-Senior High School within walking distance for his job and their education.

“It is my greatest honor and my deepest regret that I am here today in place of my father,” she said. … “To those of you at BC3 who had a hand in making my dad’s dream become a reality, thank you. To the donors who helped to contribute, thank you.

“To everyone who had to listen to my dad ranting about never giving up on this project, thank you.

“I am so grateful that this building is one of his many contributions to our society.”

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BC3 @ Armstrong ribbon-cutting ceremony and community grand opening

Construction and groundbreaking of BC3 @ Armstrong in Ford City