Previous editions can be viewed here.

During this past week Tom Hanger (PVC) and Joe Simpson (PDG) made a trip to Port Au Prince, Haiti for a week of construction volunteer work with the Building Goodness Foundation.  Over the past year, PDG employee Joe Simpson has been working with the Building Goodness Foundation as a volunteer project manager for a project in Haiti called the Thomassin Volunteer Residence (TVR).  This project started in November 2010 and is expected to be complete in November 2011.  The Volunteer Residence was built to house volunteer groups and medical teams since it is built directly over a medical clinic in the mountain village of Thomassin, located approximately 20 miles south of Port Au Prince.  The purpose of this trip was to put the finishing touches on the Volunteer Residence so Joe called in the expertise of Tom Hanger to travel down with him and help with installation of the doors and the finished carpentry.

Tom Hanger

Like other trips in the past, this group was composed of a small team of skilled construction workers from the Charlottesville/Albemarle area.  They were in Haiti for exactly one week and worked for 6 of the 7 days that they were in country.  During that week, they worked alongside Haitian laborers and carpenters, teaching tricks of the trade and showing safe construction practices.  For lunch every day, an Aunt of one of the Haitian workers prepared an excellent spread of local foods: avocados, plantains, pumpkin, potatoes, rice and beans.  Every meal was finished off with incredible local Haitian coffee.  On the last day of the trip, the TVR construction team was priviledged to attend a dedication ceremony for one of the projects that had just recently been completed.  They were joined by Rene Grisham, wife of local author John Grisham, to witness the ribbon cutting for Boutiller Church, a church that had collapsed during the earthquake and was rebuilt by BGF volunteers and funds from the Grishams.

The ceremony was a once in a life time experience for everyone involved.  A winding road leads you up to the base of the church site which is approximately 4,000ft above sea level.  A four wheel drive vehicle can only get to the base of the site but the only way to reach the church is by foot up a steep mountain stairway which is about 500ft straight up the mountain.  A dozen or more Pastors from all over the country came to the event and there were approximately 400-500 people in attendance.  This church was the glue of that community and had been standing for approximately 100 years until the earthquake knocked it down, so it was quite emotional to see the Haitian community finally have their church back.  Tom and Joe along with other BGF volunteers took part in the service by learning and performing a song in Creole for the congregation.

The Haitian experience is hard to explain.  There is extreme poverty set in a beautiful Caribbean setting.  The average Haitian eats 5 meals a week and the city holds close to 3 million occupants but is designed to hold only 800,000.  There is no public water or sewer system, a sparse electrical system, and no trash collection system.  It felt like everywhere you look there was trash and crumbling buildings, however everywhere you look there was also a sense of resilience and that of a very honest and friendly community of people.  As Tom Hanger put it, “It was an extremely humbling experience”.

Joe Simpson shares his musical talents at the end of the work day.

PVC continues to build closer relationships with clients so that we can provide exactly the services our clients need.  And PVC continues to develop the best management practices to earn our client’s respect and improve performance.  Each and every person’s contribution to the lifecycle needs of our clients pioneers a successful enterprise.

Congratulations to Kenny Sisk, recipient of the 2011 Pioneer Award for his work to improve the monthly job cost projections.

Congratulations to Cliff Shifflett, recipient of the 2011 Honorable Professional Award for his 40 year career of outstanding construction leadership.

Chris Lee and Kenny Sisk

Cliff Shifflett and Chris Lee

• Zero Lost Days – members with zero lost time incidents
• Recognition – members with an incident rate better than the industry average
• Improvement – members who have improved from last year

This is the second consecutive year that PCC has received the “Zero Lost Days” award from the ASCC. The American Society of Concrete Contractors was formed by and for concrete contractors and others who provide services and goods to the industry. Its members share the same goals – to improve their businesses and their roles as contractors. There are over 550 member companies in the U.S. and abroad.

Click post title to see news coverage.

Video Link

The Millwork Specialist team has won the American Wood Institute’s Zero Lost Time Accident Achievement Award of 2009.  This award recognizes a safety incident rate of zero for the past year and serves as a testimony to the company’s commitment to detail.  A formal award will be made during the AWI’s convention in October.

In the midst of this challenging environment, The Millwork Specialist team continues to exemplify a high level of professionalism and is to be commended for a job well done!

We are proud to announce that Brad Eppard – General Superintendent and Jeffrey Eppard – Superintendent have passed the exam for the ACI Flat Work Finishing Technician. This is the first step to getting their Certificates for ACI Flat Work Finishing Technician. UPDATE: Brad Eppard and Jeffrey Eppard received their ACI Certificates June 16, 2009.

Certified finishers benefit both owners and contractors. As projects and materials become more complex, a minimum level of expertise and education is absolutely necessary. Certified finishers are becoming more and more of a requirement in project specifications

To achieve ACI Concrete Flatwork Finisher/Technician certification, an examinee must meet the following requirements:

* One year (1500 hours) of work experience in finishing concrete flatwork and the successful completion of a performance evaluation or three years (4500 hours) of work experience in finishing concrete flatwork and the successful completion of an alternative performance evaluation based on signed affidavits verifying abilities; and

* A passing grade of 70% on the written examination.

Piedmont Virginia Companies was a proud sponsor of the 95^th Annual Chamber Dinner. Chris Lee, Co-Principal of PVC and 2008 Chairman of the Chamber Board, hosted the evening. This signature event was the first held in the spectacular new Boar’s Head Pavilion. With a large pre-function space, meeting rooms, a full kitchen and a 5,500 square foot ballroom in this state-of-the-art facility, the Pavilion is destined to become the premier meeting place in the area. Three PVC companies were integral members of the Pavilion project team: R. E. Lee & Son, Piedmont Concrete Contractors and The Millwork Specialist. Jay Kessler, Co-Principal of PVC, presented representatives from the UVa Foundation (project owner) and Glave & Holmes Associates (project architect) with framed photos of the Pavilion. The frames were made by The Millwork Specialist using the same wood seen throughout the Pavilion space.