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Portage crew provides elementary education for Scouts

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By Amanda Watson, Marketing Director

Thankfully the weather this week was normal for the year and not the extreme cold temperature that shut down job sites last week because our Promenade at Founders Square project team leaders were on site Wednesday, February 6 to give a group of Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts a private project tour.

The Scout groups are led by Holladay Construction Group’s Marketing Director, Amanda Watson, and the tour was led by Project Manager, Clayton Trueblood, Project Engineer, Nick Sebert, and Superintendent, Steve Kuiphoff, of which Nick and Steve are both former Scouts. The tour group was comprised of four Webelos-level Cub Scouts from Pack 929 and eight Junior-level Girl Scouts of Troop 30374, and a few of their parents.

Upon arriving at The Promenade at Founders Square job trailer in Portage, IN, the group discovered a variety of tools on display and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for their use. The tour guides introduced themselves and then Steve Kuiphoff began the event with a discussion on tools. The Scouts learned a lot about the types of tools used on a job site and the jobs each tool is designed and used for.

After learning about some basic tools, the group explored the PPE on the table. Clayton, Nick and Steve each helped explain the uses of each PPE tool, and the reasons why they are used and so very important on a job site. After the safety discussion, the Scouts put on their hardhats, safety vests, and safety glasses and headed outside to explore the project.

The group first visited Building 9, which is current in the rough-in state. Steve led the discussion here as he showed the group where all of the room in the apartment they were standing in would be and educated them about important parts that you don’t see once the buildings are finished, like framework, plumbing and electrical lines, and fire sprinklers. He even explained how the building codes are different for different places in the project, like the apartment units, and the fitness center, and the restaurant space.

After exploring a space that was under construction, the group then moved on to Building 2, a building that is finished. The group got to see the building’s amenity space, including the Lighthouse Room – a spacious room with a full kitchen, tv, and sitting area that residents at The Promenade at Founders Square can rent for private use – and the main Clubhouse, which has a full kitchen, large tv, fireplace, sitting areas, cyber lounge, shuffleboard and pool table.

The Scouts and adults were all amazed by the space they saw, including the paint colors, flooring, lighting, furniture, and artwork. The project team gave kudos to Holladay Properties’ Project Designer, Lori Kappel, who they credited with the incredible final look of the finished spaces.

The project team, Steve, Clayton and Nick, all talked about the differences between the unfinished space they group had just seen, and the finished space they were in, and pointed out some construction details. Afterwards, the group went back to the job trailer to allow the Scouts to answer some final questions.

For the Webelos Scouts, this tour was a chance to complete several steps of the Build It Adventure to be able to advance to next level of Scouting. The Webelos Scouts are planning to build pinewood derby cars in the next month to finish earning this advancement. For the Junior Girl Scouts, the tour provided them an opportunity to learn about construction jobs and all the work it takes to build an apartment building.

The Scouts were grateful for the opportunity provided them by Holladay Construction Group and the project team at the Promenade at Founders Square, who stayed late into the evening Wednesday night to provide the Scouts with this unique learning experience.

Holladay Construction Group is proud to be a contributing member of the communities in which we serve and we encourage community involvement via service and sponsorship. If you have a community group you would like our company to sponsor, complete our Charitable Donation Request Form for consideration.

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