The Pelican Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. held its annual high school craft championship in welding, carpentry and electrical for local students at its Baton Rouge Training Center. Competitors represented schools in Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, Livingston, Point Coupee and West Feliciana parishes.

ABC Pelican has hosted high school craft competitions for more than two decades. At the April 11 championship, more than 100 local 11th and 12th graders training to be welders, electricians and carpenters competed against one another to showcase their skills, claim trophies, win prizes and take back bragging rights to their respective schools. The competition consisted of a classroom test and a hands-on component.

Students who competed in the craft competition were either nominated by their teachers or won an internal competition against peers.

During Safety Week 2019 at the beginning of May, Brasfield & Gorrie hosted more than a dozen events at its Dallas office and area jobsites. Events included first-aid training, self-defense, lunch and learn events and a Hilti Tool demonstration at the Hyatt Regency Stonebriar jobsite (pictured at top).

Brasfield & Gorrie also recently marked the topping out of the Hyatt Regency Stonebriar in Frisco, Texas. The 18-story, 303-room hotel is located at the Stonebriar Centre mall and will feature 54,000 sq ft of ballroom and conference center space and a 25,000-sq-ft outdoor amenity deck. Brasfield & Gorrie is self-performing work on this project for Sam Moon Group and has placed 18,000 yd of concrete, 1,300 tons of rebar and 2,100 ft of drilled piers. HKS Architects designed the project, which is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2020.

Kirksey recently participated in the 2019 IIDA TX-OK Chapter’s Product Runway event, an avant-garde couture fashion design competition with a twist. Teams of interior design and architecture professionals create handmade garments out of standard architectural finish materials such as glass, tile, carpet and wood.

With this year’s theme being “HOU I <3 U,” each team was assigned a famous Houston landmark as their inspiration. Kirksey model and architectural designer Austine Yu represented the firm in their Buffalo Bayou-themed creation.

For the third year, E.E. Reed Construction participated in the Houston Police Dept.’s Badges and Bears Program. Collected bears are distributed to the Houston police and fire departments so officers and firefighters can carry them in their patrol units, fire trucks and ambulances. These bears are used to comfort children who may have suffered a traumatic experience or been involved in a catastrophic situation. E.E. Reed’s employees and subcontractors contributed 65 bears this year.

In partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, McCarthy Building Cos.’ Houston division recently built a Ninja Warrior obstacle course for Caden, a nine-year-old boy with lymphoma. Caden is a fan of the show “American Ninja Warrior,” and his wish was to tackle challenging obstacle courses like his favorite athletes on the show.

McCarthy employees volunteered for a two-day period to build Caden a course, which included activities such as a rock wall, warped wall, seesaw, uneven balance beam, monkey pegs, Tarzan ropes, salmon ladder and a finish bell.