Girl Scout Shower House Project to Receive
Best Community Service Project for 2001

The hard work of volunteers from the Michigan construction industry has paid off, and members of the Girl Scouts of the Huron Valley Council will receive many years of service from their new Meadows Shower House at Camp Linden. A project suggested by Roger Lane of Detroit Edison, it was a tremendous effort.

This has been a truly unique project. Members of the organized construction industry in Michigan can be proud of what they accomplished for the Girl Scouts and how well they all worked together. Members of Greater Michigan PMC and UA Local 190 Plumbers / Pipe Fitters / Service Technicians / Gas Distribution, can all be proud of their efforts. The boiler room for the facility is so substantial that it can provide enough hot water for not only the campers in attendance, but also to shower all the horses, and possibly some of the residences in the nearby town, each hour. At least everyone will stay clean!

The project will receive national recognition during a very impressive ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee, receiving an Outstanding Achievement Award, Best Community Service Project-2001 from the AGC of America. Obviously the Michigan Chapter AGC, along with all of us involved in the project, is delighted that the judges recognized the tremendous accomplishment of all of you in creating the facility for the Huron Valley Girl Scouts.

Crawford Camp Sponsorship

In an effort to assist the local Girl Scouts with activities and ease the costs to parents, the PMC sponsors two Brownie Troops. Financial contributions and contributions of supplies and services are made. Anything that we can do to assist with the training of young girls to be tomorrows leaders will be helpful to not only the community at large, but the construction industry in the long run. Camp Crawford is a week-end, overnight indoor camp for Girl Scouts held annually for participants to network, work on badges, camp out and become closer with their members.

Holiday Programs Assist the Needy At This Special Time

Secret Santa's

The PMC has participated for a number of years in the Secret Santa Program through the local Family Independence Agencies. Last year, we were made aware of a very special family that was having problems making Christmas the experience they wanted due to limited financial resources. The family had increased by one this year with eight children adopted and one foster child. The majority of the children they have adopted are "special need" children. We could think of nothing, more important, at this time of the year that we could do that better exemplified the season than helping this special family. So, we made the decision to adopt them. Instead of going through the agencies, associates at our office shopped for presents for the specific age groups, with a little help from their children. We were more than happy to help Santa along with such a large number to provide for.

Everyone took turns doing shopping for the various children. With five teenagers it was an interesting process - shopping for your own teenagers is interesting, let alone children you don't know. The time seems to fly, when you know that you are making a child's Christmas something special. After the holiday, we received a number of pictures that showed the joy on the children's faces and reinforced our commitment to continuing with our Secret Santa programs. It's a great opportunity to help those less fortunate, and easy to become involved in. Think about trying it yourself this year.

Warm the Children

Again this year the members of the PMC staff decided to forego any presents for each other, take the money normally spent on birthdays and holidays and donate it to a charity. "Warm The Children" is the charity choosen again this year. Established through the Ann Arbor News, it is a program that runs in cooperation with Meijers and Sears. The program provided winter coats for 1,500 children. The stores provided the vouchers for the coats to be purchased at a greatly reduced rate. Then children were selected through various methods and the money donated went for their purchases.

Foster Care Family Assistance

Along with helping Santa with the children, we sponsored evenings out for foster families and families with children who would receive little during the holiday season. Those participating were given gift certificates for passes to the local theatre and for treats when they got there. It gives the families the opportunity to go out together and enjoy a special time as one.

These families, like the one above give so much to children, this seems like a good way to give them the opportunity to spend time with the children they are caring for.

Career Development Projects
Working to Involve Today's Youth In Construction

Ann Arbor Student Building Program

This past year marked the 30th home built by the students through the Ann Arbor Student Building Program. It has helped the area's students develop careers in the construction industry for over 31 years. The PMC is one of its founding members, and has been actively involved in the Program since its inception. Our members have been volunteers on the project since the very first house, over 30 years ago. Chairman of the Board Lloyd Zill was the first contractor to work on a home when Hutzel Plumbing & Heating did the installations for the first home.

Today PMC Executive Associate Diane Calmeyn is the program's Secretary and handles the business functions of the program. This is a door opener for students who plan to go into higher education or directly in the world of work. Students apply during the Spring semester of their Sophomore or Junior year. Requirements are: (1) Successful completion of at least one industrial technology education class, and (2) A desire to help build a great house.

Ferris State University Greater Michigan MSCA Student Chapter

First MCAA Student Chapter of the Year

One of the great things about the FSU Student Chapter, other than the wonderful opportunity of getting to know the students, is the number of people who work to make the Chapter a success. Along with the efforts of the Greater MI MSCA Offices we receive assistance from: Kevin Birk, Chairman of the MSCA Committee, Russ Borst, Vice President of Service from Holwerda-Huizinga, Inc., Walt Maner from the Michigan MCA offices, Scott Klapper, UA Local 190, Don House, UA International Representative for Service, Ferris alumni Chad and Scott House, and of course our Ferris State Advisors Mike Feutz and Scott Leach .
The most important volunteers, of course, are the members (pictured above), who even with the tremendous workload they have as students, still find time to donate to the Chapter.

School Supplies for Kids

The PMC's "School Supplies for Kids" campaign continues to be a successful way for our industry to keep ourselves in front of children. Contractors and the Association donate extra supplies that they aren't using, old stationery, out-of-date cards, extra notebooks, etc. They also donate gift certificates from local office supply stores for teachers to buy the necessary supplies that they need for school. It's a great way for the students to begin to see the name of the construction companies on a regular basis, and begin to think more about the industry.

PMC Continues to Support Local Nurse and Honduran Relief

Montana de Luz to Open its Doors Soon - After numerous construction delays resulting from Hurricane Mitch and months of sacrificial labor by the dedicated staff and many Mission Team Members, Montana de Luz (Mountain of Light) is now within a few weeks of receiving its first children. These children are not your everyday, ordinary children of need. They all will have something very difficult for their young lives to deal with. They all will be children who are HIV positive. Most will have been abandoned because of their virus. A gifted HIV nurse, Chris Fredrick, from this area, and a personal friend of PMC's Administrative Assistant Doris Reinholt, is the Director of Medical Services at the Clinic. The PMC financially supports her efforts with the Clinic. She has already devoted a year of her life getting Montana de Luz ready to become the final home for these children.

As stated in a recent newsletter from Honduras, "The calling on this ministry to is be the light of Christ in these young, very fragile, and confused lives as we reach out to them with love, understanding, medical and spiritual care. It will be a place where their lives will come to an end, and where they will have come to know God's love and peace, and have personal dignity, thanks to Chris and her medical staff."

Bed Drive

One of the ongoing programs that we help with each year is the "Friends In Deed" Bed Drive that is held annually around Christmas time. The drive provides new beds for family members. Friends In Deed is a program we first became involved in through Mary Jean Zill, wife of Board Chairman Lloyd Zill, who was a long-time volunteer at the organization.

Miracle Flights for Kids

"When the barrier between a desperately ill child and medical treatment is distance . . . Miracle Flights for Kids makes the miles disappear."

This is the motto of Miracle flights, an organization of private pilots who donate their time, aircraft and fuel to fly needy children to hospitals and medical centers. Along with private pilots, due to the tremendous distances traveled, many of the flights must now be booked on commercial airlines, at great financial cost. This is where organizations like ours can assist with donations of free miles on airlines, and monetary contributions. Today they have coordinated over 21,000 flights, providing over 8.0 million miles of travel for kids and families.

Habitat For Humanity

The PMC membership continues to be actively involved in Habitat for Humanity. The Association, and our members donate money and materials for the projects, along with the contractors' trucks and tools for the installations. A number of the members' employees are involved in local projects and volunteer their evenings and Saturdays to work on the homes. Our Ferris State Chapter of the Greater Michigan MSCA is also involved in the program in their local area. Students donate time to do clean-up and installations.

Making Technology A Tool of Volunteering
Educating the Masses Through Websites

In an effort to educate and promote the hard work of others in our Industry, the Greater Michigan PMC sponsors a number of Websites. By developing and updating the sites we give others the opportunity to learn more about the special factions of our industry, and work being done by all.

www.aastudentbuildingprogram.org

As the technology of building a home changes, the technology of interesting students and their parents in the program changes too. In an effort to better inform the student population of the accomplishments of the program and its successes, the Greater Michigan PMC has established a website for the program. The website shows each of the thirty homes, along with their descriptions. It tells the story of the program and how you become involved. It also shows a number of individuals who have gone into the construction industry and the successes they have made of their careers.

www.fsu-msca.org

The Ferris State University / Greater Michigan MSCA website outlines the activities of the students, gives an up-to-date calendar of their events, provides a mechanism where our students can correspond on line, with the other MCAA Student Chapters.

www.miconstructioncareers.org

Website Honored by American Society of Association Executives
Elected to 2001 Associations Advance America Honor Roll.

The Greater Michigan PMC developed, produced, and maintains, the Michigan Construction Careers Website for the benefit of the total organized construction industry. In its first year of operation it was accessed by over 100,000 individuals interested in construction. The website was elected to the 2001 Associations Advance America Honor Roll, a national awards competition sponsored by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), Washington, DC. Now in its eleventh year, the prestigious Associations Advance America Awards program recognizes associations that propel America forward - with innovative projects in education, skills training, standards-setting, business and social innovation, knowledge creations, citizenship, and community service. "The PMC's Michigan Construction Careers Website truly embodies the spirit of the Associations Advance America campaign. It is an honor and an inspiration to showcase this activity as an example of the many contributions associations are making to advance American society." remarked ASAE President Michael S. Olson, CAE.