Giving BACk to Our Communities

Journal: Issue 4 - 2010

Despite the obstacles many BAC members have had to contend with as a result of the stalled construction economy, they have never failed to demonstrate their willingness time and again to reach out to their communities by giving generously of their time and skills.

The following photographs provide just a glimpse of the lasting and far-reaching goodwill BAC members have generated in recent months. Stay tuned for more stories of members’ community involvement in future issues and at www.bacweb.org.

“Extreme Makeover – Home Edition” Gets Assist from Locals 5 and 16 Ohio

New Indiana Building Trades President and Local 4 IN/KY Field Representative Dale Johnsen helps commemorate the Council’s 100th anniversary.

Members of Locals 5 and 16 of the Ohio Administrative District Council and their employers, signatory contractors Zavarella Brothers Construction and LMR Construction, were proud to donate their time and skill to help a deserving family in Maple Heights, OH in connection with the December 3rd episode of the ABC TV series, “Extreme Makeover – Home Edition.” The show featured the construction and unveiling of a new home built especially for the Andersons, a visually impaired couple and their hearing-impaired sons.

BAC craftworkers and Zavarella Brothers laid 6,000 bricks in just under six hours. Meanwhile, fellow members and LMR Construction installed cultured stone. “This is another shining example of the BAC giving back to the community,” said OADC Field Representative Dave Wondolowski. Participating members of OADC Locals included Jim Agapetus, Nick Agapetus, Joe Billy, John Bitner, Leo Cala, Joe Frischione, Tony Grisanti, Mark Goebel, Ken Kirk, Jeff Klak, Nick LaVecchia, Rich Lenz, James Poe, Bojan Slatinsek, Dave Yerse, Nick Zavarella Sr., Nick Zavarella Jr., Chuck Zavarella, Dan Zavarella Jr., and OADC Field Representatives Dave Wondolowski and Vince Isaac.

From left, Local 5 OH members Nick Zavarella, Jr., Chuck Zavarella, and Nick Zavarella, Sr.; Dan Zavarella; and Local 5 OH member Dan Zavarella, Jr.

Member Dave Yerse of 16 OH and OADC Field Representative Dave Wondolowski set the monument stone of the Anderson family’s new home.

Local 1 Alberta Members Raise Walls, Expand Horizons for Orphans in Zambia

The foundation of Grace Academy after Local 1 AB volunteers’ first day on the project in Zambia.

Local 1 AB member Neil MacDonald on the jobsite in Zambia.

In 2009, a team of bricklayers from Local 1 AB joined Seeds of Hope – a children’s ministry focused on helping children orphaned by HIV/AIDS – on a trip to Zambia. Between November 17th and December 4th, they erected all the load-bearing walls for Grace Academy, a new boarding high school that is currently home to 65 orphaned children. Seeds of Hope Executive Director John Chalkias thanked Local 1 members Neil McDonald, Marvin Strangeway, and Phil Lemke, as well as the BAC and the Alberta Trades Council.

Administrative District Council 1 of Illinois Volunteers Build Veterans Memorial

The Burr Ridge Veterans Memorial.

The new Veterans Memorial in Burr Ridge, Illinois was dedicated on June 26th, representing approximately 500 hours of volunteer work selflessly donated by Illinois members of ADC 1 Locals. The project began in the fall of 2009 when BAC members erected the first wall of the structure. At the beginning of May 2010, they returned to complete the brick work, which features five limestone benches representing each branch of the military and hundreds of bricks inscribed with the names of veterans. “It looks even better than I expected,” said deputy police chief and memorial committee member Tim Vaclav.

Members of ADC 1 of IL Locals work on the memorial. From left: Local 20 IL member Don Walker, a Burr Ridge public works employee, and Local 56 IL member Tony Clemens.

Retired Local 5 Pennsylvania Member John Gilly, Jr. – A Foundation for Life

Retired Local 5 PA member John Gilly Jr. lays the first block of the Egg Harbor City Community School.

John Gilly Jr., left, with his son, John Gilly III, Egg Harbor City, NJ School Superintendent.

Retired Local 5 Pennsylvania member John Gilly, Jr. couldn’t wait to return to his tools when he was assigned the honor of laying the first cinder block of the new Egg Harbor City Community School. “My father was a Union bricklayer for 40 years,” said his son, John Gilly III, the Superintendent of Egg Harbor City, NJ Public School District, who credits his own educational and professional opportunities to his father’s decades of hard work and dedication to the bricklaying trade. Gilly III’s one stipulation for the building of the new school was that his father be given the honor of laying the first block – the one, he says, “all of the others are built around.”

Local 2 New York/Vermont Food Bank

Local 2 NY/VT members at Patroon Land Farm. From left: Local 2 Field Representative Dale Stehlin, Local 2 member and IU Northeast Regional Director Al Catalano, Local 2 Field Representative/1st Vice Chairman Luke Renna, President Bob Mantello, retired BAC contractor Tom Murray, 2nd Vice Chairman Mike Suprenant, Field Representative/3rd Vice Chairman Martin Dillon, member Mike Cleary, and Secretary-Treasurer Pat Tirino.

In August, members of Local 2 New York/Vermont joined the Eastern Contractors Association and other local trades unions to build a barn at the Patroon Land Farm, which is managed by the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York and dedicated to producing food for the needy and providing opportunities for agricultural education. The new barn provides shelter for harvested crops, shade for volunteers, and protection for farm equipment. Local 2 NY/VT members volunteered to pour the concrete for the base of the new barn.

From left, Local 18 CA apprentice tile setters Andy Gerber and Roberto Bernal, and apprentice finisher Rob Edwards.

Local 18 California Apprentices Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity

A year ago, several Local 18 CA apprentices volunteered their time on behalf of Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County. Over the course of two Saturdays, they built a three-wall shower enclosure in a mortar installation. The job was referred to Local 18’s apprentice program by retired IU Regional Director John Franco, who donates his time to Habitat for Humanity each week.

Local 5 NJ apprentices laying pavers in Mansfield Veterans Park. From left, apprentices Ken Calabrese and Austin Pascoe, NJ ADC Apprentice Instructor Tom Feeney, and apprentices Mike Hogan and Brian Toth.

Local 5 New Jersey Apprentices Volunteer for Veterans

Last spring, only a few miles from Local 5 New Jersey’s Union Hall in Mansfield, a group of Local 5 apprentices built a sidewalk in the Mansfield Veterans Park. Over the course of several days, they poured the concrete, then laid the pavers that flank it. The beautiful new walk leads to the Park’s gazebo, the base of which Local 5 apprentices built the previous year.

Local 1 Minnesota/North Dakota Makes Imprint on Workers Memorial Garden

Local 2 NY/VT members at Patroon Land Farm. From left: Local 2 Field Representative Dale Stehlin, Local 2 mem

The new Minnesota Workers Memorial Garden on the grounds of the state Capitol was dedicated on August 3rd. The stone monument honors Minnesota workers killed or injured on the job.

One of the Memorial’s central features, an excerpt from the poem “Freedom Plow” by Langston Hughes, was carved by Local 1 Minnesota/North Dakota member and Minnesota IMI Director of Market Development and Technical Services Mark Wickstrom. Carved on Kasota limestone, the project took seven weeks.
Wickstrom also carved and presented a plaque to Minnesota AFL-CIO President Emeritus Dave Roe, who worked for nearly 10 years to bring about the new memorial. Wickstrom says he “was inspired by the fallen workers. They’re the ones who aren’t here to thank Dave for what he has done. I made it a symbolic thank you from them.”

The dedication ceremony attracted a roster of distinguished speakers, including former Vice President Walter F. Mondale. To see a video clip of the dedication, go to www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_4576#video.

BAC Service