Sam Kitchell was a man who believed doing good reaps rewards. During his lifetime he and his wife Betty gave time and money to dozens of nonprofits, ranging from the Desert Botanical Garden to the Arizona Kidney Foundation. He was a man of incredible energy and kindness. And in the name of the community spirit he espoused, Kitchell employees recently volunteered for a total of 27 community service projects throughout Arizona, California, Texas and Washington, representing more than 1,000 hours. Kitchell’s inaugural Founder’s Day was Sept. 11, marking the day of Sam’s passing in 2006 and National Day of Service and Remembrance. In Sam’s name, teams of Kitchell employees (wearing an iconic Sam Kitchell insignia) hit the streets with their tools, time and energy and tackled efforts ranging from vegetable harvesting for food banks to school maintenance projects. Community projects took place starting Sept. 5 with the San Diego Food Bank and ending with a project 10 days later, painting rocks to spread joy on behalf of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Sacramento on Sept. 15. Some employees took time away from work, and others dedicated time on weekends. Participation was not mandatory, but the all-volunteer effort resulted in 260 volunteers and 1,012 recorded hours. Kitchell donated $25 for every hour employees volunteered up to four hours per person. The total contributions over the 10 days were $17,150 for charitable organizations in Arizona, California, Texas and Washington. Read More

Arizona offers so much to see and do, and those who are new to Kitchell from other states take advantage of our mild year-round climate to see the sites.  And when our team members enjoy the same outdoor experiences, even better. Recently our Fort McDowell Project Engineers Jenna Laughman, Trey Martin, Caymian Gordon, and intern Keegan Shepherd hit the road for a weekend camping trip to the beautiful Mogollon Rim (just north of Payson, Arizona). While the guys stayed at the site all weekend, Jenna ventured up for a day trip. The highlight of the trip, in her eyes, was the gorgeous views. “We hiked a few miles along the perimeter of the rim, which made taking little breaks quite enjoyable as we got to take in the beautiful scenery that went on for miles,” she said. “Trey suggested this spot for us since Caymian, Keegan and I are from other states and are new to Arizona, so this was our first experience at the rim.” One pretty cool coincidence was that the night they went camping was the same night of the Perseid meteor shower. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky at night, so they enjoyed watching a handful of shooting stars. “We also made our way over to Woods Canyon Lake for a bit. We didn’t stay there long but it was nice to see some water in Arizona. Overall this was a great team bonding experience,” said Jenna. Aside from the Read More

ENR Southwest recognized the Phoenix Children’s Hospital West Pavilion project with an Award of Merit in its regional awards. Designed by Hobbs+Black Architects, the project more than doubled the size of the emergency department and trauma center, reduced time to transport patients from the helipad to a trauma room (from nearly five minutes to less than 90 seconds) and has the capacity to accommodate up to 100,000 patients a year. Read more about the addition in this Arizona Republic article. Read about the ENR Awards at this link.   The post Phoenix Children’s Hospital West Pavilion project wins kudos appeared first on Kitchell Progress. Read More