14th annual event brings together local architects and engineers going to bat for St. Louis
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. (www.mccarthy.com), the largest builder in St. Louis, recently hosted its 14th Annual Architect/Engineer Charity Softball Tournament. Under the McCarthy Heart Hats community outreach program, all proceeds from the event are donated to a St. Louis charity of the tournament winner’s choosing. In these challenging economic times, these dollars are more needed than ever. Since its inception, the event has generated more than $75,000 for area charities.
This year, the co-ed tournament held at the Bridgeton Municipal Athletic Complex attracted participants from 14 local architectural and engineering firms. The team of Oates Associates captured first place, donating their winnings of $3,500 to the SIUE Foundation. The second place team of Jacobs Engineering elected to donate the $1,500 prize to the United Way. In addition to the softball competition, a grilling competition rounded out the event with 11 grilling teams competing for the Master Griller title. This prize ultimately went to Ross & Baruzzini who elected to split their $1,500 between the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Association.
For 14 years, the Architect/Engineer Charity Softball Tournament has generated much needed funds for St. Louis community organizations. In 2009, the combined team of Simms Building Group, Inc. and Trivers Associates celebrated as tournament champion, donating winnings to two local charities, Annie Malone Children and Family Service Center and the Salvation Army. Other past recipient organizations have included: Kids in the Middle, Camp Wartburg, Multiple Sclerosis Society, Ranken Jordan, Loyola Academy of St. Louis, St. Patrick Center, Downtown YMCA, St. Louis Shriners Hospital, Alzheimer Association, Studio STL, Life Skills, and Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
“When we started this event more than a decade ago, we saw it as a fun way to bring the local building professionals together to help make a difference in our community,” said Scott Wittkop, president of McCarthy’s Central Division. “It is an inspiration to see the impact the tournament continues to have on those participating and the organizations it assists, especially in today’s challenging economic times.”
In addition to McCarthy, the teams participating in this year’s softball tournament represented the following companies: Burns & McDonnell, Cannon Design, CH2M-Hill, EDM Inc., Horner & Shifrin, HOK, Jacobs Engineering, KPFF, Lawrence Group, McClure Engineering, Oates Associates, PGAV, and Ross & Baruzzini, Inc.
The teams competing in the grilling competition were: Coreslab Structures, Indox, Industrial Sheet Metal Erectors, Johnny on the Spot, Kirchner Block, Midwest Machinery, Missouri Terrazzo, Negwer Door Systems, Rock Hill Mechanical, Ross & Baruzzini, Inc., and TJ Wies.
About McCarthy Heart Hats
Founded in 1864, McCarthy is one of the oldest privately held construction firms in the nation. The McCarthy Heart Hats community outreach program is dedicated to encouraging, supporting and recognizing McCarthy employees’ volunteer efforts in a variety of causes to ensure real needs are being met in communities where employees work, live and play. A 100 percent employee-owned company, McCarthy employees are as passionate about building better communities as they are about construction. With national headquarters in St. Louis, the company has additional offices in Atlanta, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Dallas, Newport Beach, San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento. More information is available on line at www.mccarthy.com.
