Plymouth

Robotics Challenge

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Competition underway in the PHS gym

Last month Plymouth High School hosted the Vex Robotics challenge. This is the second year that they’ve hosted the challenge.  Becky and I attended again this year and again were blown away by the kids. Watching what the kids have built is impressive to start with, but add to that the strategy and teamwork involved and the the challenge shows up with lots of dimensions.

Each year the challenge is different, but some of the premise is the same. In a nutshell, there are head to head challenges using the robots, first a pre-programmed challenge followed by a battle using remote controls. The teams then have to form alliances to battle in the final competitions.

I take a personal interest in this program as I feel I played a part in it’s inception. As a member of the Marshall County Community Foundation (MCCF) Grants Committee, I was assigned the review of the grant application for the funds that helped get the program off the ground. I was so blown away by the two high school kids that were the impetus behind the program that I couldn’t help, but advocate for them before the committee.  The video below shows one of the robots and its creators that impressed me so much. They blew away the competition.

If you get the chance to go, I recommend it. These are some of the kids that will be in charge of our future.

 

Congratulations to Jennifer Martin and Country Auto Center

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Congratulations Jennifer! It’s always nice to see our friends, clients and business partners succeed. In this case, we count Jennifer and Country Auto Center as all three. (The article to the right appeared in the February 4-5, 2017 edition of the Pilot News.)

We have worked with Country Auto Center and Jennifer & Joe Martin on several expansions over the years including their most recent facade update and vehicle birthing room addition. We have also purchased our last three vehicles from them as well as one corporate vehicle.

Blast From the Past: Plymouth High School

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I got called to the principal’s office at the Plymouth High School the other night and ran across this dedication plaque. This is a project that was completed by Easterday Construction before I was born! Actually, I think this is before Dad was back with the company. I don’t think he returned to work at Easterday Construction until 62 or 63. It’s always interesting to run across these things.

My great grandfather, Russell L. Easterday, would have still been alive and running the company at that time. As I understand the history, the office would have been at the current location on Slate Street in Culver. I would assume my great uncle Jack Easterday or possibly my grandfather, Bob Berger, would have been superintendent on the job. That’s just supposition though.

ITAMCO News

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It’s always nice to see our friends doing well. (See right. Click to enlarge.) We’ve had a long and storied history with ITAMCO going back to when we knew them as Indiana Tool. My father and Don Neidig, one of the founding brothers, were good friends, which developed from our work at the manufacturing facilities and Don’s Church in Plymouth, Grace Baptist Church.

It’s good to see them doing well and we hope that this will lead to things that require us to work together again!

Congratulations ITAMCO!

Article copied from The Pilot News 12-20-16

Viking Paper Expansion

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We were pleased to be selected to be the contractor for the Viking Paper expansion project in Plymouth. There was a blurb on the expansion in Inside Indiana Business here, but somehow they failed to mention us! Shame on them!

It is proving to be an interesting project. The building is being designed to have train cars enter the building for unloading at a recessed loading dock. This is involving some interesting logistics including some esoteric clearance requirements provided by the railroad engineers.  (The ones that design railroad tracks, not the ones that blow the whistles when the trains cross the highway…) Viking works with large rolls of paper stock, so being able to offload their materials inside the building and out of the weather is valuable to them.

Jerry Chavez and Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) have been instrumental in helping us move this forward, both with the City of Plymouth and with the Railroad.