There’s no question that 2020 has been eventful, challenging, and a year for the history books. At the same time, our team at The Hagerman Group has stepped up and created experiences consistent with our core values and our vision of “Building a Better Future.” These experiences align with our stated “21stCentury Strategies” that we strive to cultivate—client focus, talent, knowledge, and corporate citizenship. Here are just a few examples, with links to some of our blogs and other resources shared throughout the year.
Client Focus
In partnership with our clients, The Hagerman Group creates spaces where people learn, heal, work, and live. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the significance of these structures.
As Eric Pagels, Hagerman’s Senior Project Manager, noted in a recent article in Health Facilities Management, flexibility and careful planning have been more important than ever. From helping healthcare organizations adapt their spaces for COVID care to providing visitor partitions for senior living facilities, it has been fulfilling to support our clients as they make adjustments to continue delivering on their missions in this new environment.
At a time when job creation and retention has been particularly top of mind, Hagerman entered into a public-private partnership to create a shell building that will spur economic growth in the Fort Wayne area. Another shell building Hagerman built earlier this year—an Amazon Delivery Station—has been especially fitting in 2020, when online shopping has skyrocketed.
While the pandemic caused many schools to temporarily shift to virtual or hybrid learning, school districts continued investing in the future by creating flexible learning environments and improvements to their campuses, from an essentially new high school building to new sports facilities. We look forward to seeing these facilities enjoyed by students, teachers, staff, and communities.
We also celebrated alongside our clients and project teams when projects like the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo Phase III renovations and the Promenade Park Fort Wayne Riverfront Phase I were recognized. With so many great projects wrapping up this year and next, we’re excited to participate in more awards programs in 2021!
Talent
The Hagerman Group is made up of individuals who are passionate about the work they do, and it’s important for us to celebrate our people and their contributions. Here are a few examples:
- Earlier this year, we celebrated Women in Construction week by highlighting team members Zuleima Reveles, Project Engineer; Dee Woodward, VDC Engineer; Aimee Flynn, Carpenter Foreman; and Kelly Geller, Project Coordinator.
- This spring, Jay Bangert was promoted to Vice President of Operations and Chad Eber was promoted to Director of Yard Operations.
- Our Louisville office continued to grow and added John Oliva as Director of Business Development to help fuel future expansion.
- We honored team members with Haygees during the first, second, third, and fourth quarters of the year. Award winners are decided by votes from their peers in categories that include Outstanding Client Service, Team Impact Award, and Living Our Values.
- Eric Pagels, Senior Project Manager, and Hank Dragon, Project Manager, were recognized by the American Hospital Association as Certified Healthcare Constructors. This national credential distinguishes individuals as being among the elite in the healthcare construction profession. Eric and Hank join Jay Bangert, Brad Bastin, and Aaron Howey, who also have this designation.
- As of Jan. 1, 2021, three of our team members will be promoted into new executive roles. Bruce Molter will be appointed to Chief Operating Officer of The Hagerman Group; Brad Smith will take over Bruce’s former position as President of Hagerman, Inc.; and Tim Norton has been promoted to President of Hagerman Construction Corporation, The Hagerman Group’s masonry company.
Knowledge
The Hagerman Institute of Learning is Hagerman’s in-house educational program that fosters the continued growth and development of our team members. Through the year—from courses like budgeting & debt management and first aid/CPR to operations training and a masonry summit—The Hagerman Institute offered relevant subject matter that benefitted our staff both personally and professionally. In addition, The Hagerman Institute increased its offerings of virtual programming to help accommodate social distancing.
Corporate Citizenship
At The Hagerman Group, we believe in helping our communities with our time, talent and treasure. Throughout the year, our relationships with our clients have allowed our company and team members to participate in countless community causes and support numerous organizations, from Habitat for Humanity builds to donating to the Salvation Army. Here are just a couple of examples:
Earlier this year, Stephanie Veit, Business Development Manager was one of 10 “Goddess Contractors” participating in Habitat for Humanity of Greater Fort Wayne’s ReStore Your Passion event. Stephanie joined Roger Strautman, Field Superintendent; Chris Harmon, Director of Field Operations; and Chris Freiburger, Director of Estimating, to select a dresser to repurpose and be auctioned off to benefit Habitat for Humanity.
Building A Better Future includes inspiring future generations to enter the construction industry. This year, that meant taking our content virtual, from job fairs to our participation in JA Jobspark, a two-day career expo impacting over 10,000 Indianapolis eighth graders. Rather than meeting the students personally this year, Hagerman used technology to educate JA Jobspark participants by interviewing individuals in different positions within our company. Sarah Walker, Katie Snarski, and Dee Woodward headed to one of our projects in Fishers and interviewed Bob Louzon, Grant Linson, Zak Trowbridge, Chad Eber, Kris Leckron, Ed Clark, TimGettys, Ethan McDonald, Zane Norton, Elle Cooley, and Dee Woodward. Check out their video to learn about opportunities in construction and The Hagerman Group. (And, stay tuned for a new video in 2021 featuring more of our Hagerman team members!).
Having been in existence for more than 112 years, The Hagerman Group has witnessed its fair share of challenges through history. With help of our team members, clients, and partners, and by focusing on our core values, we look forward to continuing to build a better future for years to come. Here’s wishing you all the best during the 2020 holiday season and in 2021.
