The Pelican Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors in late May hosted Workforce Feeding Frontlines, a community event for the merit shop construction workforce and other ABC Pelican member companies. The purpose was to show their appreciation to local frontline health care workers and nonprofits by preparing and delivering them meals.

Nearly 40 ABC Pelican companies participated in the event, which took place in the open lot of Baton Rouge General’s Bluebonnet Campus. Volunteers served meals to health care workers and custodial staff on the campuses of Baton Rouge General, Ochsner Health, Our Lady of the Lake and Woman’s Hospital as well as local nonprofits focused on feeding those in need.

Safety was a priority and focus of the event. Each volunteer and participant had to visit a wellness tent upon arriving, where they were assessed by medical services providers who took their temperatures. Attendees were also required to wear face coverings and specific PPE if they came in contact with the food.

To stay connected but maintain social distancing while working from home, Freese and Nichols staff from its Oklahoma City and Tulsa offices challenged each other to get in their free-time exercise by virtually “visiting” as many state parks as they could during April and May. They individually tracked the distance they covered while cycling or walking over eight weeks, measuring against the actual mileage to get to the various parks. The winner among six competitors was Urban Planning + Design project manager Dawn Warrick, whose 688 total miles took her to 11 parks virtually and to Keystone State Park in person.

Clay Herndon, lead water/wastewater utilities project manager in Oklahoma City, says that after plenty of virtual visiting, he and his family enjoyed taking a real hike at Roman Nose State Park in Watonga, Okla.—and all the while observing safe social distancing, of course.

Austinites enjoy a warm summer afternoon of social distancing at Pease Park, one of the four Austin parks that feature a new social distancing installation called PARKSPACE. This community project was led by the Austin Foundation for Architecture, AIA Austin and supported by Gensler. It’s an installation of colored squares placed in four city parks to help Austinites socially distance while enjoying the outdoors. The array of colors featured in each park is inspired by Texas wildflowers and a quote from Lady Bird Johnson: “Where flowers bloom, so does hope.” Gerardo Gandy, an architect from Gensler Austin, came up with the idea as part of his volunteer work with AIA Austin. PARKSPACE was installed during the first week of July and will be available for use until early fall.

For the fourth year running, E.E. Reed Construction has participated in the Houston Police Dept.'s Badges and Bears program. Collected bears are distributed to police and fire departments in the city so that officers and firefighters can carry them in their patrol cars, fire trucks and ambulances. These bears are used to comfort children who suffered traumatic experiences or were involved in a catastrophic situation.