Many exciting projects are underway, and our team is tackling both our design work while deepening our community involvement. Being a Gaines Group team member is a dynamic role, we are challenged to do our very best to serve our clients through design while also growing connections within our communities. Balancing professional and community work can be a difficult task, but it is widely modeled and valued amongst our team.
Our team recently enjoyed supporting the annual Fore the Flames Golf Tournament benefiting Eastern Mennonite School at Heritage Oaks Golf Course. The fresh air and change of scenery allowed us a wonderful day of building connections with our community, team building, and most importantly, having fun! As an event sponsor, we had a great time gathering a team to golf as well as overseeing the refreshment cart and checking on participants. It was a wonderful day well-spent amongst many of our community partners and friends.
In addition to supporting the golf tournament, we recently volunteered to judge the annual Lego Expo Event at Explore More Discovery Museum. This year’s theme was creating Lego models of “transportation” and it was a rewarding experience judging their creations. The little minds sure did come up with big ideas and we loved supporting our budding innovators!
Gaines Group Architect Paul was spotlighted this month for his involvement in coaching soccer and supporting his daughter’s girl scout troop in Charlottesville. Below is a picture of Paul with his family and an article highlighting their community involvement.
Amongst the many projects coming down the pipeline, Charles also found time this month to partner with Carpenters Guild, Give Solar, and the Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project to do an energy audit. The collaboration between these community partners helped move critical projects forward at this important community site. Charles continues to model community engagement and service to the rest of our team. Not pictured but worth mentioning, he also volunteered his time supporting both a Sustainability Summit at Mary Baldwin and a Career Fair at Harrisonburg High School.
This month also featured the launch of a project supported by Charles along with industry friends Julie Foley and Hana Nguyenky and Caitlin Morgan called Emerge AEC. This effort is designed to connect emerging professionals throughout the architecture, engineering, and construction industries through education, mentorship, and networking. The effort grew out of Charles’ pandemic zoom networking sessions for emerging professionals.
Lastly, we recently gathered (almost) all the Gaines Group team between the Charlottesville and Harrisonburg offices for the first time since the pandemic. In honor of Adrienne passing her Architecture Registration Exams, we celebrated over lunch and enjoyed seeing each other outside of our Zoom screens. As we reflect on this busy month filled with exciting new projects and opportunities to engage with our community, we are filled with gratitude and anticipation.
