CCDI COMMUNITY BUILDER ISSUE 9: JULY 2022
#BuildingTheFoundationForChange OUR STORY The CONSTRUCTION CAREER
We go beyond the classroom. We get jobseekers into real-world work environments for the most valuable career training.
GUIDING PRINCIPLE #2
Jobs in construction span a diverse range of disciplines and applications. We work to raise awareness of the various trade apprentice programs.
PlacementJob
Our mentorship emphasizes academic goals. We encourage jobseekers to pursue two- or four-year degrees, focusing on tuition assistance.
CCDI was founded by Clayco in 2015 in response to the aftermath in Ferguson, Missouri to provide a program for selected young adults in North County to help them overcome barriers to success, pair them in long-term one-on-one mentorship, offer financial support, and create opportunities for job placement.
AwarenessBuilding–
GUIDING PRINCIPLE #4
With CCDI, training and mentorship are just the beginning. We provide the support and directino jobseekers need to successfully find work.
ExperienceWorld
ccdi.org GUIDING
Clayco’s vision and ultimate goal with CCDI was to support workforce diversity and bridge the gap in workforce development. Clayco realized this task could not be completed alone and over the past 7 years CCDI has grown beyond the walls of Clayco to include many partnerships in the St. Louis community with school districts, local leaders, general contractors and subcontractors. DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE (CCDI) brings diversity to the Design and Construction industry by mentoring and exposing minority/underrepresented and under employed men and women to career development in construction. PRINCIPLE #1 Real–
GUIDING PRINCIPLE #3
ScholarshipAcademic–
CCDI EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Patrick Hanneken Scott Rahn Debbie Thomas
CCDI works closely with St. Louis area high schools in underserved communities as well as employment training programs to support workforce diversity and bridge the gap in workforce development. One of our many goals within CCDI is to help change the stigma of skilled trade careers by cultivating renewed interest in apprenticeship programs and vocational schools. Our vision is that through these educational partnerships, young adults who participate in the CCDI program will learn about design and construction careers, create career paths for themselves post-graduation, receive mentoring by an industry professional, assistance with career placement as well as opportunities for college scholarships all leading to promising futures. CCDI has helped place over 135 young adults into full-time positions in the construction industry since 2015 as well as awarded 42 college scholarships.
OUR IMPACT Sean Kenny CURRENT PROGRAM METRICS 135 42 CCDIEMPLOYMENThashelped place 135 students into full-time jobs SCHOLARSHIPS We have awarded 42 Build Our Future Scholarships
Tom Sieckhaus Sandra Marks Dan Lester Larry Zelenovich Morris Hervey
Congratulations to the Class of 2022 on their accomplishments and best wishes as they venture off to their selected companies and schools! Huge thank you to all the companies who hired a graduating student. They have the CCDI program behind them and we can’t wait to watch them grow into the successful young people we know each and every one of them can be!
CCDI hosted our Annual Senior Signing Day & Summer Kick-Off in June to celebrate all the 2022 graduating seniors and their next steps into employment in the construction industry or to continue on in their education to pursue a trades related degree! Big thanks to our friends, Patrick Hanneken and Dr. Ronda Wallace for letting us host this special event at North Technical High School and to all the partner companies, parents and program alumni who joined us! Each senior received a plaque, tool belt and Home Depot gift card to get them started in their next chapter. It was great to hear from the 10 CCDI alumni students who came back to give the newest graduates a few “words of wisdom” to be successful in the trades, as well as hear updates about many of them journeying out and still loving their selected trade pathways!
2022 SIGNING DAY
FLOORING SYSTEMS
Darnell Jamison, Class of 2019 and graduate of Jennings, & Dominick Gatlin, Class of 2021 and graduate of Ritenour, are both doing well at Wies Drywall where they are working as apprentice carpenters and working hard to become journeymen. They both have been active in attending CCDI events and look forward to being mentors to new students.
DOMINICK GATLIN: WIES DRYWALL
Arlando Bilal, Class of 2017 and graduate of North Technical, has worked for Kuesel Excavating for the past 5 years. He became a journeymen Operating Engineer with Local 513 in 2021 and says he couldn’t have picked a better career or company to work for. Arlando has assisted CCDI in participating in several community service projects including the Kinloch Clean-Up effort.
Mike Atkison, Class of 2018 and Janell McGee, Class of 2017, both graduated from North Technical and have worked for Flooring Systems ever since! Mike & Janell are well on their way to becoming journeymen Floor Layers with Local 1310. They both make time to participate in CCDI Saturday Academies to teach new students about different floor laying techniques!
ARLANDO BILAL: KUESEL EXCAVATING CO.
ALUMNI UPDATES ccdi.org
DARNELL JAMISON &
MIKE ATKISON & JANELL MCGEE:
BYRON SERVICESCHELTENHAMSAMPSON:CONSTRUCTION
Byron Sampson, graduate of North Technicals’ Construction Trades major, was hired by Cheltenham Construction Services (CCS) in May as an appren tice carpenter. CCDI partners with the HBA to help encourage the right career placement for each student. Byron was awarded a tool scholarship by CCDI to help get him started. Shout out to Byron for all this hard work!
DAKOLBY CRITTENDENBROWN: GEOTECHNOLOGY
DaKolby Crittennden-Brown, graduate of Clayton High School 2019, started his career in materials testing with SCI Engineering. DaKolby was recently hired on by Geotechnology. With the help of his mentor, he accomplished a major goal of passing the ACI certification! He is studying to get more certifications under his belt and continue to further his career in concrete testing. Way to go, DaKolby!
Elijah Chillers graduated from Hazelwood East High School and North Tech where he majored in the Construction Innovations program. Elijah has been part of the CCDI program for 2 years. He was was selected by Villa Lighting for an internship two years in a row. In the fall, he heads off to school to attend William Woods University where he plans to major in Construction Management! CCDI had the opportunity to surprise him at work and award him with a 4-year annual “Build Our Future” college scholarship to assist with his tuition
KAIHAN NOORZAD:
STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS
CHRISTIAN MALLYOD: MILLSTONE WEBER Christian Malloyd, graduate of North Technical & University City, was hired by Millstone Weber this summer as an IT Intern and did such an outstanding job that the team offered him a full-time job! Special thanks to Ms. Vivian Martain at Millstone Weber for coordinating this opportunity for Christian. CCDI is excited to team up with Millstone Weber to help support Christian’s continued education with scholarship support. Go Christian!
CONCRETE STRATEGIES Meet Kaihan Noorzad who was connected to CCDI by Mr. Bob Clark of Clayco. Kaihan and his family are refugees from Afghanistan that now call St. Louis home. Concrete Strategies hired on the 19-year old young man to get experience in the CSI Shop located on North Broadway. CCDI got Kaihan all set up with uniforms, boots and tools to make sure he was prepared for this new career opportunity in the construction industry. Special thanks to Ann Wittman at HumanKIND STL nonprofit for assisting Kaihan in obtaining a drivers license and vehicle. It takes a village!
ELIJAH CHILLERS: VILLA LIGHTING
2022 FULL-TIME HIRES
CLEAN-UPKINLOCH
CCDI students took a construction site field trip to the Delmar DivINe for the February Academy session! They had a special opportunity to meet Mrs. Maxine Clark, Chief Inspirator of Delmar DivINe and Founder of Build-A-Bear Workshop and learn first hand about this project and the history of the building that was being brought back to life. The students spoke to the project team and got to take an in-depth tour of this historical rehab.
APRIL 2022 S.M. WILSON S. M. Wilson hosted our April Academy for a jobsite visit to the Spoede Elementary project in the Ladue School District. The CCDI students had the opportunity to meet the project team and learn about each of their career paths in the construction industry. They spent time reviewing the project blueprints and got to go on a tour of the jobsite followed by a lunch Q&A with the project team! Thanks, Maggie Farrell, for all you do!
MARCH 2022 ALBERICI
CCDI teamed up with Clayco, LJC, Concrete Strategies and Kuesel Excavating to provide equipment and volunteer services with CCDI stu dents & alumni for a clean-up event in Kinloch. Organized by the Kinloch Fire Department, the effort resulted in the removal of 18 dumpsters filled with waste to help restore and revitalize the Kinloch community.
FEBRUARY 2022 DELMAR DIVINE
For the March Academy, CCDI students got a behind the scenes look of the construction going on at one of St. Louis’s biggest projects, Centene Stadium. The Mortenson, Alberici & Keeley team hosted our students for a site tour and lunch with the project team. The students were super excited to tour this one-of-kind project and learned so much about the team work that goes into building such a large structure!
CCDI GIVES BACK
CONSTRUCTION ACADEMY ccdi.org
SALES Kyah, Class of 2018 and graduate of Ritenour, is currently a senior at Missouri S&T majoring in Business Management Information Systems with minors in Digital Supply Chain Management & ERP. CCDI helped Kyah land an internship with Schneider Electric as a Sales Engineer Intern. In her role she learns the specifics of the electrical industry through the sales lens. Kyah is mentored by Mrs. Sandra Marks of Clayco.
DOMONIQUE NELSON
BUILD OUR FUTURE SCHOLARS
CLAYCO IT Domonique, Class of 2019 and graduate of Jennings, is a senior at Missouri S&T where she is majoring in Computer Science. Domonique landed an IT internship this summer at Clayco and learning the ins and outs of service desk support. Domonique is active in NSBE as well as passionate about starting her own nonprofit to support other young women in the tech field.
GERALDINE FLORES
LJC ARCHITECT
CLAYCO PROJECT ENGINEER
VENDESSA ROBINSON Jennings Senior High School Indiana State University Civil Engineering DEVIN SANDERS Ritenour High School Missouri MechanicalS&TEngineering TAKIA MCMORRIS South Tech & Parkway Central CivilUMSLEngineering ERIC LYTLE Clayton High School Alabama A&M University Construction Management DORIEN MACK Ritenour High School Ranken Technical College Architecture DARRION THOMAS North Tech & Hazelwood East American Trade School HVAC ELIJAH CHILLERS North Tech & Hazelwood East William Woods University Construction Management SCHOLARSHIP
KYAH SCHNEIDERDONALDELECTRIC
Geraldine, Class of 2019 and graduate of Ritenour, attends Ranken where she’s majoring in Architecture. She was hired this summer by Lamar Johnson Collaborative as an intern architect and has spent the summer immersed in projects as well as had the opportunity to travel to Germany with her Architecture class at Ranken! Geraldine is mentored by Mrs. Debbie Thomas of Clayco.
STEVEN GRAVES
Steven, Class of 2018 and graduate of North Tech, was hired by Clayco this summer as a project engineer and had the awesome opportunity to take a travel internship position in Omaha, Nebraska. Steven is a senior at Missouri Western State University where he is pursuing a degree in Engineering Technology. Steven is mentored by fellow Missouri Western Alum, Mr. Rick Moeckel of Clayco.
CCDI is extremely excited to announce our 2022 “Build Our Future” Scholarship recipients! This annual scholarship is awarded to top-qualifying seniors at our partner high schools who exhibit a desire to study and pursue a career in the construction Weindustry!hadthe opportunity to recognize each of our newest 2022 scholars with a special award and celebrate their hard work and dedication throughout their high school career! Over the past 7 years with the gracious annual donations of all our program partners, CCDI has been able to award 42 academic scholarships to assist students in pursuing higher education. Thank you so much to our partners and friends who came out to celebrate the achievements of our newest class. RECIPIENT INTERNSHIPS
SPONSORSHIPS $2,500 Major Sponsor • 4 cocktail hour tickets • Hole signage $1,000 Hole Sponsor • 2 cocktail hour tickets • Hole signage • One Foursome • 4 extra cocktail hour tickets • Hole signage $5,000 Gold Sponsor $10,000 Cocktail Hour Sponsor • One Foursome • 8 extra cocktail hour tickets • Two hole signs $20,000 Event Sponsor • One Foursome • 12 extra cocktail hour tickets • Four hole signs • Featured spotlight on CCDI website & marketing materials ST. LOUIS CCDI PRESENTS 6th Annual GOLF FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SPONSORSHIP OR REGISTRATION PLEASE CONTACT: JULIE HAAS at (314) 592-2280 haasj@claycorp.com OR TOM SIECKHAUS at (314) 422-1032 sieckhaust@claycorp.com CCDI ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT A huge thank you to everyone who sponsored and participated in our 6th Annual CCDI Golf Tournament fundraiser at Glen Echo Country Club on October 12, 2021! We had a fantastic turnout of 29 teams and a great showing of CCDI students! Thank you to Dr. Ronda Wallace, Dan Wies, Scott Rahn and CCDI alumni- Dominick Gatlin and Darnell Jamison for being our dinner keynote speakers, and to all of our partners and friends that came out to celebrate the mission and success of CCDI. It certainly takes a village and we could not build the foundation for change without you! We hope you can join us at our 7th Annual Golf Tournament this year on Tuesday, October 4 at Glen Echo Country Club. ccdi.org SAVE THE DATE SEVENTH ANNUAL GLEN ECHO COUNTRY CLUB | 3401 LUCAS-HUNT ROAD, SAINT LOUIS, MO 63121 FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SPONSORSHIPS OR REGISTRATION, PLEASE CONTACT: JULIE HAAS at (314) 592-2280 | haasj@claycorp.com OR TOM SIECKHAUS at (314) 422-1032 | sieckhaust@claycorp.com
636-916-0900 OUR
COMPANY SPOTLIGHTS
Shout out to Flooring Systems for their generous donation of materials to the Construction Trades program at North Tech High School. Mr. Patrick Han neken’s students were learning how to cut and lay different types of flooring. Thank you, Flooring Systems, for being a strong supporter of the CCDI program and employing several of our past graduates in the floor layers industry.
NGG LTD., INC. THANK YOU TO
FLOORING SYSTEMS
Thank you to Mr. Jared Davis and the Schneider Electric team for hosting North Tech High School’s students in the electrical trades program for an on-site field trip to learn more about career opportunities focused around energy management and automation. This was a great opportunity for our students to see the vast pathways in construction and how their skills can be used in many different careers.
2021 SPONSORS
BUDROVICH Budrovich sent our CCDI students off for Winter Break in style! A huge thank you goes out to Mr. Jeff Budrovich and Budrovich Companies for donating 30 pairs of brand new work boots to our construction students at North Technical High School! Thank you for believing and investing in our next generation of trades men and women and helping to motivate our students to work hard, show up on time and be the best they can be!
SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC
AWARDS AND
JENNINGS
AMERICAN: CCDI SUPPORTS WORFKFORCE DIVERSITY
ccdi.org SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS
CCDI also hosted a group of U-City students from the “Transition to Work Academy” (T2WA) ran by the Adult Education and Literary (AEL) Program for a visit to the Clayco office. CCDI was happy to assist in exposing these gentlemen to the vast opportunities in construction, from hearing from several guest speakers to a hands-on tour of a live concrete pour on the new addition to the Clayco office. Student, Terrell Roebuck, impressed the team so much during his visit that he was offered a position at CSI as an apprentice carpenter.
FORUM’S “BUILDING TOMORROW” AWARD
UNIVERSITY CITY read full article >
The Missouri Job Center invited CCDI to participate in Jennings Senior High School’s Youth Outreach Career Fair event in March. We were very impressed with the student en gagement and ques tions about pathways in the construction industry. CCDI has been a strong supporter of Jennings since the start of the program and we look forward to continuing to recruit new talent from this partner school.
The CCDI team was invited by Mr. Marshall Cohen to speak to the students at Lift for Life Academy about our program as well as the many opportunities for careers in construction. We had the opportunity to tour the schools workshop class and engage with students who were designing various wood crafting projects for their annual auction. CCDI went home with several really cool student pieces! Great work!
THEACADEMYLIFEST.LOUIS
RECOGNITIONCONSTRUCTION
LIFT FOR
The CCDI program was featured in the August 2022 issue of The St. Louis American. The article featured the program’s mission and our impact within the St. Louis community. It ended with a call to action for local construction companies to get involved with the CCDI program. The success of our program depends on our community’s support and we would not be able to build the foundation for change without our partner companies and schools.
CCDI had the opportunity to develop a new partnership with University City High School this year. We worked with Mr. Stephen Wurst’s construction class and discussed collaboration effort with the nonprofit, SHED. We are looking forward to continuing to grow this relationship this coming school year.
Rachel Boemer, CCDI’s Program Director, received Construction Forum’s 2022 Emerging Leaders Award! Construction Forum’s Building Tomorrow Awards are to recognize individuals who exemplify the Forum’s vision of social equity, economic opportunity, and economic growth. Rachel is active in construction advocacy groups related to education, diversity and inclusion and workforce development. She strives to connect the construction ecosystem of resources and organizations to all work together in St. Louis. Thank you, Rachel, for all your work with CCDI and your impact in the St. Louis region. Congrats!
Our CCDI community is vibrant and collaborative. Through the support of our partners and the efforts of our participants, CCDI has grown and proved that bringing positive change through workforce development is possible. If you are interested in joining our CCDI community, explore out the great opportunities we offer.
CCDI NATIONWIDE
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE A PART OF CCDI, PLEASE CONTACT RACHEL BOEMER AT RACHELBOEMER@CCDI.ORG.
CHARLOTTE
VISIT CCDI.ORG TO GET INVOLVED
PHOENIX CCDI expanded to a new market this year! With the help of a $20,000 donation from Clayco and Hubbard Street Group, CCDI Phoenix was formed in a collaboration effort with the Skye on 6th project and Phoenix Union Bioscience High School. Each month for the next two school years, 25 junior and senior students will have the opportunity to visit the job site and learn about the pathways in the construction industry as well as eat lunch on site with the project team. CCDI Phoenix awarded Build Our Future college scholarships to two graduating seniors, Scottie Adkins & Yessica Neri Romo, who plan to pursue careers in construction and also hired on a high school intern, Carlos Real, to shadow a project engineer throughout the summer. Big thanks to the Skye on 6th team for supporting the development of the program on your project!
CHICAGO CCDI Chicago was launched in 2018 at the Clayco headquarters. This year CCDI Chicago was able to welcome new team members, Ms. Mary Person, Clayco Senior Vice President of Public-Private Initiative and Mr. Sam Boynes, Manager of Public-Private Initiatives, to take this program to the next level. We are excited to support their efforts and see CCDI Chicago grow!
PARTNERS MENTORS DONATECOMMITTEES
Clayco started CCDI Charlotte in 2021 as project initiative on Centene’s East Coast headquarters. Llovani Martinez, was a summer intern from Harding University High School who recently graduated and was hired on full-time by Clayco. The project team attended his graduation to celebrate his milestone with custom “Proud Clayco Crew 2022” t-shirts. CCDI Charlotte also helped to raise funds for Llovani to purchase his first vehicle!
Our mentors provide their time, energy and resources to help our program and our participants. CCDI relies on industry leaders to mentor our students. CCDI is always recruiting those interested in becoming mentors. Join one of the following CCDI Committees: Mentorship & Academy Committee | Education & Scholarship Committee | Trades & Retention Committee | Fundraising & Marketing Committee Let’s empower communities — together. Your sponsorship makes a real, lasting impact in the lives of our future workforce. We thank you for your support. To make an online donation please click below. This program would not be possible without our partnerships with local companies. If your company is interested in taking students for job shadowing, summer interns or full-time hires, contact CCDI.
ccdi.org RACHEL BOEMER CCDI Program Director e rachelboemer@ccdi.org p 314 258 2460 TOM SIECKHAUS Executive Vice President & Shareholder, Clayco e sieckhaust@claycorp.com p 314 422 1032 DAN LESTER Director of Field Diversity, Inclusion & Culture, Clayco e lesterda@claycorp.com p 314 452 7795
