Employees travel to Oklahoma City for Garver Summit 2017

Each year, Garver employees gather in one location for presentations, company meetings, awards, and team-building exercises in what has become one of its most anticipated events. Garver Summit 2017, held recently in Oklahoma City proved no different.

Nearly 300 employees from across Garver’s 10-state footprint gathered in central Oklahoma recently for the seventh annual event. This year’s Summit was hosted by Garver’s Norman, Oklahoma office, which has been a part of the Garver family since 2004. One of its largest offices, Norman has provided clients with water, transportation, aviation, facilities design, and construction services for more than a decade. It was the second Summit to be held in Oklahoma, after Garver’s Tulsa office hosted the event in 2014.

Like in years past, the team-building competition was a highlight. More than 35 teams traveled the streets of Oklahoma City in an Amazing Race-style event that sent them through the city’s underground walkways, and required them to maneuver a Segway through the concourse of Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, navigate a white-water rafting course, and zip line over the Oklahoma River.

Summit concluded at the Chevy Bricktown Events Center, where employees participated in presentations, company awards, and a message from CEO and President Dan Williams, who highlighted the company's growth over the last decade and a plan for it to continue.

"Give yourselves a goal," he told employees. "Say it out loud. Refine it. Write it down. That's what we did in 2006. I'm here to tell you, and you can see the proof in Garver's history, establishing a goal is the first step toward achieving it."

For more photos of Garver Summit 2017, visit our Facebook page.

Kansas City Business Journal honors two Garver offices

In a reflection of Garver’s already-decorated company-wide culture, two Garver offices were recognized recently for their workplace environments.

The Kansas City Business Journal named this month Garver’s Overland Park, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri offices as “Best Places to Work” in the small business category at a luncheon at the College Basketball Experience in Kansas City.

“We pride ourselves in providing excellent services, but being a place that the most talented employees want to continue to work at is just as important,” said Garver Senior Project Manager Mark Williams, who is based in the Overland Park office. “We’ve been able to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time in this market, and our workplace culture is a big part of that.”

Flexible work schedules, competitive benefits, and an administration that seeks out employee feedback are fundamental in what makes Garver a "Best Place to Work." But, the Kansas City and Overland Park offices expand on those tenets with mentoring programs for young employees to meet with office leaders, a book club that sparks discussion among co-workers, and a ping pong table available to all.

The two offices were also named earlier this year as Platinum Level Healthy KC Certified by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the highest level of certification.

Garver opened both offices in 2013, from which it has since served aviation and transportation clients. Garver provided design services for the U.S. 69 Missouri River bridge design-build project, is leading the design of SW Route 65 in Springfield, Missouri, has served as construction manager for runway status lights installations at airports in New York and San Francisco, and is currently working with the Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport to expand its general aviation apron.

To learn more about Garver’s award-winning culture, visit GarverUSA.com/JoinUs. 

Garver helps local charity raise more than $3,000

A pair of Garver-sponsored events held in Tulsa recently assisted a charity aimed at helping those with developmental disabilities raise more than $3,000 as part of a months-long fundraising effort.

Ten volunteers from Garver’s Tulsa, Oklahoma office hosted a pancake breakfast followed by a four-on-four sand volleyball tournament last month. All proceeds from both events went directly to A New Leaf, a Broken Arrow-based organization that provides those with developmental disabilities with life skills and job training through horticulture and community-based vocational placement.

Garver’s pancake breakfast, assisted by volunteers from a local Chili’s restaurant, where the event was held, the Civitans from Tulsa Community College, and The Eagle, KJSR-FM, 103.3, raised more than $2,000 by selling tickets at $10 each. After additional tips and donations, the breakfast averaged more than $25 per person. Then, a 10-team volleyball tournament, assisted by the Tulsa Volleyball League, provided even more assistance to the organization. Both were held as part of A New Leaf’s “Grow Together” campaign to raise funds and awareness through a variety of events spread over multiple months.

“From raising funds to awareness, we learned a lot about planning and operating these types of events,” said Garver Project Engineer Jordan Jones. “A New Leaf is a vital part of our community here, and we look forward to continued work with them, and their 'Grow Together' campaign.”

To learn more about Garver's charitable giving, visit www.GarverUSA.com/GarverGives.

Garver acquires Wichita, Kansas-based firm

In a continued effort to spread its quality services, Garver announced today that it has acquired Ruggles & Bohm, an engineering and design services firm based in Wichita, Kansas. A trusted company with roots in Kansas for almost a quarter-century, Ruggles & Bohm has created its reputation by providing valued results based on sound relationships, which will only be enhanced by its transition into a Garver footprint that includes nearly 500 employees spread between 24 offices in 10 states.

“The core values and vision for how we want to service clients have been almost identical between Garver and Ruggles & Bohm for decades, and neither of those will change as we continue to grow together,” said Garver President and CEO Dan Williams. “Bringing this accomplished team into the Garver family will only strengthen us both as we continue to expand our services and provide our employees with the quality benefits they deserve.”

Ruggles & Bohm’s 12 employees will transition immediately to Garver, while President Chris Bohm has been named Transportation Team Leader and will continue as point of contact for the Wichita office.

“As a founding partner, I can say that this is a great day for a firm that started with just four employees back in 1992,” Bohm said. “This transition combines our local expertise with a staff of nationally recognized engineers that will provide our clients with a level of service not before possible, and our employees with unparalleled benefits and growth opportunities.”

Since 1992, Ruggles & Bohm has provided its clients with civil engineering, land surveying, landscape architecture, and government services, growing with a philosophy rooted in valued results, clear answers, quality customer responses, and meaningful relationships. It has included the Wichita Airport Authority, McConnell Air Force Base, and the Kansas cities of Andover, Bel Aire, Maize, Newton, and Wichita, on its varied list of clients.

Garver, which is already working with the Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport, now has three Kansas offices – two in Wichita and one in Overland Park – among its 24 spread across the country.

To learn more about Garver's variety of services, visit GarverUSA.com.

Garver picked to assist Texas Military Department with hurricane damage assessments

The impact of Hurricane Harvey has left more than a million residents of southeast Texas without homes, and even more facing a long recovery period. The Texas Military Department (TMD) is leading that recovery effort, with about 12,000 guardsmen deployed to assist those in Houston and surrounding areas who were impacted from the Category 4 storm that made landfall on Aug. 25.

While the TMD, which heads the Texas Army and Air National Guard, focuses on that effort, its own installations were also affected by the storms and are in need of repairs. Garver, which counts Houston and eight others in Texas among its 23 nationwide offices, has been contracted by the TMD to assess 21 installations in the state that have suffered damage because of the storm that created 130 mph winds and 40-52 inches of rainfall.

The installations are located in 16 different Texas cities – as far west as San Antonio,  as far north as Huntsville, as well as La Marque and La Porte along the coast – and the work will be used to establish plans for future projects for facility maintenance, repairs, and updates for the installations to return to operational readiness. The completed work will provide a thorough evaluation of facility condition, and specific damage that resulted from Hurricane Harvey.

Work is scheduled to begin this month.

“The Texas Military Department is doing important work in helping the citizens of Texas recover from this devastating storm,” Garver Director of Federal Services Wallace Smith said. “To make sure that they’re able to continue to do this work, their installations need to be fully operational. Garver is proud to assist the Texas Military Department in this effort.”

To see how Garver’s Federal Team can help you, visit GarverUSA.com/Federal.