Thursday, December 29, 2011
Spring City, PA – Senator John Rafferty, Pennsylvania, was tired of seeing the families of our National Guard Soldiers drive down a road that seemed unbefitting of the men and women it served. The driveway leading into the Spring City Armory, home to the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, was in desperate need of repair to properly greet our brave soldiers returning from oversees service in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"I had been to the Armory a number of times to welcome troops home and noticed that the driveway was crumbling and full of potholes," Rafferty said. "I mentioned this to the folks at The H&K Group and they came out on their own to the site to fix the driveway and show their appreciation for our troops.”
Scott Haines, President and CEO of The H&K Group, and Jim Rivers, Project Manager for Mattiola Services, LLC, an H&K Group company, put together a plan to provide materials and labor to improve the driveway. Mr. Haines said, “It is The H&K Group’s philosophy to be a strong corporate citizen and partner in all the regions in which we operate. When Senator Rafferty reached out to us for help on this project, we immediately jumped at the opportunity to not only give back the community, but also to the brave men and women who serve our country.” Motivated by this deep appreciation for those that serve in the National Guard, The H&K Group donated all the materials and equipment needed to make the repairs.
The employees of Mattiola Services and Reading Site Contractors of Pottstown, PA (an H&K Group company) rallied to the cause and volunteered to help. 15 workers in all readily donated their professional services for the effort. On the morning of Wednesday, December 21, 2011, the workers met Senator Rafferty and Chief Warrant Officer Michael Murphy from the PA National Guard, at the site. In a few hours, 70 tons of new asphalt had been delivered, placed and rolled, leaving the driveway in a condition worthy of a war hero. Said Senator Rafferty, "They arrived with materials, equipment and employees, who donated their time and effort. The end result is a repaired driveway that will greatly benefit the Guard."
From Mattiola Services, Mike Arrivello provided saw cutting and Travis Zimmerman operated the milling machine. Reading Site Contractors employees, Bryan Mclain, Wayne Archer, Chad Davis, Michael Hillegas, Jason Stauffer, and Jistino Villalva made up the paving crew. Terry Gennaria, Dave Leister and Jason Tokonitz hauled the materials for the paving job. Tony Alexander was the broom truck driver. Ray Cushman and Gary Halteman mobilized and demobilized the equipment and Uriah Lessig mixed the asphalt at the H&K Group’s Sanatoga Asphalt plant.
"I am so proud that a local company and its workers pitched in to get this project done, at no cost to taxpayers as a way of saying thank you to our troops and their families," Rafferty said. "This is an example of neighbors helping neighbors and a great way to honor our troops, particularly during this holiday season."