Our Giving Tree

The local elementary school near the Olympia office of Shea Carr Jewell has a high percentage of children whose families need some extra help during the holidays.  So every year SCJ requests Christmas wish gift tags for children in need from the school.  Our great staff then chooses gift tags and purchases those items (and often more!) for the children.  It is such a thrill to see all the presents piled under the company tree before they are delivered back to the school.  This year, our staff provided 36 presents to 18 children to help brighten up the holidays!  This is one of our favorite company traditions.

Scott Sawyer Building Beds in Peru

Last year, Shea Carr Jewell made a contribution to one of our clients, who served at a Dominican Republic orphanage with a small group of volunteers for an agency called Kids Alive International.  SCJ Project Manager, Scott Sawyer watched the slide show presentation following our client’s trip, and was more than compelled to take action. He would join the group and make a difference.  

Kids Alive serves not only the Dominican Republic but also Guatemala, Kenya and three areas in Peru. The team’s final destination – PERU! Scott’s journey from Seattle to Peru meant flying from Seattle to Dallas, Dallas to Miami, Miami to Lima, and then Lima to Pucallpa. But wait – there was more, the drive from Pucallpa to San Jose.  Here the team spent their week with a village of approximately 2,000 people.

Kids Alive supports orphanages and provides after-school programs; much like our Boys & Girls Clubs. The program provides the children with a hot meal, homework help, and they participate in a Bible-verse club.  The team discovered several of the children had attendance issues and were unable to take advantage of  this beneficial program. Upon further investigation it was discovered the children were prone to illnesses due to them having to sleep on the ground.  The project team had their first project!  Building beds for 34 of the children.

The team made visits to the homes of the children only to find less than desirable living conditions. The children’s homes consisted of small structures with dirt floors – more like mud floors since most of the roofs leaked. Many homes were led by single mothers who were unable to pay for or make repairs themselves. They all cooked by fire, about half had electricity, some owned wells, but some had to go quite a distance just for water. Yet all were proud of their homes, graciously giving “tours” of their one-room abodes.  They were hospitable, grateful and loving; appreciative of receiving a bed for their children.  

Pecky Pecky Boat loaded with beds

The beds were assembled, placed in a large building at the site, tagged with each child’s name, and revealed during the Big Surprise! Imagine the children’s delight as they realized the beds were for them!  The team then delivered the beds to each home…well, nearly each home. There were two boys who lived on the other side of the town’s river who traveled in a “pecky pecky boat” (named for the noise it made) to pick up their two beds.  As you can see in the photo, it’s amazing they didn’t sink it!

One of the homes lacked the square feet needed for the beds. The team stacked the beds with plans to return with supplies to lengthen the legs so they would be more like bunk beds, creating more usable space.  When they returned to make the retrofit, they saw that the children had squished into the confined space between the stacked beds and slept there anyway.

The center arranged for a special annual event to occur during the team’s visit.  The event—a Latin-American rite of passage for 15-year-old girls called a quinceanera—celebrated five village girls and three guests each who were treated to an evening of finery. Fancy dresses for the five were specially made by the full-

Quinceanera Celebration

time missionaries at the center; the team brought donated dresses for the other girls.  All 20 had their hair and makeup done by the team’s teenage girls, and the 15-year-olds were escorted by male members of the team.  Without the center, these families would have no such celebration, and they were beyond grateful.

Scott and the rest of the team were able to experience many memorable moments joyful, people—soccer and volleyball; fishing; and witnessing the children’s lives in the center as they ate, sang, prayed, and performed skits and plays about their faith. Scott says he went to Peru to help them, but left believing that they had helped him even more.

Rendering by Kelly Carson, RWD

Shea Carr Jewell staff love to work in small communities:  the history and tradition, the sense of ownership that long-time residents have, and the close-knit community dynamic where no one is allowed to be an anonymous face.  We are thrilled that the Town of Wilkeson has asked Shea Carr Jewell and our partner Robert W. Droll Landscape Architects to work with them in preparing a corridor plan for the Town.

The Town of Wilkeson sits at the base of Mount Rainier, about 20 miles east of Tacoma, Washington.  Rich in a history of coal mining and home to the sandstone quarry for the State Capitol, the Town has several historic buildings along Church Street.  The corridor plan will emphasize the rich cultural heritage while emphasizing the key elements SCJ has found many small communities are challenged by:

• Convenient public parking;
• State highway requirements;
• Transportation Demand Management (TDM);
• Access to public spaces and water amenities;
• Public involvement;
• Improved pedestrian connections;
• Regional trail development; and
• Downtown traffic circulation.

Because attendees represent communities from all corners of Washington State, SCJ Alliance used this opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with agency representatives, municipal clients, and consultant partners. At the conference lunch, SCJ Environmental Planner Chuck Jones invited the WHOLE conference to take a short walk from the Convention Center to the new SCJ Alliance offices in the historic downtown Savings & Loan Building for an open house! Our entire Wenatchee staff was present to introduce our firm to new clients and catch up with those we hadn’t seen in awhile.

A special thanks to Jessica Jones, wife of our own Engineering Designer Dusty Jones, who volunteered to keep the drinks and appetizers moving.

Jim in action at a recent airshow. All the airspace in his hands!

Planning & execution must be spot on to ensure safety & entertainment (2000 foot wall of fire).

Imagine conducting a world class orchestra for an audience of 10,000 people.  Does the notion make your palms sweat, just a little?  Now imagine the cellos, flutes, tubas, etc. flying around the auditorium at upwards of 300 miles per hour.  Do you think you could handle that?  Shea Carr Jewell’s own Jim Gibson, project manager and professional engineer, can. Jim Gibson is an Airboss.

There over 300 air shows a year in the US, each with a unique set of demonstrations and performances, and each one requires an Airboss to coordinate all of the aerial activities.  Beyond just being an air traffic controller, the pacing and presentation are also in the hands of the Airboss.  Safety, of course, is the primary concern but the Airboss controls not just the air but the entire show.

Jim’s lifetime interest in flying and career as a Professional Engineer make him well-suited for the job.   Jim has spent time in the air as long as he can remember.  His first trips up were in a Cessna 172 flown by his father, also a Professional Engineer (the apple didn’t fall too far from the hangar.)  As a teenager Jim got some time behind the yoke under the guidance of his dad, and in 2001 he received his private pilot’s license. 

Airshows are not only about airplanes; it is a way for the public to meet our military.

Nine years ago Jim volunteered at the local Olympic Air Show held annually at the Olympia Regional Airport in Tumwater, Washington.  That first year Jim manned the souvenir shop (an important, if slightly less glamorous role).  The next year he got involved in the production side, assisting and learning from the more experienced staff, eventually landing the Airboss spot in 2005. 

In addition to the Olympic Air Show Jim has been increasingly busy hiring out to other events across the country.  Jim says he has choreographed a total five events this summer, noting “Being the Airboss means all flying responsibilities are yours during the show, but seeing the audience’s interaction and enjoyment makes it all worthwhile.”  At recent shows Jim has found himself directing such diverse acts as the Blue Angels, the Air Force Thunderbirds, Golden Knights Parachute Team, the Geico Skytypers, military jet demonstrations and scores of aerobatic performances.

We at SCJ wish Jim continued success with his expanding Airboss gig – but he’d better not decide to do it full time!

Jim hitches a ride from Maine to New York after a show. His commercial flight had been shut down due to Hurricane Irene. Jim's in a Beechcraft Baron. The one in the background is a P-51 Mustang from the wounded Warrior Flight Team.