BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS
On Saw Mill Road

January 2010 Update

Thank you for your interest in and support for our new Ann’s Place facility! 

As always, we are so encouraged and awed by the generosity of the volunteers and patrons who are helping us complete this labor of love, our new community facility, for people living with cancer.  The economic storms of 2008/2009 caused our project to slow over the spring and summer months, as our patrons were hard hit along with the rest of the national and regional economy.  However, we remain optimistic that the completion will now be accomplished as soon as possible with continuing help from our friends.

Donate now to be part of this amazing community project!

Your gift can help us complete this labor of love and furnish the building.

We so appreciate the steadfast support of the Associated General Contractors of Connecticut, the Fairfield County Building Trades Council and the Fairfield County Building Trades Association who have always kept our project close to their hearts.

A Tribute to John Farnham One of our champions in this endeavor is John Farnham, retiring Executive Director of the AGC of Connecticut, whose stalwart efforts for us have continued despite his own intense battle with cancer of the jaw and the virtual rebuilding of his jaw with titanium.  John has never faltered in his support for Ann’s Place and in connecting us with those who can help.  We pay tribute to John and wish him the very best in retirement, though we suspect he will now have more time to volunteer.

While the exterior work is a race against the calendar, we have had many generous donors step forward this fall to supply us sheetrock for the interior walls.  These companies have donated and delivered a total of 1230 sheets of drywall and 70 sheets of waterock and supplies for the bathrooms: A & A Drywall, Marjam Supply, Partitions, Inc., New Haven Partitions, ProBuild, and S.G. Milazzo.

At this writing, all the perimeter walls and many of the interior walls have been rocked and insulation installed as we go.  As we begin the new year, we will be completing the walls, sprinklers and ceilings, ready to move on to interior finishing work. The Carpenters Apprentice & Training Program volunteers have been pushing this work forward under the supervision of Tom Klucik.

We applaud the great generosity of the Mechanical Contractors Association of Connecticut.  Under the leadership of John Barrasso, Executive Vice President of the MCAC, the association has donated a state-of-the-art heating and cooling system and the sprinkler system.  Their in-kind gifts represent an amazing savings for us. Member contractors who have stepped forward include McKenney Mechanical, M.J. Daly, Tucker Mechanical and Grodsky.  Recent trades participants include the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union Local 777 Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 777 and the United Associated Sprinkler Fitters Local Union 676.

We are so grateful to Ed Kilian of Earthmovers for his critical support with the sewer system installation and to Arrow Concrete for their help with the manholes.  For their collaborative work on the parking lot, we thank K& W Construction, Arrow Concrete, Ferguson Waterworks and Earthmovers.

We are delighted to announce beautiful gifts of tile for our bathrooms, utility pantries and kitchen from these fine sellers of tile:  Waterworks, Tile America, Klaff’s and American Tile.  These regional retailers have been so generous in giving us lovely tile that will add residential warmth to our new spaces!

Recent 2009 donors to the building campaign include the New England Laborers Health & Safety Fund, the Connecticut Laborers Association, Michael Weiner, the M & LF Giving Back Foundation, the annual Phyllis Speidel Golf Tourney, Skanska USA Building, Inc., Dr. Robert Bedoukian, Turner Construction, Morganti Group, Inc, the Gilbane Company and Paul Dinto Electrical Contractors, Inc.   Mr. Dinto has been an inspirational philanthropic leader in the trades industry and a leader in the Associated General Contractors Association and sits on numerous boards.  He and the Dinto employees have nurtured this project and set the pace for volunteerism throughout the state.

Paul P. Dinto, CEO of Paul Dinto Electrical Contractors, Inc., is Chairman of the Building Committee. Paul is coordinating the labor and management sectors of the construction and gathering statewide support for the project, with additional support from John Farnham, Executive Director of the Associated General Contractors of Connecticut.