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Community Corner

Senator John Rafferty Presents Citations to H&K Employees

H&K Group employees volunteered their time to repair the Spring City Armory's damaged driveway to show appreciation for troops

On Aug. 29,  Pennsylvania Senator John C. Rafferty Jr. presented H&K Group employees with official citations of congratulations and appreciation for their volunteer work to repair the damaged driveway leading into the Spring City Armory.

In a small ceremony held at The H&K Group’s corporate headquarters in Skippack, PA, Senator Rafferty addressed and thanked the employees for their volunteered time and efforts for the paving and repair of the badly damaged driveway at the Spring City Armory, located in Spring City, PA. Each of the employees were presented with an individual congratulatory citation from the Senate of Pennsylvania, sealed and signed by Senator Rafferty.

The project was initiated by Senator Rafferty, who was tired of seeing the families of 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 in order to properly greet the brave soldiers returning from overseas service in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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“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.

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Nineteen employees rallied to the cause and readily volunteered their professional services for the effort. On the morning of Wednesday, December 21, 2011, the crew 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.”

Employees Mike Arrivello provided saw cutting and Travis Zimmerman operated the milling machine. Bryan McLain, Wayne Archer, Chad Davis, Michael Hillegas, Jason Stauffer, and Justino Villalva made up the paving crew. Terry Gennaria, Dave Leister and Jason Tokonitz hauled the materials to the paving job, while 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.”

About The H&K Group:
Founded in 1968, The H&K Group is a family of vertically integrated companies serving the contracting/construction industries, with over 80 locations throughout eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware. They provide full-service site contracting, including excavating, paving, demolition, pipe work, as well as construction materials, including crushed stone, asphalt and ready-mix concrete, along with a variety of hardscape and landscape products.

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