P1 News

P1 CEO Smitty Belcher (L) and Chamber of Lawrence President and CEO Bonnie Lowe

Generosity, humor, kindness and a passion for community success.

Ok, let’s just address the elephant in the room.

What is Irish road bowling? If you read the March issue of the P1 Connection newsletter, you may have caught the term in the Associate Profile on Senior Project Manager Zack Kittle.

On May 7, 2022, 160 golfers and a crew of volunteers assembled at the Shamrock Hills Golf Course for the Annual Charity Golf Tournament FORE Safety.

As usual, this year’s tournament provided an opportunity for a whole lot of fun all while raising money for a good cause.

This year’s proceeds go to the family of Jay Brown, a fallen construction worker killed in an accident in December of 2021. Jay left behind his wife, Lynn, and twin sons, Justin and Wesley. 

Tournament Highlights

First Place: with 15 under par and a score of 56, Team Inventory Sales
Second Place: with 14 under par and a score of 57, Milwaukee Valve and P1's Taylor Jenkins
Third Place: with 13 under par and a score of 58, P1's Chelsie and Zack Kraft, and guests Lane and Jacob Kraft.

Hole 6 was a 50/50 hole
Total money collected was $850.00
Clinton Gechter received $425.00

Hole 11 was a 50/50 hole
Total money collected was $845.00
Keith Miller received $422.00

Potty Hole (that's right, you have to swing from the seat!)
Total collected was $655.00
Seneca Speith received $327.00

Putting Green
Total collected was $970.00
There was a putt-off at the end of the tournament, and Steve Hinshaw won $485.00.

Remember the artistic cows that used to pop up all over Kansas City? Well there’s a new installation in town - the “Parade of Hearts”.

You may have seen some of the fiberglass hearts on the news or around town. The Parade of Hearts is a public art installation that celebrates the Heart of America and benefits local neighborhoods, artists, small businesses, and others who are facing hardship due to the pandemic.

You might say the “luck of the Irish” was with P1 Group when Senior Project Manager Zach Kittle came on board.

A 2005 graduate of the Construction Science program at K-State, Zach joined P1 for what he thought was just a temporary job while he looked for work with a general contractor.

P1 Group is among a Select Group of Companies Partnering on a Program to Help Ft. Riley Army Soldiers Benefit from a Data Science Platform that Guides Military-Civilian Employment Transition

Critical Resources

Active-duty service members at Fort Riley, KS, one of the largest U.S. military installations, will receive data-guided recommendations for upskilling and employment opportunities as they prepare for the transition to the civilian workforce, thanks to a new pilot program. Using a career advising platform built by data services firm AstrumU®, the program will harness the power of data science to analyze the skillsets of thousands of active-duty soldiers, helping them to identify right-fit career opportunities across a network of some of the region’s largest employers.

P1 Charity Golf Tournament organizer and P1 Vice President Dave Beebe will tell you every time: “It’s about the cause.”

Golfers and volunteers alike came back together for the annual P1 Charity Golf Tournament event in September, 2021, golfing for a great cause.

Each year, P1 Group awards a Construction Science Scholarship to a student an Kansas State University with the goal of encouraging our next generation to continue their education in construction science and engineering.

This year’s recipient is Atwood, KS, native and K-State junior Jorge Chacon.

Providing support for local charities, community activities, and events is an integral part of the P1 business plan. We take great pride in investing in our communities and the lives of our associates. To this end, P1 offers two sponsorships to P1 associates in the Spring and Fall. All associates may apply for the sponsorships, which are intended to assist in the financial support of those organizations and activities that are important to our associates and the communities in which they live and work.

COVID may have put a damper on last year’s activities, but we had a great turnout for Spring 2021 Corporate Sponsorship applicants!

There are few better causes than those that help and protect at-risk kids. P1 Group has supported The Children’s Shelter in Lawrence, KS, for many years by dedicating time and resources to the Shelter’s annual Festival of Trees event.

The mission of The Children's Shelter is to improve the lives of children and families, with a focus on youth at-risk in Douglas County and northeast Kansas. The nonprofit social service agency provides a variety of services designed to strengthen families and children who are experiencing major changes.

Each year, P1 Group challenges our youngest artists to share their interpretations of our Safety Culture for the annual Safety Calendar. The participants are all children or relatives of our associates.

Out of a total 25 entries, we ended up with 13 winners and one cool calendar.

We’d like to kick off 2021 with these entertaining creations from our P1 kids, and make it another “Safety First, Quality Always” year.

Each year P1 gives the award to a promising student in the Kansas State University Construction Science program, fulfilling our commitment to help fill the pipeline of talented construction and trade workers.

Congratulations to Kansas State University Senior Tyler Collins, winner of P1 Group’s Fall 2020 Construction Science Scholarship.

Supporting the communities in which we live and work is a fundamental goal at P1 Group each and every day.

One way in which we’re making a difference through “pop-up” swag sales. P1 Group’s Marketing Department periodically conducts “pop-up” stores during which P1 Group associates can purchase limited-edition swag featuring a one-of-a-kind design.

P1 Group has been serving the healthcare community both locally and nationally with single-source facility solutions for many years, and our recent work on the Saint Luke’s East Hospital Flex Capacity Expansion is no exception. The SLE Expansion project will address the hospital’s need for growth by expanding the emergency department. It includes a small renovation of the ER waiting room, but the bulk of the job is the construction of additional ER patient rooms.

P1 is putting virtual design and construction, fabrication, and mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and technologies construction (MEPT) capabilities to work, all while navigating new safety mandates and challenges due to COVID-19. Although P1 has done MEPT projects before, this will be the first MEPT project in the Kansas City metro area. The project has only been underway about five months, but Senior Project Manager Eric Affolter has already noticed a difference in the efficiency with which the project is progressing. “Having all trades within the company working together has really increased the level of communication and efficiency you just can’t get when you work with multiple entities,” Eric said. “Especially with all the COVID-19 guidelines we are now required to follow.” The SLE Expansion project is scheduled for completion in April of 2021.

Celebrating Earth Day’s 50^th Anniversary

In the midst of social distancing and staying at home to slow the spread of COVID-19, it’s more important than ever to do our part to reduce, reuse, and recycle. In June of 2018, P1 Connection brought you a story about the recycling efforts of P1 Group and one of the program’s biggest champions, Manpower Coordinator Assistant Emily Barber. 

Pictured, from left: J.B. Ashcraft with Off the Grid Founder and President Rob Kinnard; Rob Kinnard with Off the Grid 

Join us in congratulating Lenexa Project Developer J.B. Ashcraft and Las Vegas Foreman Abdon Provencio, winners of our Fall 2019 Corporate Sponsorships.

P1 Group is committed to helping fill the pipeline of talented construction and trade workers, which is why we developed the Construction Science Scholarship, awarded yearly to a promising student in the Kansas State University Construction Science program.

This year, Miguel Chacon Andrade was the lucky recipient.

September 14 brought fantastic weather for the 66 golfers who participated in the 17^th Annual Charity Golf tournament to benefit Working Families' Friend. This is the second year the event was held at beautiful Shoal Creek Golf Course and the event raised $9,065. With the matching donation from P1 Group, the grand total collected was $18,130, surpassing last year’s total by over $4,000.  

The golfers were treated to food and drink, course challenges, and a vast amount of awards and prizes generously donated by our vendors. 

The friend you didn't know you had: WFF President Joan Putthoff; Vice President Niki Montgomery; Director of Development Connie Mann

Ryan was emotional with gratitude when he called Working Families’ Friend (WFF) to say “thank you.” Ryan was a successful carpenter. He had always been able to provide for himself and his family. But when a tragic accident claimed his leg, life got complicated. Multiple medical bills and an expensive prosthetic leg were making things worse. When physical challenges cut his job hours and he was on the brink of losing his insurance, Ryan knew he couldn’t do this by himself.

P1 Group is always looking for ways to support the communities in which we live and work, and the bi-annual Corporate Sponsorship competition allows us to do it for the charities nearest and dearest to our associates’ hearts.

Congratulations to Scheduler/Dispatcher Marvin Reese (pictured above, left) from our Lawrence office and Building Technologies Foreman Chad Andrew from our Lenexa office on winning the Spring Corporate Sponsorships.