P1 Group's Zach Kittle Connects with Irish Roots to Celebrate Faith, Friendship, and Philanthropy
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.
And 15 years later, Zach says he has no plans to work anywhere else.
“P1 really cares about their employees,” Zach said. “I intend to retire here if they’ll let me!"
An Army veteran, Zach had to leave P1 in 2010 for a full-year deployment in Afghanistan.
“I couldn’t believe how P1 associates went above and beyond to check in with my family,” Zach recalls.
“My wife was pregnant, and P1 friends brought food and kept in touch to let me know how my family was doing.”
Zach says he also enjoys the flexibility and challenge in his work. He worked as a carpenter in college and took a position as a finish superintendent prior to working at P1.
When P1 hired him, Zack spent the first six months in sheet metal estimating, where he started learning the mechanical trade.
Today, he manages complex sheet metal, plumbing, and pipe fitting projects, primarily in the commercial and industrial markets.
“I love the fact that each project brings new challenges, and successes. But you don’t always know which will come when,” Zach said.
Although many of our associates, Zach included, work some long hours, he says he prefers the flexibility that provides, even if he is answering emails late into the night.
“It gives me flexibility. My hours are usually 6:30-a.m. to 3:30 p.m., which gives me time to pick up the kids, go to their sports, and spend more time with family.”
Rediscovering Roots
About 11 years ago, Zach connected with his Irish heritage through the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), Father Donnelly Division, in Johnson County, KS.
“I got back from Afghanistan and we were visiting the Kansas City Irish Parade when I ran into a high school acquaintance. He told me about the AOH,” Zach said.
Leaving the Army had its benefits, but Zach missed the brotherhood and comradery Army life offered.
“AOH is an organization of Irish Catholic men, and gave me a group of like-minded people with similar viewpoints,” Zach said.
“It’s a great place to share not only friendship, but serve the community. AOH is big on giving back,” Zach said.
The group’s motto is “friendship, unity, and Christian charity.”
Zach says the group’s largest fundraiser is the semi-annual Irish Road Bowling tournaments. You won’t find this in any bowling alley. Road bowling is an Irish sport in which competitors attempt to take the fewest throws to propel a metal ball (known as a bullet) along a predetermined course of country roads.
The tournaments benefit two Kansas City-based charities: SAFE, the Surviving Spouse and Family Endowment fund for first responders, and the Duchesne Clinic, a primary care healthcare provider for low-income and uninsured residents of Wyandotte County, KS.
Zach just finished a two-year term as president of the AOH, and has served on the board for eight years. One of his favorite things to do is march in the local parades.
“We march in three parades per year when Covid isn’t an issue,” Zach said.
One reason Zach enjoys the parades is it’s a family affair. His wife and sons are able to ride along on the fire truck.
“My oldest son Liam loves to march with dad proudly sporting his kilt,” Zach said. “My younger son, Grayson, not so much. He has ‘outgrown’ the kilt wearing, for now.”
Zach has been married to his wife Sara for 17 years, and they have two boys, Liam, 11, and Grayson, 9, along with the family's six-year-old English (and on day a year IRISH) mastiff, Betty Boop.
