Caddell Construction Off to a Strong Start in 2020
Caddell Construction began 2020 with an impressive list of accomplishments: four new contracts awarded already this year, a new corporate headquarters location in downtown Montgomery, two offices consolidated into one larger space in the Atlanta area and ongoing projects all over the world, to name a few. Caddell hosted an Open House at its new Montgomery location on Dexter Avenue. After two years in the Caddell family home and 34 years in the company’s original building at Lagoon Park, the company has fully outgrown the space.
Caddell’s industrial division and the commercial division’s Atlanta office also moved into a bigger space. They are now strategically co-located in a new office in Woodstock, Georgia, for greater collaboration and sharing of resources. In addition to physical moves, the company has enjoyed fiscal success in the new year. Caddell’s commercial group was also recently awarded two projects with a confidential Fortune 500 client for Construction Manager at Risk Services valued at more than $200 million. Caddell President and CEO Eddie Stewart said it is “unprecedented” for the company to have been awarded this much work this early in the year.
Revitalization Work Attracts National Support
The Center for Community Progress announced six Montgomery residents were selected to join the 2020 Community Revitalization Fellowship, a nationwide training program that aims to grow resident-driven efforts to combat vacant, abandoned and deteriorated properties. Friends of Montgomery Clean City Commission, which works to strengthen and empower neighbors to engage in community action, will serve as the Institutional Partner by providing guidance and mentorship to the Montgomery fellows who are Kevin King, Ka-Santa Sanders, Iesha Brooks, Aquan Robinson, Wade Preston and Rhonda Thompson.
The Center’s Fellows travel to creative placemaking sites across the country to experience the work of their peers and receive expert-led training and leadership development on how to use the arts to transform vacant homes and lots. The Montgomery Fellows learned best practices from cohort members in Reading, Pennsylvania, and Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The capital city’s fellows were recently recognized for their ongoing work to revitalize neighborhoods across the city through creative placemaking.
Two Four Star Freightliner Managers Graduate
Two Four Star Freightliner sales managers are now graduates of the American Truck Dealers (ATD) Academy. The pair graduated during a ceremony on Feb. 14 in Las Vegas which coincided with the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA)/ATD Show. Utility & Municipal Account Manager Truman Ingram and Western Star Brand Manager Jay Morrison participated in the program. ATD Academy is designed for future operators of truck dealerships and provides the fundamentals needed to operate a successful and profitable business.
Montgomery County 2nd Graders In Super Citizen Program
Liberty Learning Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to facilitate active civics and character programs in K-12 classrooms and orchestrate immersive events that empower schools, parents, local leaders and businesses to take ownership in the future of community and country.
Montgomery County Public School 2nd graders recently participated in the organization’s Super Citizen Program. After finishing 10 weeks in the program, the students gathered to celebrate their accomplishments and honor local heroes. Students chose heroes who embodied the traits of amazing citizens and read essays from stage before presenting them with Liberty Pins. They also counted down to the grand entrance of Libby Liberty™. Wearing green paper crowns and waving tiny American flags, they showed their enthusiasm for the Super Citizen Program.
Mayor Reed Urges Expansion of Pre-K Programs
Mayor Steven L. Reed joined Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education (DECE) Secretary Jeana Ross, DECE Office of School Readiness Director Barbara Cooper and Alabama School Readiness Alliance (ASRA) Executive Director Allison Muhlendorf to promote the expansion of high-quality, voluntary pre-K programs to all Montgomery families. Mayor Reed visited Providence Early Childhood Learning Academy East, where he saw First Class Pre-K in action.
For the 13th consecutive year, Alabama’s high-quality, voluntary pre-K program ranks as the top state-funded program in the country for quality. Alabama is one of only four states to meet or exceed all 10 of the benchmarks determining quality. State First Class Pre-K classroom allocations range from $50,000 to $120,000 per year, funding that is much needed to help raise the quality of child care and expand access to early learning across Montgomery.
With First Class Pre-K slots available for 40 percent of 4-year-old children in Montgomery, Mayor Reed partnered with ASRA to expand access to and participation in pre-K.
Alabama Ag Credit Returning Over Half of Borrowers’ Profits
Alabama farmers and rural property owners who borrowed money from Alabama Ag Credit received a record $9.8 million in cash from the lending cooperative this year. That number equates to nearly one percent of the interest they paid in 2019.
Distributed in March, these cash payments went directly to members who primarily live in the lower 40 counties of Alabama. Since 2006, Alabama Ag Credit has returned nearly $86 million dollars that reach beyond the members and into the communities and economies where that money circulates.
Alabama Ag Credit is a member of the nationwide Farm Credit System and provides financing for farms, timber and forestry operations, agribusinesses, country homes, recreational land and other rural property in 40 counties in central and south Alabama.
Alabama Workforce Council Aims to Improve Career Pathways
The Alabama Workforce Council (AWC) delivered its Annual Report to Gov. Kay Ivey and members of the legislature. The report highlighted the many and varied workforce successes from 2019 while also outlining policy recommendations to further solidify Alabama as a leader in workforce development and push the state closer to Ivey’s goal of adding 500,000 credentialed workers to the state’s workforce by 2025.
The AWC, formed in 2015, was created as an employer-led, statewide effort to understand the structure, function, organization and perception of the Alabama workforce system. The goal of the AWC is to facilitate collaboration between government and industry to help Alabama develop a sustainable workforce that is competitive on a global scale.
The City of Montgomery and Tuskegee University Team Up
Mayor Steven L. Reed, the Montgomery City Council and residents of Montgomery’s historic Peacock Tract joined leaders from Tuskegee University to dedicate the site of a new urban agriculture innovation center coming soon to the historic Peacock Tract in west Montgomery.
The Urban Agriculture Innovation Center sits at the intersection of Grady and Mobile Streets, a key site along the National Park Service’s Voting Rights Trail. Tuskegee University leaders expect it to become the College of Agriculture’s signature urban outreach and extension program.
The project called for a public dialogue series to help foster a better understanding of residents’ needs and desires. Building upon this input, TU’s Cooperative Extension agents and leadership from the Carver Integrative Sustainability Center offered programs to assist the community in food security, community development and education.
