This year’s plans were big. Really big. For starters, Brindley Construction is celebrating our 60th Anniversary of delivering commercial construction projects to customers throughout the Southeast. We had planned a big party and some local activities in the community to help celebrate our six decades of service. We also completed a project for Clayton Cavalier Homes in Addison, Alabama that won regional awards in both Tennessee and North Alabama and was ultimately recognized at the national level with the coveted Associated Builders and Contractors Eagle Award for Excellence in Construction. We had also planned our annual company outings and activities, something we really enjoy doing with our talented and dedicated team of employees.
And then COVID-19 showed up and everything changed.
In a heartbeat, we had to change the way we do business, the way we communicate and the way we perform our day-to-day functions on the jobsite. And our plans to celebrate our people, our customers, our subcontractors, architects, engineers, vendors, and suppliers had to be postponed.
On one hand, it was a difficult decision. I asked myself, “
Do we publicly celebrate our 60th anniversary when we know that so many people within our community are suffering because they are out of work, have limited resources and may even be dealing with sick family and friends?”
On the other hand, we knew we couldn’t congregate in large numbers. That’s a risk we aren’t willing to take. But, we also didn’t want to seem insensitive or tone deaf to what is going on around us, either. We do want everyone to realize this milestone has been achieved as a direct result of the hard work of our employees, the trust of our customers and the support of our wonderful community.
So, for now, we won’t be celebrating our National Eagle Award at the ABC Convention in Nashville, we won’t be holding a fish fry or cocktail party or a 60th Anniversary shindig. Instead, we will focus on doing our part to ensure that our jobsites are safe, our employees and subcontractors are using the CDC’s best practices and we will continue to pay attention to the needs of local businesses and our community during this unprecedented time.