by Jessica Igo | Apr 14, 2025 | News
On April 4th, representatives from our Lancaster, South Carolina plant were proud to participate in the 4th Annual Sporting Clays Classic at Rocky Creek – a YMCA of Upper Palmetto fundraiser which benefits the Learn to Swim and Mission Strong Fund. Water-related accidents are the 2nd leading cause of death to children 14 and under. YMCA of Upper Palmetto offers many services in the Lancaster-area community – from personal training to swim lessons for all ages. 4,258 students learned how to swim in the tri-county area under this program last year.
Stacy Catoe, HR/Payroll Administrator in Lancaster, attended the event along with:
- Dillion Adams, Tool Crib Buyer
- CJ Agerton, Pull Thru Weld Operator
- Robbie Helms, Plant Supervisor
- Kyle Miller, Fitter Welder
- Grant Owen, Maintenance Mechanic
Stacy was excited to share, “We had a blast! We rotated through 13 stations in a flurry! For me, it’s about so much more than shooting clay things out of the sky. It’s about community. It’s about team building and making memories. Robbie didn’t have to work today, but he came with us and brought his cart so we wouldn’t have to walk. We could have rented one, but someone would have had to walk. Dillion has never shot clays in his life, but had the confidence to get out there and do it. Even if nervously. It’s about his team cheerleading him on and bumping knuckles. Supporting him on the perfect shots, guiding him on the ones that weren’t. Oh, and let’s not forget the teasing about someone… I’m not saying any names…coming to breakfast late because she had to stop and get a latte.
It’s also about the collective breath we all held at the last station for Kyle. At that point, we were not singular. We were not Rob, Stacy, Grant , CJ or Dillion – We were all team Kyle! All whispering to the sky that he only needed two more shots for a perfect score. Crazy how that happens. I’ll tell ya, it’s crazy to witness it happening.
It’s about family and working for a company that supports and encourages relationships with each other and the community we live in.
It was a good day. And it didn’t hurt that Kyle won! He shot 50 out of 50 and brought home the Top Individual Score Trophy!”
We are proud of Stacy and the Lancaster crew for participating in their community fundraisers and for embodying the Chief Mission through their words and actions every day.
by Jessica Igo | Nov 21, 2024 | News
Chief Buildings may still be relatively new to Lancaster, South Carolina, having opened our doors for operation in October of 2022, but our community ties run deep through Stacy Catoe, HR and Payroll Administrator, who was born and raised in Lancaster and is the driving force behind our community engagement.
“I appreciate Chief’s commitment to helping make my community a better place to work and live, not only for me, but for future generations. Lancaster is home to me. I went to high school here, graduated college here, and I love seeing the positive impact Chief is making in my hometown. I really look forward to seeing what all we can accomplish together,” said Stacy.
Chief sponsored and participated in several community events and fundraisers recently for organizations who directly impact the lives of our employees, their families, and the greater Lancaster community.
“The Oyster Roast for the Rotary Club of Lancaster supported a partnership with the Lindsay Pettus Greenway. I am a daily Greenway walker/runner, so participating in this event meant a lot to me,” said Stacy.
The Greenway is a 100% volunteer-led non-profit organization whose mission is to connect people with trails and promote healthy lifestyles in a safe and natural environment.
“Another recent event we sponsored and several of us here in the office participated in was the Fall Flurry Clay Shoot fundraiser for the Lancaster Children’s Home.”
The Lancaster Children’s Home provides a safe, stable, nurturing, homelike environment for abused, abandoned, or neglected children within Lancaster County and the state of South Carolina. They work to educate and instill positive values and life skills in children so that they become independent, productive, and responsible citizens.
While the event was fun for our staff to attend, supporting the mission and work of the Children’s Home was the true driving force behind our participation.
However, we know that fostering strong communities is a collaborative long-term commitment, and working alongside our fellow community business leaders is crucial.
“We also attended the Industrial Spotlight hosted by Lancaster County Economic Development this fall. It was a discussion between many manufacturers in Lancaster on community happenings, hiring, retention, and other topics related to our community. I really enjoyed this event too, and the ability to network with other businesses in the community,” said Stacy.
Stacy is showing no signs of slowing down her community engagement after a busy fall and is already looking forward to what’s next.
“We have an event coming up in January that lends mentioning: The Lancaster Career Center is hosting a Parent Night to try to bridge the gap between graduating students and local businesses. The hope is to get more students to complete the Career and Technical Education Pathways in effort to prepare them for local careers. Chief is representing the Weld Department. I will have 2 Chief employees with me who completed the Weld Pathway. They’re going to talk to parents and students about careers with Chief in their field, and how the Weld Pathway helped them in their careers. How cool is that?”
by Jessica Igo | Dec 15, 2023 | News, Uncategorized
Chief Buildings has been collaborating with the United Way in the communities where we live and work for decades, and hosting an office toy drive for the annual Toys for Tots campaign is one of our favorite traditions.
This year was no different, but there was an added sense of urgency to the campaign when it was reported that there were more than twice as many children in need than there were toy donations.
Tarryn Fulton, Administrative Manager, sent out a last-minute message to staff with an extended donation deadline. By the following Monday, the bins were overflowing.
“117 total gifts were donated by the employees at our Technical Services Office in Grand Island. From Barbie dolls to action figures, Lego sets, Hot Wheels, Play Doh, tractors, books, puzzles, and even some scooters and remote controlled cars, we had something for all ages and interests. It was one of our best collections to date,” said Tarryn.
Brian Davis, who has been a Drafter with Chief Buildings for 6 of the 16 total years he was worked for the company, brought in his 6 year-old daughter and 9 year-old son to add donations to the bins.
“My wife and I have our kids pick out a toy that they would really enjoy and would like to have, and we have them donate them themselves. We explain to them that not every parent has the resources to get their kids new toys for Christmas like we do, and we have a responsibility to our community to do our part to help out. We want to teach them the meaning of giving – from the heart, expecting nothing in return. Plus, I have a soft spot for kids and hate to think of a kid waking up to nothing on Christmas morning,” said Brian.
Thanks to the generosity of people like Brian in the greater Grand Island area, we are thrilled to report that the Heartland United Way was able to reach their toy goal and fulfill the need, adding a little bit of that Christmas magic to the lives of children in our community.
by Jessica Igo | Oct 13, 2023 | News, Uncategorized
It is mid-October, and Rensselaer, Indiana’s Milroy Park is alive with the spirit of Spooky Season. Local businesses and organizations – from restaurants to sororities to healthcare providers – have set up their annual “Scarecrow Trail” displays, to include “Cold Steel Scarecrow,” designed and produced by our very own Chief Buildings Team. But the real mastermind of the project is Maintenance Supervisor, Terry Miller.
Terry has been with Chief Buildings since 1990, but it was a trip with his son to the Rensselaer Parks Christmas Tree Trail in 2018 that sparked his interest in creating a Chief display.
“I saw other local industries had displays and thought to myself, ‘Why isn’t Chief displaying?'”
The very next year, Terry worked with other Chief employees to come up with a concept, design and fabricate a display for the Halloween “Scarecrow Trail,” and get it set up in the park. That was 2019, and he has been coming up with bigger and better display ideas every year since!
“It is a team effort. The ideas have come from different people and then we find a way to make it happen. These are primarily done by the maintenance department, but we have had some artistic help from various department floor employees. We just roll with it. I have dreams of things I would like to do, and hope we can make them reality in the future.”
The displays are judged by a panel of community members, and there is also a “People’s Choice” winner selected by votes on the Rensselaer Parks Facebook page. To vote for us or view other entries, you can access that page here – https://www.facebook.com/RensselaerParks
by Jessica Igo | Sep 29, 2023 | News, Uncategorized
Schools across the country are back in full swing, and Otto Kasten, Quality Assurance Manager at our Indiana manufacturing plant, has been busy visiting high schools in and around the town of Rensselaer with donations to their welding programs.
“At the start of school we put together a care package of various PPE items for four high schools in our immediate area. Safety is our number one priority here at Chief and we want them to know that their safety is our number one priority as well,” said Otto.
Every year, Otto and his team deliver safety glasses, weld gloves and jackets, and one head gear and grinding shield for each school. But he doesn’t stop there.
“A couple times a year we donate scrap steel for their programs – approximately 1000-1500 pounds of scrap steel to each high school. At the end of the school year, we give weld test to the students. Sometimes 30-40 students per school take the 2G weld test and if they passed it the prior year then they take the 3G weld test. The beginner classes take a fillet weld test. We also do plant tours for the high schools, and I am on the Advisory Committee for all four high schools.”
The four high schools served by this program are Rensselaer Central High School, South Newton High School, Tri-County High School, and West Central High School. There are a total of 211 students enrolled in the welding programs across all four schools.
In addition to his work with the high schools, Otto is also on the Advisory Committee at Ivy Tech, a local College, and Chief Buildings donates approximately 2000-2500 pounds of scrap steel to their programs twice a year.
Otto and his team in Indiana are not the only Chief Buildings location actively involved in educating the youth in their community, however. Our manufacturing plants in Nebraska and South Carolina both regularly donate scrap steel to local welding programs and offer plant tours to high school and college students.
