Grand Rapids, Michigan, April 23, 2018 – For the third year in a row, employees, clients, and consultants of CD Barnes Construction participated in a good old-fashioned team building challenge during the March Madness Tournament. The competition isn’t the typical NCAA bracket challenge that most people are familiar with. The goal is to have the most points at the end of the championship. Throughout the tournament, teams carefully selected their winning basketball teams for each round and points were awarded based on the margin of victory of the winning team. However, it wasn’t just about team building or competing for bragging rights. In addition to the first through third place teams winning cash prizes, the first-place team also got to choose a non-profit to donate one thousand dollars to.
This year’s NCAA March Madness bracket winners were CD Barnes Construction’s CFO and Estimator, Dave Smith and Carter Huffman, respectively. Appropriately, the two agreed upon an organization that meant something to them both: the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP). Mr. Huffman is an Army National Guard veteran and Mr. Smith’s son is a Marine veteran. The WWP’s mission is to “honor and empower wounded warriors and their families through connecting them with other warriors, serving the warriors through our 15 diverse programs and empowering the warriors to reach a positive transition from military service back home.”
Smith and Huffman presented the check to Robert Weatherspoon, a local WWP leader volunteer on Tuesday, April 17th. Weatherspoon said, “A lot of veterans have become weary of the V.A. in recent years and that’s one area where the WWP can help assist, bridging the gap in order to provide support for them to heal both physically and mentally.” He continued, “We really appreciate the support for the WWP from companies and people like you. The money will go towards a variety of local programs and services specifically structured to support, engage, and nurture the minds and bodies of wounded service members.” For more information about the Wounded Warrior Project, please visit: www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
