Grand Rapids, Michigan, April 11, 2019 – While there was only one team to win the NCAA Championship title, there were several winners in CD Barnes Construction’s fourth annual NCAA March Madness Tournament. Just like previous years, the Grand Rapids based Construction Manager hosted the team-building competition with their employees, clients and consultants. Throughout the tournament, teams selected their winning basketball teams for each round and points were awarded based on the margin of victory of the winning teams. The top three teams with the most points at the end of the tournament were awarded cash prizes, along with the first-place team’s choice of donating a thousand dollars to the organization of their choice.

Taking the first-place spot this year was CD Barnes’ Executive Vice President, Todd Oosting and CD Barnes’ Site Manager, Mark Elder. When it came down to choosing the organization to donate the money to, it was an easy choice for Todd, and Mark agreed; it was going to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Michigan Great Lakes Chapter. Type 1 Diabetes has affected CD Barnes and its staff in a couple of ways. Spencer Barnes, the grandson of former owner and corporate founder Cleve Dell (C.D.) Barnes, passed away in 1999 due to complications from Diabetes. At the time of his death Spencer was the sole owner and proprietor of the company. Additionally, Todd’s wife, Whitney Oosting, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of twenty-six years old and continues to battle with the disease on a daily basis. According to JDRF’s website, the organization has three objectives: “cure the body’s inability to control glucose, reversing insulin dependence; prevent the progression of the disease in those at risk or recently diagnosed; and treat people living with T1D with new drugs, therapies and devices that make it easier to stay healthy until the cure comes.” For more information on JDRF, please visit: www.jdrf.org.