To our Chambers Construction family,

Like you, we are feeling the effects of the mandates to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Our goal is to protect what is most important to us – the people who work for us, their families and our community.

In addition to government mandates, we have implemented additional steps to help flatten the curve:

• No more than four employees will meet together at one time.
• Breaks and lunches will be taken individually.
• Employees will maintain social distancing

We will update our policies as needed and are continuing to successfully complete our projects.

We will continue to support our employees, families and community however we can during this uncertain time. Stay calm, support one another and of course, wash your hands.
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Stay well,
Dave Bakke, President

Each year Chambers Construction partners with and supports vital organizations that help those in need. Our community’s children are a special focus. One of those dynamic partnerships is with the Pearl Buck Center.

The Pearl Buck Center annually supports about 600 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in our area. Its programs include a preschool, community employment, supported living, life enhancing activities and a vocational academy. The Center’s belief is that every person has worth and value. Pearl Buck has treated all people with respect and empowered its clients to make choices for more than 70 years.

The Pearl Buck School was established in 1953 by Elisabeth “Lisl” Waechter in Creswell, Oregon. Lisl started the school named after Pearl S. Buck (whose own daughter had developmental disabilities), when she realized the lack of education for children with developmental disabilities. Later called the Pearl Buck Center, Lisl served as executive director for a total 38 years and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the center.

This month, we had the privilege of sponsoring the annual benefit breakfast — a major fundraiser for the center. Like all years before, we will hear highlights of great accomplishments, about rapidly growing and thriving programs and how working together makes our community a better place for everyone.

“One of our core values is finding time and creating opportunities to help each other,” says Dave Bakke, president of Chambers Construction. “This commitment not only guides how we treat each other in the workplace but also includes our interactions within the communities in which we live.”

Chambers is proud to partner with an organization that puts such a high value on individuals who may fall through the cracks otherwise. If you would like to more know about the Pearl Buck Center and its programs or how you can get involved through donation or volunteering, visit the Pearl Buck Center website.

Leadership Eugene-Springfield has chosen Chambers Construction’s own Garrett Castle to participate in the program this year. Since 1986 the Eugene and Springfield Chambers of Commerce have promoted and fostered the development of civic leaders through this collaborative platform.

Meant to create knowledgeable, networked, skilled, involved and passionate leaders the program runs from October 2019 to May 2020. Participants will develop leadership skills, focus on community needs and grow their influence by working with other civic minded individuals.

Each month Castle will attend a day-long session that cover topics such as economic development, education, diversity and inclusion and team building to name a few.
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Each applicant goes through a rigorous acceptance process. We are proud that Garrett was selected and has the opportunity to join the program. Past participants from Chambers include Dave Bakke, Brian Erickson and Chris Boyum.

Cassandra Dare, project engineer with Chambers Construction was elected to the Bags of Love board of directors. She became board member at large in January of 2019.

Executive Director Becky Stenzel said that Bags of Love is excited to have Cassandra join the board and looks forward to having her input and wisdom as the organization moves into the future.

Bags of Love provides support to children ages infant through 17 years old, who struggle with abuse, neglect, poverty and homelessness. The organization supplies children with bags filled with basic necessities and comfort items. Annually Bags of Love supports more than 2,200 children.

Thank you, Cassandra, for donating your time to help bring vital aide to the children in need in our community.

For more information contact Bags of Love’s website or by phone at: 541-357-4957.

American Institute of Architects (AIA) Eugene held the 2019 Construction Craft Awards program on May 8, 2019, at the UO Ford Alumni Center.

Two of our superintendents, Tim Jacobs and Jon McCoy, were nominated for the prestigious Craftsperson Award. The last time this award was held by someone at Chambers Construction was in 2015 when our recent Superintendent retiree, Don Brockmann was the award winner.

Jon McCoy has been employed with Chambers for almost 30 years and has more than 46 years experience in the construction industry. Tim Jacobs has been an employee of Chambers for six years but is no stranger to the construction industry with more than 29 years of experience in his field.

The purpose of this long running awards program, which started in 1953, is to give special recognition to those individuals in the building industry who have mastered the ideals of their craft on a particular project or over the course of their careers.

AIA Eugene accepted nominations and a jury comprised of AIA Oregon architects, members of the construction industry and past award winners chose a winner, which was announced at the May 8 event.
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We are thrilled to share that the craftsperson award was given to Chambers’ Jon McCoy. Congratulations, Jon! We are so proud of you.

Several of our team members were privileged to attend the Springfield Chamber’s 69th Annual Awards and Installation Banquet on Friday, January 18 at the Lane Community College Center for Meeting and Learning.

The banquet brings together more than 300 influential community leaders, elected officials, business executives and chamber members to celebrate the great community spirit and citizens of Springfield, Oregon.

We were honored when Chambers Construction was announced as the prestigious Pillar of the Community award winner. The award is given to a business or organization that has made a long-standing impact on the community.

“One of our core values is finding time and creating opportunities to help each other,” said Vice President of Business Development, Brian Erickson about receiving the Pillar Award. “This commitment not only guides how we treat each other in the work place but also includes our interactions within the communities in which we live and work.”
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It was a fun, inspiring night for our team, full of great food, rich conversation and civic pride! We look forward to 2019 and beyond with enthusiasm, continuing our legacy of building and maintaining relationships with our clients, the community and partners.

Chambers Construction is proud to announce that for the second year in a row we have two teams competing in Bras for Cause! We’re excited to be exercising our creative muscles to help the Oregon Cancer Foundation to raise $100,000 to provide stopgap financial assistance to Lane County residents receiving cancer-related treatments. We’re having serious fun while seriously helping our community: the Oregon Cancer Foundation does great work, and we’re proud to “pair up” with them for this “brawesome” cause!

How it works is that every team decorates a bra in a creative theme, then they are posted online. This is where you come in! Stop by Dandelions Flowers and Gifts or visit the website and vote daily through the month of October. Every vote raises money for local cancer patients.
After the voting is done, the winning bra is announced at Girls Night Out, a woman-inspired celebration full of fun and activities. Help us give our community the support it needs by participating in this uplifting community event! Both our entries last year made the top ten – maybe this year we can bounce past the competition.

Vote for your favorite at https://www.brasforcause.org

Over the last several days, Chambers Construction has received phone calls from concerned parents regarding their child’s pursuit of Chambers Construction’s apprenticeship program. These calls originated out of Portland, Oregon. The recruiting tactics included asking for bank account information for direct deposit or offering a $20,000 signing bonus.
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While Chambers Construction does offer an apprenticeship program, it’s based out of Eugene and is operated solely face-to-face, not targeting perspective applicants online.

Two Chambers Construction projects are among the finalists in this year’s Daily Journal of Commerce (DJC) Top Projects list. DJC named River Road/El Camino del Rio Elementary School and the Oakway Center mixed-use building that includes the new Hyatt hotel to the 2018 finalist list. We’re proud of these projects and what they’ve added to our community.

According to the DJC:

“Since its creation more than two decades ago, TopProjects has become an industry tradition as a way to measure excellence in the region’s built environment. In order to qualify for this year’s competition, projects were required to be substantially completed by Dec. 31, 2017.

The finalists now move to the competition’s judging phase. Projects in several categories – including public buildings, private buildings, infrastructure, transportation and renovation – will be evaluated by a panel of professionals from the local building industry.”

Oakway Center’s newest building started with a parking garage design and developed into a beautiful mixed-use project. The final result includes a pedestrian-friendly streetscape, restaurants, retail and a luxury hotel (with a rooftop bar that has, arguably, the best view in the city).

Eugene 4J’s light-filled and colorful new River Road/El Camino del Rio Elementary School offers a modern learning environment that will help students reach their potential. This technologically integrated school is a bilingual learning center that is energy-efficient, has larger classrooms for interactive education and ample common spaces for students and teachers to learn together.
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Read at http://djcoregon.com/news/2018/03/05/djc-announces-2018-topprojects-finalists/

Our new Small Projects Division brings the big expertise and resources of Chambers Construction to work for owners and clients with small commercial and industrial projects.

Nancy Thornton, a project manager with big experience leads the Small Projects Division team.

“I love the construction process,” Nancy says. “Every project is different and brings new challenges. I enjoy navigating those challenges alongside clients.”

Nancy starts the project by meeting onsite to understand the client’s needs. She wants to see and hear first hand how a client envisions their unique project. By serving as a thoughtful and considerate partner early, Nancy can create an intentional construction process for the job with clear guidelines and expectations.

Once the project’s scope is clear, Nancy sees it to completion – from working with sub-contractors to managing the daily schedule, being proactive and advocating for clients and owners all along the way.

“I always want to give owners the best info to make decisions,” she adds. “Whether the owner comes to us with a clear vision or needs help figuring out what’s possible, I’m here to help.”

Do you have a project that might be a fit for our Small Projects Division? Give Nancy a call! 541-743-8650.

Nancy has been in the construction industry for 20 years. She’s married and has two kids. She and her husband are avid Duck fans, they enjoy camping, hiking and all things outdoors.