Message from the President

Well, not quite.

But, looking out my window, I do see a Douglas fir sitting atop a steel beam on our Pavilion project. An American flag and a Lakeland flag hang there as well.

How did they get there? Pete Woeste, Construction Executive with Turner Construction, instructed his team to put them there.

So why would they do that? Well, this marks an important milestone in our Pavilion project. The shell of Lakeland’s newest building is now mostly complete, and we’re just about halfway done with the project.

We planned to celebrate with a “Topping Out” ceremony. Unfortunately, it was rained out, again. If it had occurred, and you were there, you would have heard Pete share this:

This “Topping Out” is a major milestone for Lakeland, the St. Joseph community, and patient care in the region. The "Topping Out” ceremony has roots stretching back more than 1,000 years to an old Scandinavian custom. After returning from a successful challenge on the seas of Europe and the New World, the Viking chieftains constructed high homes called mead halls.

Upon completion of the structure, an evergreen was hoisted to the ridgepole in celebration. Today, "Topping Out" is a signal that the skeleton or core of the building is nearing completion and has taken its shape. The evergreen tree symbolizes that the job went well, the start of the completion celebration, and good luck for the occupants. The flag suggests patriotism for the American Dream. As such, when the “Topping Out” beam rises, it offers a link to our heroic past.

Of course, we added the Lakeland flag, because we are proud of the progress and eagerly await our new facility and the privilege of using it to help enhance health and save lives.

Over the last 15 to 18 months, it has taken more than 800 individuals about 80 accumulative years of time to prepare and dig a giant hole, to fill that hole with most of the project’s 11 million pounds of structural concrete, and to connect 6,400 pieces of structural steel with 33,000 bolts.

What comes next? The tan precast concrete panels are being placed around the outside of the steel structure by a giant crane. The largest of those panels weighs 48,000 pounds. Just for comparison, that’s equivalent to 15 of my Honda Accords.

As you can tell, I enjoy the numbers. But the numbers I enjoy most are the countless friends and neighbors that will be blessed by a more comfortable, relaxing, accessible, inspiring, confidential place to provide and receive health care.

So a heartfelt thanks to all of our project partners, including the Smith Group, Turner Construction, Legacy Steel Erectors, Christman Constructors, Hoffman Brothers, Steel Supply and Engineering, Ritsema & Associates, Glass Solutions, Mall City Mechanical, Gephart Electric, IBID County Electric, and, of course, Danial Bacchiocchi, his team, and all of you who have participated along the way.

If you would like to read more of Message from the President, click here