Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and the Iowa Department of Transportation selected students of the Iowa State University Associated General Contractors (AGC) Chapter to receive the Group Governor’s Volunteer Award. They will be honored at a recognition ceremony June 8 at Southeast Polk High School in Pleasant Hill, Iowa.
Andy Reynolds, a spring 2015 construction engineering graduate, is the outgoing president of AGC Iowa State Chapter and facilitated AGC community service projects in the 2013-2014 academic year. “It is an honor to receive this award not only for the acknowledgement of our service efforts, but also for the advancement of the people and organizations we serve,” Reynolds said.
Since 2012, the AGC Iowa State Chapter has partnered with Appalachian Service Project to rebuild houses in flood-damaged Johnson City, Tenn. In the last several years, AGC Iowa State Chapter also rebuilt homes in Joplin, Mo., Moore, Okla., Mississippi Gulf Coast, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Throughout the years, hundreds of students have spent Spring Break and Thanksgiving Break applying teamwork and construction engineering solutions to rebuilding some of America’s devastated communities.
When they don’t road-trip to building sites, the AGC Iowa State students contribute to more local community organizations, such as the Mary Greeley Medical Center, Boys & Girls Club of Story County, and Ames Community School District, to name a few. “We have been fortunate to have, year after year, generous, committed, and energetic students involved with this organization,” Reynolds said. “Service is at the core of ISU-AGC.”
The Governor’s Volunteer Awards program was created in 1982, with inaugural awards presented in 1983. The program has grown from a small program only available to state agencies to its present function of providing all Iowa nonprofit, charitable, and government organizations with a non-competitive, easy, and low-cost way to honor local volunteers with a prestigious state-level recognition award. The program is coordinated by the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service, which is responsible for planning, development, and improvement of the awards nomination process, guidelines, and procedures.