We had the pleasure of participating, for the fourth year in a row, in a fun and healthy annual event: the “Heart of the City” 5-K Walk/Run which took us through the (for once, empty!) streets of Downtown Los Angeles on March 24th.
The event was organized by and benefits the California Hospital Medical Center, situated right in the center of Downtown LA, and also the location of the start/finish line. Giroux Glass assembled a team of participants who represented all of our locations, including Las Vegas, San Bernardino, and Fresno. Thanks to our sole runner, George Wiriadinata (who finished with a time of 28:15), for saving our team from the dire fate of being awarded the last-place prize, the dreaded “Bed Pan Award.” In the end, our team placed 52nd out of 55 teams, but we still had a lot of fun for a great cause, and were able to appreciate our great city in a special way. The chance to witness from street level, the amazing amount of development taking shape before our eyes, was a fantastic opportunity. There is always so much happening in Downtown Los Angeles!
We walked by one L.A. landmark after another, and thought about our own work that went into many of them, including the Staples Center, Grammy Museum and the newly renovated, open-air shopping and dining center, “The Bloc.” It truly is a time of exciting transformation; it’s everywhere, and we’re thrilled to have had our part in making it happen.
After the event, we chatted with Brandon Astudillo (project manager) and Bianca Bataclan, marketing coordinator, of Penta Building Group. We discussed the work that both of our companies have completed on hospitals in LA and in Las Vegas and how we hope to do more. We also got to pose with the local well-known, on-air Spanish 105.5 FM radio personality, Don Cheto — or at least a life-sized poster of him! Many of the participants also ended the event by eating stacks of pancakes, and replenishing all those burnt calories!
The Foundation’s goals were exceeded–over $255,000 were raised by this event, and over 1,220 racers participated. I speak on behalf of all of us who participated on “Team Giroux” that our goals were exceeded as well. We all enjoyed a great time, achieved a healthy number of steps for the day, and got to visit with our partners. We’re looking forward to next year’s event already!
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