Giroux Glass is among a group of over 100 businesses and trades who have, together, donated over one million dollars in material and labor to construct Las Vegas’ Veterans Village #2, a crisis intervention center and public memorial. One hundred percent of the labor and supplies were donated, and the costs that weren’t covered by volunteer businesses came to about $20-thousand. Vice-president of construction at Wynn Design & Development, Darrell Richards, said, “The support from this community is incredible. Everyone we approached, no one said no.”
Founded by Arnold Stalk to provide 24/7/365 care for veterans and the surrounding community, Veterans Village provides transitional and permanent housing for veterans, as well as other services such as mental health care, employment training, job referrals and placements, a food pantry and nutrition programs, and transportation to the VA Hospital and primary care clinics.
To celebrate the building of Veterans Village #2, glazier Tim Gibson and I represented Giroux Glass at the ground-breaking ceremony where Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and rock n’ roller John Fogerty were in attendance. A needed and honorable cause, it’s been helpful for the organization to receive some well-deserved attention from the city.
To build the second structure, Wynn Las Vegas sponsored and coordinated the project, spending roughly five months designing the building. The structure was to be built in seven days, and our Giroux Glass team was scheduled to work for two, on November 3rd and 4th.
Our dedicated crew completed the job in not two, but just one day on November 3rd. Thanks to Trulite’s glass donation and Arcadia’s donation of metal and doors, we were able to fabricate frames and install doors and windows into the new building. Thank you to our glaziers who so graciously donated their time to do so: Jose Paez, Jesse Grubbs, Tim Gibson, Johnny Johnson, Art Mortenson, Dakota Thomas, Jake Easley, Kenny Sharpe, Rudy Barraza, Justin Kroman, Richard Kelly, Eugene Cornett III, and Ian Murray. (Watch a time-lapse video of the construction by clicking here).
Wynn chose to memorialize volunteers’ time and other generous donations by installing memorial pavers at the Village, with our company names and special sayings. On Veterans Day, November 11th, 2017 everything (including the pavers) was celebrated with a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony to kick off the opening of the center.
With all of the united support, it is my hope that the Crisis Center at Veterans Village is a huge success for our veterans. If you have a special Veteran in your family whom you would like to honor with a memorial paver in the garden, details can be found on the website at www.vvlv.org.
