Dec. 04, 2015
December 4, 2015
For more information:
Scott Bird
865-544-0088
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Competition ends with donation of 32,000 cans of food to Second Harvest
Messer Construction Co. business development executive and Holiday Canstruction event chair Randy Fields celebrates the can art competition’s donation of more than 32,000 canned food items with Elaine Streno, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee. This donation from the third annual exhibit, which was on display at the Knoxville Convention Center Nov. 21-Dec. 3, will feed thousands of people in our region this holiday season.
Nine local teams of architects, engineers and construction companies learned the results of Knoxville’s third annual “Holiday Canstruction” at an awards reception at the Knoxville Convention Center, with Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee the ultimate winner.
Holiday Canstruction, a massive can art sculpture competition presented by Messer Construction Co., benefits Second Harvest, which will use the donated canned goods to feed thousands in East Tennessee this holiday season.
“This event continues to grow with nine teams this year that displayed great enthusiasm and creativity in their designs and their commitment to helping Second Harvest during the holiday season,” said Randy Fields, Holiday Canstruction event chair and business development executive for Messer Construction Co. “The judges have the hardest job of deciding the award recipients among such great sculptures, but the real winners are Second Harvest and the East Tennesseans who will receive more than 30,000 cans of food to help feed their families.”
Eleven judges, who represented media, local food production companies and arts and tourism organizations, convened to select the Holiday Canstruction award winners. They scored each structure in five categories. Also, a People’s Choice award was decided through a public vote on the Knoxville Canstruction Facebook page. The Kids’ Choice award, presented by East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, was selected through paper ballot by voters 17 years old and younger.
At the Tuesday reception, presented by Shoffner Kalthoff Mechanical Electrical Service, Fields announced the top awards.
The award winners and sculptures are as follows:
- “4201 CANdy Cane Lane” by Johnson Architecture, Partners Development and Moxley Carmichael: Jurors’ Favorite and People’s Choice awards.
- “Duke says, ‘We CAN sleigh hunger!’ by Bush Brothers, BarberMcMurry Architects and Civil & Environmental Consultants: Largest Food Donation, Structural Ingenuity and Kids’ Choice awards.
- “Home for CANsgiving,” by Scripps Networks Interactive and McCarty Holsaple McCarty: Best Meal award.”Griswold Family Christmas Tradition,” by Gresham Smith & Partners and Bhate Geosciences Corp: Best Use of Labels award.
- “Bumble the Abominable SnowCAN,” by Design Innovation, Pershing Yoakley & Associates, Hedstrom Design and Realty Trust Group: Best Execution of Concept award.
- “CANducting the Polar Express,” by Michael Brady Inc. and National Association of Women in Construction: Honorable Mention award, which is the runner-up award to Jurors’ Favorite.
Photos of all sculptures are available at http://www.holidaycanstruction.com. Those interested in forming teams for the 2016 event may contact Randy Fields at [email protected] to be notified when planning begins.
Nationally, Canstruction events take place in 170 cities and are one of the largest national contributors of food to local food banks.
“We are so grateful to Messer Construction for organizing this event, as well as the supporting sponsors, grocer partner Food City and all the participating teams,” Elaine Streno, Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee executive director, said at the reception. “This donation will provide thousands of meals this holiday season, and we are extremely grateful.”
Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee helps the working poor – those who are employed but might not receive benefits or earn sufficient wages. According to Second Harvest, one in six East Tennesseans lives in poverty and has difficulty meeting basic needs.
Second Harvest secures and distributes more than 18 million pounds of food and grocery products annually and is a partner with Feeding America, a national network of food banks.
“4201 CANdy Cane Lane”
Johnson Architecture, Moxley Carmichael and Partners
“A CANdid Wish For All!”
Messer Construction Co. and CH2M Hill
“Griswold Family Christmas Tradition”
Gresham, Smith & Partners and Bhate Geosciences Corp.
“Bumble the Abominable SnowCAN”
Design Innovation Architects, Pershing Yoakley & Associates, Realty Trust Group and Hedstrom Design
“CANducting the Polar Express”
Michael Brady Inc. and the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC)
“Duke says, ‘We CAN sleigh hunger!'”
Bush Brothers & Company, BarberMcMurry Architects and Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc.
“Home for CANsgiving”
Scripps Networks Interactive and McCarty Holsaple McCarty
“The Nightmare Before Christmas”
UT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
“Walking in a Winter WonderCAN”
Cope Architecture and S&ME Littlejohn
About Messer Construction Co.
Messer Construction Co. is a construction manager and general contractor providing leadership for complex commercial building projects. An employee-owned company, Messer builds better lives for its customers, communities and each other, and delivers value through quality construction and client experiences. Founded in 1932, Messer’s footprint has grown to nine regional offices located across the Midwest and Southeast. The company is consistently ranked among the country’s 100 largest contractors by Engineering News-Record, and this year rose to No. 58, after putting in place more than $1.03 billion in commercial construction in 2014.The company is consistently ranked among the country’s 100 largest contractors by Engineering News-Record, and in fiscal 2014, Messer put in place $1.03 billion in commercial construction. Messer now stands as one of the nation’s leading health care and higher education builders, and also boasts extensive, award-winning work in the life sciences and industrial market segments. Messer employees live where they work, resulting in the company’s sustained commitment to building better communities. That commitment has remained paramount throughout Messer’s growth, and it is achieved annually through the company’s own foundation and through the time, service and dollars invested by its employee-owners in community organizations and causes.
