KCI Goes Chunkin' for Charity

October 24, 2011

Sparks, MD

KCI hosted a gourd chunkin’ competition after work on Friday, October 21, to benefit wounded warriors and soldiers returning from overseas through United Way of Central Maryland and Helping Hometown Heroes. Seven teams made up of KCI employees and sporting names like Construction Pumpkinators and Big Ben, spent weeks building machines to hurdle small pumpkins across the firm’s adjacent unfinished parking lot. With a ban on compressed air, hydraulics and any fuel or explosives, teams put their creative and engineering skills to the test, building trebuchets, sling shots and even a catapult to stand against each other in competition for bragging rights and, more importantly, a great cause.

Spectators cheered wildly as pumpkins took flight, some as far as 600 feet. In the end, team Shake and Bake, representing the firm’s Land Development Practice, took home the coveted golden trebuchet for their incredible throws that soared over the parking lot and into the woods beyond. Lead builder Nick Wilson accepted the trophy. When asked about the team’s strategy in building a truck-mounted sling shot, Wilson said, “We didn’t have any idea where it was going when we started putting it together, but look how it turned out.” A similar sentiment came from the Pontis Punks, also wielding a sling shot, who’s main goal was to utilize only “things you could find in your basement,” according to team leader Richard Brink. Their entry combined human resistance and weight with ladders, bungee cords and even a federal express envelope used as the pocket for the gourd. A television crew from local station WBFF Fox 45 filmed the entire competition and aired the feature during their 10:00 p.m. newscast later that night.

Organizers were more than pleased with the turnout, siting the event as a springboard for fundraising over the next 12 months. In addition to a large-scale United Way campaign, each year the firm’s employees vote on a corporate charity to center fundraising activities around. Last year, KCI employees raised more than $25,000 for Convoy of Hope. Votes were tallied in early October, and the winning charity was Helping Hometown Heroes, a Maryland-based non-profit dedicated to serving soldiers, veterans and their families as they readjust to their lives in the U.S. after fighting abroad.

To see more pictures, visit the KCI’s facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/KCITechnologies.

KCI is an engineering, consulting and construction firm serving clients throughout the U.S. and beyond. With revenues of approximately $117 million in 2011, KCI is ranked 96 on the Engineering News-Record's list of the top 500 engineering firms in the country. Roughly 850 KCI employee owners provide environmental, transportation, telecommunications, construction, facilities, and land development services from more than 20 locations. For more information, visit www.kci.com.

For more information please contact:
George G. Perdikakis, Sr.
georgep@kci.com
410.316.7951