December 2023 Vol. 78 No.11
Features
Directional drilling: Underground firms donate time, skills, labor to Gary Sinise Foundation project
By Corinna Hunt, Contributing Editor
When word spread to William Hatcher’s coworkers at Mid America Energy Services Inc., that he was going to volunteer on a home build for the Gary Sinise Foundation, everybody wanted to jump on board.
“I walked out that morning and there were two or three guys going to work, and I said, ‘Hey, I’m looking for some help to go do this,’” Hatcher said. “Before I even stopped talking, all three of them said, ‘Absolutely, we’ll go do it.’ And then it was like the following day, two more guys had called and said, ‘Hey, I heard you’re going over to do something for the Sinise Foundation. We’re in, too.’ ”
Then three more people called to offer their time – though there were already more than enough people committed to going.
“All the people in our company heard I was doing this, from the president down. And the president was telling me to schedule it when he’s in town, so he could go help,” Hatcher said. “Our vice president, Jim Sparks, said the same thing.
“It was just very cool that the word spread, and everybody wanted to go help.”
Hatcher put together a team of about six people to run electricity and communications lines to the house. Mid America Energy Services’ main focus is horizontal directional drilling projects, on which it works with Digital Control Inc. DCI’s Brian Mattson reached out to Hatcher regarding the project.
Locating help
Mattson was called in by a friend because the house needed electric and gas utilities, he explained. DCI manufactures electronics that steer horizontal directional drills, so his company’s electronics steered Mid America Energy Services’ pipes through the ground for this project.
“I got the call, I called one person, and it all came together so nicely, just like it was supposed to,” said Mattson, who lives in St. Charles, Ill., coincidentally not far from the location of the house. “It’s just one small piece in this whole operation to build this house for this young family.”
The house will benefit the Scrogin family, according to a note written by Gary Sinise on one of the wood beams used in construction. US Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Patrick Scrogin was involved in a helicopter crash during his second deployment to Iraq, according to the Sinise Foundation’s website. Among other injuries, Scrogin died twice on the way to the hospital and lost his left leg above the knee.
Hatcher is also a veteran. “I don’t want to say that I have a little bit more respect for service members, but I get it,” he related.
It’s a small deal to give up a Saturday to a project like this, and more than worth it, he added.
“If more people would just give up one Saturday, or one Friday, a Tuesday, whatever – it’s worth it,” Hatcher said. “We [veterans] owe them.”
“Probably 40-some companies” donated time or money to the effort, and both Digital Control and Mid America Energy Services are big believers in helping out. “It’s nice when people can come together like this,” said Mattson.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Gary Sinise Foundation, garysinisefoundation.org
Digital Control Inc., (800) 288-3610, digital-control.com
Mid America Energy Services Inc., www.linkedin.com/company/mid-america-energy-services
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