KAI Enterprises proudly announces it has received the Associated General Contractors of Missouri (AGCMO) 2019 Zero Recordable Accidents Safety Award and the Outstanding Safety Performance Award for 25,000-50,000 Hours for its work on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis Teen Center of Excellence in Ferguson, Missouri.
The awards were presented during the AGCMO Safety Banquet held Feb. 20 in Bridgeton, Missouri. KAI Build was the general contractor on the $12.4 million Teen Center of Excellence, which officially opened on Oct. 3, 2019. Construction began on the project in Sept. 2018.
“I am extremely proud of our management team and all of our team members who purposely focus on safety excellence every day on the job,” said Steve Richardson, Corporate Safety Director at KAI. “This award and our dedication to safety lends credibility to the professionalism and qualifications of KAI. This is truly a team effort by a lot of people who have a passion for their work and consideration for the well-being of their fellow worker.”
The new 26,856-square-foot, three-level Teen Center of Excellence is located at 9200 W. Florissant Ave., an area where Ferguson gained national attention in 2014 for violent protests following the fatal police shooting of African American teen Michael Brown.
The new facility provides a safe place for area youth ages 12-18 to gather and participate in a variety of positive activities. Made possible by private donations, the new Teen Center includes a nutrition education center, gymnasium, teen lounge, outdoor garden, auditorium, music and art studio, office space, intellectual commons, innovation center and outdoor basketball and activity court.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis has a successful track record of more than 50 years in the St. Louis region as a youth services provider and will implement nationally acclaimed programs at the new Teen Center of Excellence similar to those offered in the 10 locations it presently operates (seven of which are located in North County). Programming will include an emphasis on health and wellness (such as yoga, healthy habits, open gym), education and workforce development (such as college tours, ACT/SAT prep, tutoring), STEAM (such as coding, app creation, robotics) and leadership and civic engagement (such as fine and performing arts, community service, applied arts).
