Groundbreaking Events Capture Owners' Styles

The start of any construction project is cause for celebration, and groundbreaking events can be memorable and fun as well as an expression of an enterprise's unique culture. To inspire your planning, here's how a few of our clients have marked their kickoff ceremonies.

Paws for the Cause 

To celebrate the start of the $8.5 million Wisconsin Humane Society building at 4500 W. Wisconsin Ave., animals got star treatment. Joining the usual public officials wielding shovels at the groundbreaking, a few doggie diggers were assigned to dig in to assure that the first holes were dug just right. The new building has a "streetscape" adoption center for homeless pets, including "The Royal Cat Hotel" and "Dog Town."

Blessings from the Homeland 

In spite of poor weather, a crowd of 100 turned out for the Ecumenical Groundbreaking and Blessing for the new $3.2 million Polish Center of Wisconsin, now under construction in Franklin. The ceremony included a Mass and sprinkling the grounds with soil recently brought back from Poland. The center will be complete in time to celebrate Polish Fest's 20th anniversary next June.

Gettin' In Tune 

The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music commemorated the start of its expansion project with "The Big Tune Up." Everyone was given a hard hat and a tuning fork tuned to "A," the same note orchestras use to tune up. The crowd's voices harmonized with the note for nearly a full minute. Everyone signed a commemorative door put up by project superintendent Rick Senk. Our construction billboard notes that the Conservatory has temporarily relocated during construction.

A Mammoth Event 

With the theme of "We Dig the Museum," the new $8.5 million Kenosha Public Museum's groundbreaking used the skeleton of a mammoth as a focal point. Children's activities included a sandpit where kids could dig for fossil, and a contest where they could toss beanbags into the mouths of animal replicas. A standard shovel wouldn't measure up to the event's magnitude, so a Caterpillar 307 excavator was enlisted to break the ground. Things got started with a mammoth bang provided with a canon shot by a Revolutionary War group in full uniform.

Beanie Baby Bash 

The multi-phase Washington County Fair Park has had several groundbreaking events since late 1997, including ribbon cutting ceremonies to name the Dairy Barn, Beef Barn, Small Animal Barn, Sheep/Swine Barn, and the Show Arena. A special sale of about 500 Beanie Babies served as a fundraiser, with all the little critters sold out in two days. Dignitaries in attendance have included Governor Tommy Thompson, Senator Mary Panzer and Assemblyman Michael Lehman.

Made in the Shades 

Everyone at The Custom Shoppe's groundbreaking party wore sunglasses and a T-shirt that read: "Our future's so bright, we've gotta wear shades." After a fire consumed the company's production facilities, everyone, including the help of a competitor, pulled together to keep the company going. The upbeat groundbreaking theme reflected not only the company's positive attitude in the face of adversity but also its hard work in putting the company on sound financial footing prior to the fire.