Teton launches projects to improve community
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

Looking to leave Wharton a better place than they found it, the employees of Teton Industrial Construction, the general contractor for the Navasota Power Plant Phases I and II, are currently involved in a pair of local improvement projects.

Benefiting the city directly, the company is building a fenced baseball diamond at the Boys & Girls Club of Wharton.

And the entire county will benefit from a 30 by 40-foot covered pavilion being constructed on property donated to the county by Navasota for a public park.

"We like to pick projects based on need," Teton Spokesman Steve Domenico said. "And we work off of community suggestions."

In addition to their own corporate contributions to the project, several of the company's subcontractors from Wharton County to Houston and elsewhere are also contributing to the two projects with services and materials.

And while the field and pavilion will be permanent reminders of time Teton employees have spent in the community during the power plant construction, the projects are just the most recent in a series of activities company employees have done to improve the quality of life in the community.

"We've had floats in the last two (Chamber of Commerce) Christmas Parades," Domenico said.

"We've made food and gift card donations at Thanksgiving, collected toys for Child Protective Services at Christmas and contributed to the women's shelter. We've even had a cook-off team at the Wharton County Youth Show and we put together and sent 50 packages to our military personnel in Iraq."

Of the various activities, Domenico said his personal favorite is the parade. He used his corporate pickup to pull the company's float both years.

"People around here just really get into the parade," he said. "There are as many people in the parade as there are along the route and I think the people watching have just as much or more fun than those actually in it. There's just a real level of excitement you don't see in other places."

That excitement has inspired the Florida resident and his wife Lisa, also a Teton employee, to look at spending more time in Wharton even after they've moved on to the next construction site.

"We have been living in Texas for the past three years working on company projects and have spent the last two in Wharton," he said.

"I think we have as many or more close friends here as we do back home. In fact, we're looking at buying some property in the area to build a place we can come back and visit on a regular basis. We've really fallen in love with the area."

While admitting the positive publicity is a plus for the company, the motivation behind all the good works is employee driven.

"Doing things like giving out gifts to kids at Christmas is great for employee morale," he said.

"They just really get into it. Last year at our Christmas party, we hung a girl's and boy's bicycle over the box we were collecting toys in. I was gone for three days and when I came back there were 60 bicycles.

"A lot of our employees are gone from home for extended periods so this is there way of staying connected to a community and they really enjoy that feeling. They are real passionate about their jobs and the community they are working in. I've never seen so many passionate people."

Part of that passion, Domenico said, comes from the fact that while Teton is part of a bigger company, it is employee owned.

"Teton was founded by Jim Watson who is now the district manager for the corporation," Domenico said. "And he kind of established the culture for giving from the start by example. It's always been part of Teton's philosophy."