L. Keeley PRIDE: Culture

By: Tom Birkemeier

2020 has been a life-changing year for all of us and I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of our people and partners who make everything we do possible. Our culture is what drives us and keeps us motivated. During times of uncertainty, we can look to our culture to guide us and keep us strong. We will get through these challenging times together. You've heard me say this before, but I believe we are stronger together - partnering to bring out the best in ourselves, our families, and our customers. Fostering growth to empower the brightest future possible is what encourages us and keeps us excited.

We can't wait to see what the rest of 2020 has in store for us. Proud to serve you and be a Keeley'n!

So far in 2020, our business groups have completed some amazing projects! Our Industrial Group completed the new construction of compressors to help our trusted partner meet the demand for natural gas. Given the challenges of the project and the strict schedule, the team was able to complete the project on-time and within budget. Read more about the project here.

Our Building Group is in the process of completing a brand new administrative building for WEOKIE Credit Union in Oklahoma. This building will serve as a testament to WEOKIE's leadership and commitment in the community. Learn more about this project and our partnership with WEOKIE here. Our Paving Group was selected by SSM Health to repair the parking lot at the Ronald McDonald House of St. Louis. The L. Keeley Team scoped the project so that it allowed for families to continue to utilize the existing lot during construction. Learn more about the project here.

Our Civil Group partnered with ENGIE to provide 2,740 driven pile to support solar panels at two different sites. The Civil team stepped up and, with our dedication to safety and quality, was able to get the project completed nine days ahead of schedule. Learn more about this project here.

As stated in our mission statement, "The safety, well-being, and career growth of our Keeley'ns are the benchmarks of our success." Safety is at the center of everything we do at Keeley Companies, and our world-class safety culture is now officially award-winning! In March 2020, L. Keeley was awarded the second place AGC Construction Safety Excellence Award. This national award aims to recognize construction companies who excel at safety performance. We are so proud of our Safety team and all Keeley'ns for making Safety our #1 priority and fostering a culture built on ZERO. We are also proud to have received a RAVS PLUS designation for our company-wide safety and risk management program, KeeleySafe. RAVS PLUS is a deep-dive review and audit by ISN. We are very proud to have completed this rigorous process! The COVID-19 pandemic has brought its challenges, but our Safety Team rose to those challenges in order to ensure the health and safety of all team members on our jobsites across the country. Daily health screenings, social distancing, increased cleaning procedures, and much more have been put into place to help curb the spread of COVID-19 and keep our Keeleyn's healthy. Learn more about Keeley Companies' COVID-19 response here.

On Thursday, August 13, during Rusty’s Semi-Annual CEO Address, we announced the launch of our sixth cultural pillar, KeeleyOne which focuses on Diversity and Inclusion with the mission to empower every voice across the Keeley Companies and beyond. During Rusty's presentation, he invited four Keeley'ns to speak about their experiences and passion behind KeeleyOne and bringing true equity to Keeley Companies. With the help of KeeleyU, KeeleyOne will provide various educational opportunities for team members who want to gain understanding from various perspectives. This allows Keeley’ns to grow and have meaningful conversations with the people they love and care about which creates an environment where team members feel safe and heard. Click here to learn more about KeeleyOne and read about the incredible launch and panel discussion.

The COVID-19 Crisis has greatly affected the underserved in our community. The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis has stepped up to serve and provide assistance for thousands of families in n eed. #KeeleyCares is blessed to work alongside and support the important work of the Urban League. Food, toiletries, and safety items are handed out via Drive-Thru Food Distributions to families in need. 3,000+ families are being served each Saturday throughout the summ er. #KeeleyCares' funds, equipment, and volunteers are playing an essential role in these endeavors. It is an amazing community effort and we are grateful to be involved! This summer, over 250 Keeley'ns were lucky to have served over 60,000 families with one Keeley'n being asked to join the Urban League Board. With over $2 million in donations and gifts contributed to this effort, we have witnessed firsthand that "Together We Make a Difference." Click here to learn more about our efforts and watch the video below!

KeeleyLife is dedicated to the well-being of our Keeley'ns. During our Mental Health Minutes series, April Lopinot speaks with professionals about various health and well-being related topics. April Lopinot welcomed Gina Birkemeier in this session of Mental Health Minutes. Gina is a licensed professional counselor in St. Louis, Missouri. She helps people heal and grow through a holistic approach. Recognizing the importance of treating the whole person, Gina’s background and education include fitness, nutrition, spirituality and life coaching in addition to clinical, evidence-based therapies and nutritional interventions for mental health. These courses are available on the LMS for all Keeley'ns to enjoy and you can explore our Mental Healh Minutes here .

KeeleyU is such an integral part of our culture, and we are so honored to be able to host some inspiring individuals for our annual CEO Series. Throughout 2020, we have heard fro m Warner Baxter, CEO of Ameren, Carolyn Kindle-Betz, President of the Enterprise Holdings Foundation and member of the #MLS4TheLou ownership g roup, Alaina Macia, CEO of MTM, Tara Mooar, Vice President of Global Engineering for Verizon, and Jim Kavanaugh, CEO of World Wide Technology. These amazing leaders, through in-person and virtual KeeleyU sessions, took the time to educate our Keeley'ns about what it takes to be a meaningful and impactful leader with stories about each of their individual career journeys and advice. Thank you to all of the CEOs and leaders who have taken the time to educate and inspire our Keeley’ns! We are thankful for the incredible partnerships and look forward to more CEO Series sessions in the future. Click here to learn more about each session.