With gratitude this Thanksgiving

“Each day I am thankful for nights that turned into mornings, friends that turned into family, dreams that turned into reality and likes that turned into love. Most importantly though, I am thankful for you today and everyday.”
— Anonymous
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Thanksgiving is the perfect time of year to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for.

And every Thanksgiving since 2018, I am, above all else, grateful for my sweet little boy. Just a few months shy of four-years-old, he is the heart that beats outside of my body. I am forever grateful to be his mommy and watch as he lives, learns, loves, and grows in this world. He is a constant reminder of all the good things in life.

I am grateful for the health and happiness of my family - my 91-year-old grandpa who still mows his own lawn; my mother and father, who are the best Boda and Papa a little boy could ask for; my three brothers, their better halves, and my three nephews and one niece; an aunt who is a second mother and friend to me. And although we lost my sweetest grandma earlier this year, I am grateful for all the years we had with her and all that we learned from her. She remains in my heart, guiding me through life.

I’m grateful for my SQUAD - the best girlfriends a girl could ask for, as well as their significant others and kiddos, that make my life richer. These are friends who have been around for 15, 20, even 25 years, and are truly like family. Although life keeps us busy, whenever we spend time together, it’s like no time has passed. Get yourself a group of friends like this.

With 5+ years at Mid-States Concrete under my belt, I’m also endlessly grateful to work for a company that encourages the development and success of its team members. And, I’d be remiss if I didn’t express my gratitude for the customers that trust Mid-States to serve as partners on their projects. Every day, we get to be part of amazing projects that make a difference in the communities where people live, work, learn, and play. It’s a blessing our team does not take lightly. So, a BIG THANK YOU to all of our customers - past, present, and future. We can’t wait to see what you have in store for us next!

Building Music and Performance Friendly Facilities for Students: Part 1

Armerding Center for Music and the Arts: Wheaton, Ill.

The Armerding Center for Music and the Arts was a two phase renovation project. While the first phase included the development of a state-of-the-art recital hall, sound-cancelling practice rooms and classrooms, two recording studios, and faculty studios, Mid-States was a proud project partner on the second phase. The second phase, completed in September 2020, included a 650-seat acoustically-engineered concert hall, a choral rehearsal room, and grand lobby.

”The product and the project was amazing,” said Dean Michael Wilder. “I was really, really grateful for this approach and for the ways this made an amazingly efficient and well-constructed approach. It’s really amazing.”

Wilder said because the facility serves so many important purposes on campus, they focused on three main things: acoustics, function, and aesthetics - in that order.

There are two ways of dealing with sound levels: sound insulation and sound absorption. Materials with heavy mass, like precast concrete walls, work well with sound.

”Musicians are easily distracted by sound, so as they hear sounds from other spaces, they get off track and they can’t focus the way they need to and want to,” Wilder said. Precast concrete wall panels provide the sound barrier necessary for musicians.

The primary purpose of the concert hall is to host the school’s performances - choir, orchestra, band, solo performers, chamber music. The hall will also host guest artists - musicians, poets, public speakers, lecturers. During the pandemic, the space was also used to help facilitate classes and programming while following CDC guidelines. The school typically hosts more than 35,000 people each year for concerts and other events at the facilities.

The concert hall has been 35 years in the making, according to Wilder. An accreditor in music visits the college every 10 years to check things out and shares what they think is strong about the music program and what isn’t. Three decades ago, the accreditors started telling the school they needed a medium-sized concert facility.

”This is really the answer to a decades long need of the college,” Wilder said, adding he is excited for the accreditors to visit in a year-and-a-half and see the new facility. “It ended with a 90,000 square foot building that solved a lot of other problems, too, like classrooms, etc.”

The project was the last pieces of the puzzle to really complete the Wheaton College campus and to fully serve all students.

”Music is at the heart of the college and it is important in scripture, too,” Wilder said. “The President (of Wheaton College) said it was time to put music at the center of the college, like it is the center of the Bible.”

The school has more than 150 music majors, and about one-third of enrolled students are involved in music in some fashion.

The facility is home to a beautiful nine-foot Steinway Grand Piano that was given to the school by George and Ludene Krem, both graduates of Wheaton College. The piano has been in storage for a couple of years because the school hadn’t had a home for it since receiving it. However, last summer, they took it out of storage, tuned it, and gave it a home at Armerding. The piano was played for the first time for a gathering of freshman music students. Ludene died that same morning. The story does have a happy ending though. Ludene’s widower George is engaged to be married to one of the couple’s best friends from their time at Wheaton College and they are going to get married right on the Wheaton College campus.

”We are grateful for spaces that keep with our vision and mission,” Wilder said.

Precast Elements:
55 Wall Panels (18,200 square feet): 55’ tall and 14” thick solid concrete panels, with the heaviest panel weighing 78,000 lbs.

Project Partners:
GC: Mortenson
Architect: FGM Architects
EOR: FGM Architects

Building Facilities Where Student-Athletes Succeed

Maine West High School: Des Plaines, Ill.

When Wight and Company first contacted Mid-States about the Maine West Field House addition, the project was planned as a precast structure with a metal cladding of athletic figures attached to the wall panels. Representatives of the architectural firm were looking for the ability to add a design directly into the precast using the Graphic Concrete process. The designers knew the image had to blend in with the rest of the precast building and the existing structure. In addition to utilizing Graphic Concrete, the project also uses form liners, sandblast finishes, and Nawkaw stain. The Graphic Concrete is the school’s name, Maine West, stretched across the entire north and south sides of the building using multiple colors.

”It’s been a long time coming,” said Athletic Director Jarett Kirshner. “In our 1968 yearbook, the construction of the field house is mentioned and a photo of the site for construction of the facility was printed… As an athletic administrator, I love the beauty, modern look and equipment, and the fact that all of the indoor facilities are now on the same side of campus.”

The field house includes basketball courts, track and field space, volleyball courts, batting cages, and locker rooms. All 2,000+ students will use the facility at some point.

”The competition courts are also much more appropriate for high school competitions than the small gyms we have been using,” Kirschner said.

In addition to the physical education department, most of the school’s sports will use the facility for training and/or competition including: Cheerleading, Wrestling, Boys and Girls Volleyball, Boys and Girls Track, Badminton, Boys and Girls Basketball, Softball, Baseball, Football, and Boys and Girls Soccer. With the use of dividers, multiple sports can train at the same time, and the facility will also be used for student activities like dances, meetings, and graduation practice.

”The field house has already added so much for our athletes, coaches, and programs,” Kirshner added. “The proximity of the facilities to each other make it easier for people to navigate to the proper venue, it has increased security, and the coaches and athletes are closer to the Athletic Training Room and Fitness Center.”

The school district looks forward to hosting the first indoor track meet in the history of the school, and other large events.

”For our physical education classes, this has instantly become an incredible instructional space,” Kirshner said. “Multiple classes can be engaged in activities in a safe and bright environment, with some great equipment, outstanding practice/competition courts, and a beautiful track.”

Kirshner said the feedback has been outstanding and very positive from the students, coaches, administration, staff, community, officials, opponents, and alumni. He added the exterior of the field house has been a hit.

”The design is amazing and the integration of the little MWs in the design is almost breathtaking to those who first see it,” Kirshner said.

Precast Elements:
110 Wall Panels (40,100 square feet)

Project Partners:
General Contractor: Pepper Construction
Architect: Wight & Company
EOR: Wight and Company

Beloit Memorial High School Natatorium: Beloit, Wisc.

The Beloit Memorial High School pool is an exciting addition to the school and the community. Hollowcore plank was used for the mezzanine and low roof areas and wall panels were used for the exterior structure. The panels have large, punched openings that provide a great view of the river.

The grand opening in August 2013 celebrated the new Beloit Memorial High School natatorium, which was designed to meet the growing demand for swim instruction and swim programs for both high school and middle school students in Beloit.

”We call our pool the BTIDE Home,” said Head Swim Coach Richard Vogel. “Our kids consider the natatorium home… Our kids take a lot of pride in our facility. We are proud to have a first-class facility like this in Beloit.”

During the school year, the high school physical education department uses the pool. It is also used for lifeguard classes, outdoor education classes, Special Olympics swim team, and second and fourth grade swimming lessons for elementary school physical education. Overall, the schools use the pool five-to-six-hours each day and the USA Swim team uses the pool for two-to-three hours each day.

”Learning to swim is a life skill that can save your life,” Vogel said. “We have a river running right next to our school.”

The school district hosts roughly 30 swim meets per year, including the Big 8 Conference Meet for both the boys and girls swim teams, the WIAA Sectionals, Rock County Championships, middle school conference meets, and USA swimming regional meets.

”The Boys High School Swim Team has never lost the Rock County Championship in our pool - five years in a row,” Vogel said.

The pool brings a lot of people from outside the community due to its seating capacity and speed of the pool. According to Vogel, swimmers want to swim in their pool because it is so fast. Because the natatorium is almost 25,000 square feet, it allows the facility to offer high quality training with a lot of kids at one time. The balcony is set up as a strength training facility but is opened for spectators for big meets. The pool features eight wide lanes, which allows more swimmers to use the pool at one time, while still having space for diving practice.

Some of Vogel’s favorite memories within the space in recent years include winning five straight Rock County Championships, the Girls Swim Team winning the National Swimming Coaches Association National Academic Award in 2015, taking senior pictures in the pool, hosting major swim meets, and watching future American Record Holder Beata Nelson (of Verona High School) set five pool records in their facility.

Precast Elements:
52 Wall Panels (12,700 square feet)
8,000 square feet of Hollowcore

Project Partners:
GC: Corporate Contractors, Inc.
Architect: Bray Architects
EOR: Ambrose Engineering