By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
A joint partnership between Union City High School and Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union City has turned into a win-win community proposition for everyone involved.
Members of Blake Gregg’s MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing) classes at UCHS – at the request of hospital officials – took on a project to build a pair of picnic tables for use in the local BMH courtyard area.
The tables, which were essentially built from scratch and were painted with the Baptist Memorial Hospital logo by Union City High School student Allyson Beaman, were delivered on Friday by Gregg’s students to BMH-UC officials Skipper Bondurant and Michael Dennison.
“We were so grateful for this opportunity to help out in the community and with Baptist Hospital,” Gregg said of the project. “It was a great hands-on experience for our students to, in reality, start from the ground up and use the skills they’ve been taught in our MEP classes to get to the finished product.
“Baptist bought the materials, and we took it from there. We learned where the wood came from, how to measure it correctly, how to use different types of fasteners, and how to make compound cuts on angles. It really rounded out many things we’d focused on in classes and allowed us to see a nice, completed project at the end.”
Gregg added that his students took great pride in their work and immediately took the lead on the project.
“There’s a right way and a wrong way to do things, and our students learned and applied the right way to do things,” the UCHS construction teacher claimed. “For my part, I really just showed them what I wanted, offered pointers, and then let them take off with it.
“ Some of them are really good with math; some are really good with art. It was neat to see everyone find their place. Not everyone is meant to drive nails.”
Dennison, who serves as chaplain and Director of Pastoral Care at BMH-UC, welcomed the Union City Schools contingent in the courtyard and thanked the group for their efforts.
“We’ve partnered with Union City High School on several other things, like lunch and learns, and we thought it’d be good to incorporate them with this project,” Dennison said. “Future generations and a number of groups get extensive use out of our courtyard, and there’s no doubt they’ll enjoy the tables for various events.”
Bondurant, the CEO and top administrator at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union City, echoed Dennison’s statements while admiring the students’ work.
“We use the courtyard for a lot of different things,” Bondurant said, using examples such as staff cookouts, hospital meetings, and programs. “Sometimes, people – whether they’re family members of patients or our own personnel – just need a few minutes to themselves.
“This area gets a lot of usage for different events. These are nice additions to the place, and these students can take satisfaction that their great work will be on display for all to see.”