MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – Columbia Construction Company and Special Olympics Massachusetts (SOMA) held a Beam Signing Ceremony at the construction site of SOMA’s new 25,000 s.f. Yawkey Sports Training Center. Special Olympics athletes and others celebrated by signing a ceremonial beam that will be placed permanently in the lobby of their new building.

The team also includes DiGiorgio Associates Inc., Project Architect; B.R.T. Management and Consulting, Owner’s Representative; Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Civil Engineer; and Engineers Design Group, Structural Engineer. Construction is scheduled to be complete in the fall of 2009.

Guests at the ceremony were addressed by Bob Johnson, President & CEO of Special Olympics Massachusetts; Marlborough’s Mayor Nancy Stevens; Arthur Pappas, M.D. Vice Chancellor for Clinical Affairs at the University of Massachusetts Medical School; Robert Gobrecht, Managing Director of Special Olympics North America, and other Special Olympics Massachusetts officials. Denise Carriere, a Special Olympics Massachusetts Hall of Fame athlete and Board Member, served as Emcee of the Ceremony.

 “It is truly a pleasure to work with such a great team of professionals who genuinely CARE about the project and the people it will serve,” stated Bob Johnson. “Thank you to Columbia Construction for all you are doing to help make our dream-building a reality.”

CREATING A COMFORTABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR SOMA ATHLETES

The gymnasium, where the ceremony took place, was built using an insulated concrete form technology (ICFs) to construct a Reward Wall System. This method enabled the team to build the concrete gym during the winter months, which would not have been possible otherwise.

Using the Reward ICFs also allowed for an energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly, sustainable, and quiet gymnasium. The insulated concrete will reduce operating costs by reducing heating and cooling costs. Produced from recycled materials, Reward’s ICFs begin their life as an environmentally friendly product.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS MASSACHUSETTS BROADENS ITS MISSION

“This beam signifies not only progress on our new home but better health and healthcare on the horizon for individuals with intellectual disabilities,” stated Robert Johnson, president and CEO of Special Olympics Massachusetts. “Along with providing state-of-the-art space for educating and training coaches and volunteers to work closely with our athletes in their chosen sport, this building will serve as a catalyst for better health for the people we serve and beyond.”

The new facility will be the site of a medical education program for treating patients with intellectual disabilities, through a partnership that Special Olympics Massachusetts has formed with the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The training partnership addresses a long-standing, and recently documented, problem facing people with intellectual disabilities — poor access to medical care and poor quality medical care.

“It is such a privilege to be a part of the construction team for SOMA’s new headquarters”, stated Jim Kolb, Vice President and Principal-in-Charge for Columbia Construction. “This beam signing ceremony gave SOMA athletes, employees and Board Members an opportunity to be a part of the construction of their new home. The publicly displayed beam donning several hundred signatures will always be a reminder of this special day and it’s been a powerful personal experience to witness firsthand the phenomenal impact that this facility will have on SOMA and their newly formed partnership with the University of Massachusetts Medical School.”