If you ever wondered why your teachers made you write so many essays, just ask Diane Williams, CEO of JBWS.
Her short essay has enabled JBWS — formerly known as the Jersey Battered Women’s Service — to edge out a dozen other Morris County nonprofits and small businesses to win free construction management for renovations this fall.
The winning entry was announced this month at a Morristown ribbon-cutting for AMHigley Construction.
A.M. Higley Co. will work pro bono as general contractor overseeing creation of a pair of “wellness rooms,” at a JBWS safe house and in the nonprofit’s transitional housing.
These rooms will provide respite spaces for survivors of abuse and their children, and for staff members who perform the traumatic work of helping clients handle trauma, Williams said.
The renovations will coincide with an autumn wellness campaign by JBWS, which has sheltered or counseled 113,000 adults in its 45-year history. The service’s helpline answered 3,705 calls last year, and its crisis response volunteers made 658 interventions at police stations.
“So we’re so grateful to AM Higley for supporting our project…thank you, thank you, thank you so much, and we’re excited to get it started,” Williams told Higley employees and area dignitaries, who gathered at the Stirling Tavern after last week’s ribbon ceremony at Higley’s office at South and Elm streets.
Officials included Mayor Tim Dougherty, state Sen. Anthony M. Bucco and Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (both R-25th Dist.), Morris County Commissioners Tayfun Selen and Stephen Shaw, and a spokesperson for Rep. Mikie Sherill (D-11th Dist.).
Representatives of the Morristown Partnership, the Morristown Rotary, the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, Morris Arts, Family Promise of Morris County and NORWESCAP also attended.
‘HEART-WRENCHING’ CHOICE
Essay contestants were asked to briefly describe projects that would benefit from Higley’s help.
Choosing a winner was “heart-wrenching…the need is so great,” said Conor Evans, Higley’s vice president for New Jersey and originator of the contest.
One line from JBWS stood out:
“Healthy families are stable families, that contribute positively to our local economy,” Evans recited.
Headquartered in Cleveland, the A.M. Higley Co. specializes in construction projects for nonprofits, healthcare organizations and educational institutions.
“We’re here to build community,” said Gareth Vaughan, CEO of the 97-year-old company, which he said does about $300 million of annual business in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia and now, New Jersey.
“Yes, at the end of the day, we build buildings,” Vaughan acknowledged. “But we build buildings for people with a mission. It’s healing people, it’s educating people, it’s taking care of senior citizens.”
One such project involves $140 million of renovations at the Lawrenceville School, Evans said.
Although Evans grew up near Reading, PA, he has grown familiar with Greater Morristown.
His wife, Ellen Knarr, is a 1998 graduate of Morristown High School. They live in Mendham with their 18-month-old son; another child is on the way.
A member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the Knights of Columbus and the Morristown Club, Evans holds degrees from the Virginia Military Institute and the University of Notre Dame.
“We need to be in Morristown,” Evans told Higley’s CEO after he was recruited by the company.
Vaughan made a visit.
“You’re right,” the executive recounted telling Evans. “It feels like home.”
