Col·lab·o·ra·tion /kəˌlabəˈrāSH(ə)n/ In 2015

The end of the year is a very busy one for architecture and engineering design firms with budget reconciliations, employee reviews and international clients who expect their project work to continue steadily. However, our Pagers keep the less fortunate in sight as it’s typically the most difficult time of year for those in need.

During the holiday season, Gingerbread competitions are popular with Page employees as they challenge design skills and encourage collaboration while benefiting local charities such as the Children’s National Medical Center of Washington DC and So Others Might Eat.  Pagers also served up goodwill with Meals on Wheels and conducted a coat / warm clothes drive for Midwesterners. Others participated in an industry community service program called We Care which benefited the Boys & Girls Club of America.  

Other popular community activities throughout the year include CANstruction, in which teams arrange canned food into artistic and often structurally challenging designs before donating them to local food banks. Operation Backpack also is a design competition that raises funds for school supplies for underprivileged students. Another ongoing charitable effort is Hearts & Hammers where volunteers refurbish qualified homes owned by low income citizens.  

A less common way of giving back is search and rescue operations, and two trained Pagers participated in this effort during a flood-related tragedy that gained national attention. One Pager wrote a heartfelt open letter of thanks to the Director of Human Resources explaining how much the personal support she received from Page leadership after her cancer diagnosis helped her emotionally. 

A number of Pagers are involved in academic programs such as teaching and mentoring. Others gave tours and presented their expertise so that students could gain an understanding of what a career in a multidisciplinary design firm is like. And, Pagers were often found participating in industry awareness activities such as AIA Sandcastle Competition, Product Runway and public exhibits. 

This past spring, the firm honored its longest-serving employee who celebrated sixty years with Page! Yes, you read that right. And he is still a full time-employee. Judging by the number of people willing to share their time and thoughts for pagethink.com and the firm's digital communication channels Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, many others also enjoy working here.  

Pagers also organized fun get-togethers such as office Chili Cookoffs and Halloween costume contests. They held speed networking events and happy hours to help people get to know their colleagues better. Every year, Page sponsors the longest-running PGA golf tournament so this year, employees made their own very creative course. 

Thanks to all our Pagers for another fantastic year. This industry can require hard work but it brings out the collaborative side of our people and it’s great to see their creativity expressed in so many ways besides just their professional skills. Here’s to an even better 2016!