SEI Construction Helps Girl Scouts Remember Shooting Victims

November 7, 2019

SEI Construction usually build structures. But we also were glad to help rebuild a community’s spirit in the face of loss.

Meet Avery Carpenter, a Girl Scout at Grainger County High School in Rutledge, Tennessee. To complete her Gold Award, the Girl Scout’s highest honor, she sought to create a memorial for victims of a mass shooting in Bean Station, Tennessee. Carpenter meticulously planned the commemoration for two victims. All she needed were donors.

One of our team members, Ronnie Lovell, lost a brother that day. When he approached Kenny Noah, our President, for a donation, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work, underwriting the entire project.

According to Kenny Noah, “She had the dream. I had the tools, and that’s how we got to where we are now,” Noah said. “It looks great, and she should be very proud of it. I’m happy to be a part of it with her.”

While weather delays set back construction until April 2019, The torrential rains of late winter in the Lakeway Area delayed development of the project. However, Bean Station now has a lasting memorial for that terrible day.

Southeast Industrial Construction might have supplied the material and the financing, but all credit is due to one Girl Scout with a compelling vision.

“We try to give back to the community as much as we can,” Noah said in the dedication ceremony to Carpenter. “You had a lot to do with it – and this is your project.”