For all their skill and determination, warriors need help sometimes – especially when just fighting to have what feels like a normal life again after serving their country. My Warrior’s Place, a retreat for armed forces veterans and their families along the serene banks of the Little Manatee River in Ruskin, Fla., does a lot to help them find that sense of normalcy.
But like those warriors themselves, My Warrior’s Place can sometimes use a little help too – and TECO team members recently reported for duty there again to help the nonprofit continue to do what it does so well.
The Tampa Electric team members, from Engineering & Project Management (EPM) and Energy Delivery, look for projects like this in the community each year. This time around, in late July, they embraced the opportunity to help a place that many of them know well.
“We had great camaraderie working together at My Warrior’s Place; everybody appreciated being able to help a unique retreat for veterans, military service members, first responders and gold star, blue star and silver star families,” said Amy Hackney, planner/estimator with EPM.
“Our first priority was to replace the five power poles and six electrical panels that were in bad disrepair and were causing an immediate safety issue,” she said. “Following the two days of electrical work, we had a day of re-shelling their driveway, planting flowers, re-mulching flower beds and adding rain barrels to their existing flower beds.”
Kelly Kowall founded My Warrior’s Place after the 2009 death of her son, Army Spc. Corey Kowall, in Afghanistan. The retreat offers fitness and boating activities for guests and their families and extended stays of up to 90 days.
“Our team members believe in the mission of My Warrior’s Place, and they have the technical skills that happened to be a perfect fit for things that needed to be done for that mission to continue,” said Mark Hornick, director of EPM. “It was an outstanding effort by all involved.”
Hackney added, “This project was a great example of the synergies of how our company works. We’re residents of the Tampa Bay area too, and we know it takes more than just hard work to serve the community – it also takes a lot of heart.”
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