Archives for Community Involvement

Community Involvement

Edison State College Celebrates 50 years

Edison State College is celebrating its 50th anniversary and their new alumni association is celebrating its 1st birthday. March 2011 marked the official beginning of the membership program for the ESC Alumni Association.

Johnson Engineering is proud to have been one of the integral layers that has helped Edison State College grow by providing civil engineering services, including site design, utilities, roads, parking, construction observation, certification, permitting and assisting them in successfully achieving LEED Silver accreditation.

Not only are we connected to the college through business, we have a personal vested interest as eight of our employees are proud ESC Alumni.

Happy Anniversary Edison State College – from your friends at Johnson Engineering, Inc.

For more information visit the Edison State College website at http://www.edison.edu.

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Cleaning Up Carrell Canal

outlook-newsletter-fall-2011-issue-36-1-12It’s hard to believe a year has passed since Johnson Engineering adopted Carrell Canal as part of the City of Fort Myers’ Adopt-A-Canal program. The program’s intent is to decrease the amount of litter that flows through the City’s municipal separate storm sewer system, ultimately affecting the Caloosahatchee River.
In early August, employees gathered for their 4th quarterly cleaning of the canal. We’re pleased to see that the appearance of the canal was much different than we found it a year ago. During our first clean up, volunteers collected 42 bags of debris. Since then, less than half that amount has been found in the one mile stretch of canal.

We made this commitment because of our desire to give back to the community. To date, we have removed an impressive 6,500 gallons of trash from the Carrell Canal. Our employees will continue to clean the canal quarterly for the next year and are hopeful to find that the amount of trash reduces each time, knowing that every effort leads to a cleaner and healthier place to live.

For more information, contact [email protected]

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8th Consecutive Year Honoring Firm’s Roots at Lovers Key State Park

Johnson Engineering employees, their families, friends, the Friends of Lover’s Key (F.O.L.K.S) and park staff gathered early Saturday, October 9, 2010, for their 8th consecutive year helping to preserve one of Florida’s natural gems, the park which bears their founder’s name, Carl E. Johnson State Park commonly referred to as Lovers Key.

Johnson Engineering’s Coastal Cleanup began in 2003 in honor of the company’s founder, Carl E. Johnson, whose efforts in the late 1960’s were instrumental in helping to acquire the land from local donors, surveying and establishing the extremely popular 1100-acre beach and wildlife area that we know and enjoy today. This event’s volunteer efforts were previously recognized by The Friends of Florida State Parks with the Outstanding Volunteer Team of the Year Award for exceptional service and support.

The company’s employees are proud of their roots and intrigued by the historical connection, so they come together each year to do their part in keeping the park looking its best. Volunteers helped with a wide range of projects from constructing rope fencing, planting seagrass and trimming the parks recreational trails. After the morning’s efforts, the group enjoyed a traditional volunteer supplied potluck lunch on the beach.

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2nd Annual Green Futures Expo & Energy Options Conference

Visit our booth at the 2nd Annual Green Futures Expo on Saturday, November 13, 2010 at the Charlotte Harbor Event Center, Port Charlotte, Florida. The Green Futures Expo is a tradeshow designed to highlight the products and services that will benefit consumers and businesses for a future of green living.

The Energy Options Conference on Friday, November 12, 2010 will bring worldwide representatives from the alternative energy industry, for participants to discuss the future of the industry, current issues, policies, and market strategies in several panel discussions.

Johnson Engineering supports Charlotte County’s initiatives to bring environmentally friendly businesses and manufacturing to this area.

For more information on this conference visit www.charlottecountyfl.com/BCS/GreenFutures.

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Johnson Engineering’s Earth Day Efforts Help City of Fort Myers’ Adopt-A-Canal Program

johnson-engineering-jon-boat-was-brought-outIn honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, Johnson Engineering employees took part in cleaning up the City of Fort Myers’ canals. The company has adopted Carrell Canal as part of the City’s Adopt-a-Canal initiative. This kick off event will be followed by quarterly clean ups of Carrell Canal for the next two years. The firm made this commitment because of its deep roots in the community dating back more than 64 years. The firm has worked, in one capacity or another, on all of the canals in this program throughout its long history and wanted to do their part to give back to the community.

johnson-engineering-employees-cleaning-carrell-canalThe program began as a way to decrease the amount of litter that flows through the City’s municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) ultimately affecting the Caloosahatchee River. The City selected 10 canals covering 12 miles of waterways.

During the mornings clean up efforts, the volunteers collected 42 bags of debris totaling over 1000 gallons of trash for the one mile stretch of canal. Employee volunteers found a large amount of typical items such as styrofoam cups, cans, bottles and plastic bags and some unusual items such as a couch, lawn furniture, clothing, shoes, a bicycle, traffic cone, basketball, football, steel angle iron and wood.

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County Government, University, and Private Company Unite for Sustainable Cause

FORT MYERS, FL (January 21, 2009) – In an effort to make the Southwest Florida Green Futures Expo and Energy Options Conference a carbon neutral event, Charlotte County Government and event sponsor, Johnson Engineering, teamed up to plant 23 Cypress trees at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), to offset the event’s carbon emissions.

Charlotte County staff, Commissioner Dick Loftus and Johnson Engineering were joined by FGCU’s Vice President of Administrative Services Dr. Joe Shepard, FGCU staff and student volunteers from the FGCU Anthropology Club, to plant the 23 Cypress trees, which over their lifetime will continually capture and sequester carbon from the atmosphere to offset the emissions from the event, making the multi-day event carbon neutral.

As part of Johnson Engineering’s sponsorship, ecologists calculated the event’s total emissions, finding they were close to 30 metric tones of carbon dioxide (MtCO2). Event organizers were able to reduce the event’s carbon emission by 7% through careful planning and use of alternative technologies such as web conferencing, hybrid vehicles, energy efficient green buses, together with common sense practices such as car pooling, patronizing restaurants that use locally grown produce, and buying locally. To offset the emissions produced from the event, calculations determined 23 Cypress trees over their lifetime would continually capture and sequester carbon from the atmosphere. In an effort to keep the carbon offsets in the region, Charlotte County agreed to partner with FGCU, supporting the University’s mission to practice and promote environmental sustainability, nurture community partnerships and value public service. Donations collected at the event to promote a carbon reduction project in Florida were used in part to purchase the trees from DB Nursery in Port Charlotte.

The attendance at the first annual Green Futures Expo and Energy Options Conference proved this event was an overwhelming success, and revealed this region is on its way toward being known as the ‘Green Coast’. The multi-day event brought 2,000 Green Expo attendees and nearly 230 participants to the Energy Conference, which included renowned speakers Patrick Birley from the European Climate Exchange, Cisco DeVries from Renewable Funding LLC, Kevin Lynn from the Department of Energy, Syd Kitson from Babcock Ranch, et. al. provided Southwest Floridians a world-class level of discussion and information exchange on the importance of renewable and alternative energy and how the industry is poised to redefine economic development for the state and the nation in the near future. Also present during the conference were local and regional businesses that are making their mark in various areas of the renewable energy and sustainable development arena. Overall, the first annual Green Futures Expo and Energy Options Conference was timely and well-positioned as it showed how the private, public and various sectors of the community can come together to create synergy and bring in overall positive development for the region.

Charlotte County, Johnson Engineering and the event sponsors, Waste Management, The Mosaic Company and Innovation Future Energy Corporation, are excited about the promising future of the ‘Green Coast’. Waste Management of Charlotte County, the event’s platinum sponsor, services more than 80,000 residences and 2,400 commercial customers in the county. Waste Management Green Squad’s National Director, Jim Hall, was the keynote speaker at the conference. They work toward providing sustainability solutions to help organizations create efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance branding.

For more information about the Southwest Florida Green Futures Expo and Energy Options Conference, please visit http://charlottecountyfl.com/BCS/GreenFutures/.

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7th Annual Coastal Cleanup Honors Firm’s Roots

The community spirit is alive and well for nearly 100 Johnson Engineering employees, their families, friends, the Friends of Lover’s Key (F.O.L.K.S) and park staff. This dedicated group pitched in on Saturday, October 24th for the 7th consecutive year. The group volunteered their time to preserve one of Florida’s natural gems, the park which bears their founder’s name, Carl E. Johnson State Park commonly referred to as Lovers Key.

Johnson Engineering’s Coastal Cleanup began in 2003 in honor of the company’s founder, Carl E. Johnson, whose efforts in the late 1960’s were instrumental in helping to acquire the land from local donors, surveying and establishing the extremely popular 1100-acre beach and wildlife area that we know and enjoy today. This event’s volunteer efforts were previously recognized by The Friends of Florida State Parks with the Outstanding Volunteer Team of the Year Award for exceptional service and support.

The company’s employees are proud of their roots and intrigued by the historical connection, so they come together each year to do their part in keeping the park looking its best. In addition to a typical beach clean up, volunteers helped with a wide range of projects from building litter receptacles, replacing tram shelter roofing and bridge fencing, constructing rope fencing, to removing invasive exotic plants, and mulching. After the morning’s efforts, the group enjoyed a traditional volunteer supplied potluck lunch in the beach pavilion.

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Five Local Schools Benefit from Johnson Engineering Grant

FORT MYERS, FL (November 2008) – Local elementary schools have an extra reason to be thankful when they receive $5,000 from Johnson Engineering’s 2008 Support Our Schools program.

Five area counties each picked one K-5 school within their district to receive the grant. The schools selected for the grant are Tice Elementary, Woodland Elementary, Pasco County; Peace River Elementary, Charlotte County; Eden Park Elementary, Collier County; and LaBelle Elementary, Hendry County.
The schools will purchase $1,000 of reading materials at their next Scholastic Book Fair. The remaining $4,000 will go towards equipment and supplies for the school’s teachers.

The Lee County School District selected Tice Elementary School from its 43 public elementary schools because of its stellar approach to parent involvement and support. The school provides classes to help parents learn English, and workshops to help them guide their children both socially and academically. Child care is provided while parents attend these workshops. Tice’s principal, Jim Jackson, accepted the $5,000 check during a presentation at the school Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 1 p.m.
The Pasco County School Board selected Woodland Elementary because of its strong literary focus and its need for more classroom library resources Woodland Elementary principal Kimberly Poe accepted the $5,000 check during a presentation at the school Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 10 a.m.

The Hendry County School Board selected LaBelle Elementary for its administration and faculty’s consistent efforts in maintaining high standards and expectations for its students. The school also excels in parent involvement. LaBelle Elementary principal John Baker accepted the $5,000 check during a presentation at the school Wednesday Nov. 19 at 10 a.m.

The Collier County School Board selected Eden Park Elementary in order to assist the instructional staff of 49, which includes eight first-year teachers and 11 teachers new to the School District of Collier County. The award will help with staff development and materials for the school that is comprised of a student population that is 95 percent economically needy, with 34 percent of the student body having limited English proficiency. Eden Park Elementary principal Melba Meriwether accepted the $5,000 check during a presentation at the school Thursday Nov. 20 at 9 a.m.

The Charlotte County School Board selected Peace River Elementary for the grant because of its ability to overcome the socioeconomic issues a large portion of its students face in order to earn A-School status from the state of Florida. Peace River principal Bertie Alvarez accepted the $5,000 check during a presentation at the school Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 10 a.m. The school will use $1,000 of the grant to purchase reading materials at their next Scholastic Book Fair. The remaining $4,000 will go towards equipment and supplies for the school’s teachers.

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6th Annual Employee Cleanup honors firm, Lovers Key State Park founder

FORT MYERS, FL (October 2008) – More than 100 Johnson Engineering team members, family and friends volunteered Saturday, October 25th, to clean up one of Florida’s natural gems during the firm’s 6th Annual Coastal Cleanup.

Volunteers split into teams to work on projects throughout Lovers Key State Park/Carl E. Johnson Recreational Area. With a range of projects including removing exotic plants, painting, building litter receptacles, and replacing weathered planks, the teams dedicated their Saturday morning to cleaning and fixing up numerous areas throughout the park.

Johnson Engineering’s annual Coastal Cleanup began in 2003 in honor of the company’s founder, Carl E. Johnson, whose efforts were instrumental in establishing the 1100-acre park and recreation area.

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