Turner Construction & KMF Architects to Breathe New Life into P.E.C.'s Excellence Without Excuse (E-WE) Community Computer Arts Lab & Learning Center
The Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community (P.E.C.) this month announced a unique partnership with Turner Construction Company and KMF Architects to refurbish a community computer lab, operated by P.E.C., that has been shuttered since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Priority number 1 has been getting the computer lab up and running for the safe return of after-school programming for young people in the community," said N.Y. Nathiri, Executive Director of P.E.C. "The ongoing pandemic has exacerbated the digital-divide in Eatonville, and our youngest residents have fallen behind in the basics: reading, writing, and math."
The opportunity to partner came at a time when members of Turner's employee resource group (ERG), Mosaic, were seeking ways in which they could better engage with the community through outreach and service projects.
Turner is a founding member of the Time for Change consortium--a group of six general contractors and construction companies formed in 2020 with a single purpose: identifying ways to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in construction.
After several site visits, Turner engineers developed a scope of work that included the provision of labor and materials to upgrade and refresh the 1,500 square foot computer lab, including flooring, paint, and furniture.
In early September P.E.C. brought on Rodney Bryant, an architect at Orlando-based KMF Architects, to provide design services to the project. Bryant has over 16 years of planning, programming and design experience on various project types, including K – 12 and higher education, cultural, civic and municipal centers. Both Turner and KMF are donating their services in-kind.
In addition to their donated services, Turner's ERG and KMF have agreed in principle to form a Young Engineers of Color mentorship program designed to get school-age children in Eatonville excited about pursuing careers in architecture and civil and structural engineering. Details about the mentorship program will be revealed in January at the 9th Annual ZORA! STEM Conference for Middle School Students.
"We're very excited that both Turner and KMF have pledged to remain engaged with P.E.C. beyond the design and construction services they are providing," said Nathiri. "The formation of a mentorship program will only serve to enrich the existing ZORA! STEM education programming we offer to our young people by adding a hands-on, immersive component delivered by architects and engineers who look like them."
The Excellence Without Excuse (E-WE) Community Computer Arts Lab and Learning Center is located at 323 East Kennedy Boulevard, Suite D, in the Eatonville Commercial Center, a shopping plaza across the street from the Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts and the P.E.C.'s administrative offices. The lab was first established in February 1997 as the centerpiece for P.E.C.'s, year-round, after school and summer education programming.
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P.E.C. Executive Director N.Y. Nathiri pictured with Tuner Construction Engineers.
(Photo courtesy of Richard Alleyne)
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Join Us For The P.E.C. Annual Business Meeting
Via Zoom (link will be provided after registration)
WHEN: Thursday, October 28, 6:30 - 8:00 PM EST
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Get Ready For The Next Gathering and Gabbing
NOVEMBER 20, 2021
3:00 PM EST
Featured Book:
MODERATOR:
Cocoa M. Williams
Professor of English
Spelman College - Atlanta
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2022 ZORA! Festival T-Shirt Orders Begin in November
And don't forget!
* Season Kick-off: 33rd ZORA! Festival a month-long celebration, beginning on the birthdate of the event’s namesake, Friday, January 7, and continuing with programs, including:
- A 3-day Outdoor Festival of the Arts, January 28 – 30
- A 2-day Afrofuturism Conference
- The Africa – America Women’s Economic Forum & Trade Expo
- “Experiencing Eatonville” cultural heritage tourism tours
- A “Sunday Series” an opening exhibition at the Zora Neale Hurston
National Museum of Fine Arts
* “Traditions” Weekend: Middle School and High School Students
Celebrate Black Music Month, an arts education program,
June 17 – 18; and
* “HATitude Cultural Flair,” an African and African- American “Design” event, serving as a fundraiser on behalf of our organization’s after school and summer academic support for K-12 students, Saturday, October 29.
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