Marathon Building Environments

Columbia Missourian — Local business donates to MU Thompson Center

sspence — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:50:48 +0000

COLUMBIA — Two local organizations partnered to donate money to MU’s Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders last week, helping kick off Autism Awareness Month in Columbia.

World Autism Awareness Day, which has been held every April 2 since 2008, highlights a month full of events designed to benefit autism organizations worldwide and promote awareness of the disorder, a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects roughly 1 million U.S. children and teens.

The day had added importance this year, following recently updated estimates of autism’s prevalence. On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released findings that increased its estimate of the disorder’s frequency to 1 in every 88 children, based on 2008 data from 14 states. Previously, the CDC had estimated that the disorder affected 1 in every 110 children, based on 2006 data from 11 states.

In Missouri, that number jumps to 1 in every 72 children, as found by the Missouri Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Project, a collaborative effort led by Washington University in St. Louis that screened more than 25,000 children in St. Louis City and St. Louis, Franklin, Jefferson and St. Charles counties for its study.

Currently, no data exists for Columbia or Boone County because the city’s Department of Public Health and Human Services doesn’t track autism, public health planner Linda Cooperstock said.

A local effort

This year, Marathon Building Environments partnered with Fresh Ideas’ Food Service kitchen — located at Stephens College — to hold an online bake sale benefiting MU’s Thompson Center. The sale raised $750 for the center, which will likely be used to provide services to families needing financial assistance or for the center’s early intervention program.

Cheryl Unterschultz, senior information specialist at the center, attributed the increased estimates to greater awareness and advanced diagnostic tools through research.

The center, located on Portland Street near the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, saw a more than 10 percent spike in its number of annual visits, to around 10,000 between 2010 and 2011.

“We are always busy at the Thompson Center, and always have been,” Unterschultz said.

Unterschultz touted the benefits of early intervention, saying: “It makes the difference. The earlier a child can be diagnosed and receive early intensive behavior intervention, the better their chances of having an independent, productive future.”

Unterschultz cited examples of children being unable to speak and uninterested in social interaction at age 2 or 3, but after going to the center for a year, learning to speak in complete sentences and initiate conversations.

Marathon decided to raise funds for the center in conjunction with World Autism Awareness Day after Jim O’Neill, a maintenance service technician at the center, mention the day’s importance. Previously, the center purchased furnishings and window treatments through Marathon.

“It just made sense for us to partner with them,” said Larry Schuster, Marathon’s Pioneer Window Works manager. “We do have a team member here that has a child with autism. So it was just serendipitous that everything was coming together.”

Marathon and Fresh Ideas raised funds for the center between Wednesday and Friday last week through the online sale of cake pops — a ball of cake on a stick. The initial goal was to raise $250 by selling 10 dozen cake pops. By the end of the sale, Marathon had more than four times the number of orders it set out to make.

Kim Conrad, director of the Fresh Ideas’ kitchen, and some assistants made 44 dozen — 528 — cake pops.

“We were thrilled to be able to do that for (Marathon), and knew we could handle it,” she said. “It just meant a long weekend.”

From Columbia Home •• “A Perfect Balance”

sspence — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:20:27 +0000

The following is an excerpt from the recent Columbia Home article about August Systems’ Bridgid Kinney and her family’s new home, titled “The Perfect Balance.” The excerpt highlights the audio/video technology aspects of the new home and the balance Kinney created between state-of-the-art and aesthetics.

High-tech living

As manager of the August Systems division of Marathon Building Environments, Bridgid has helped hundreds of people in Columbia plan and implement technology into their homes during the past 15 years, so it’s no surprise that when it came to building her own home, technology played a major role. “We wanted state-of-the art, but aesthetics are very important to us as well,” she says.

Each room in the Kinney home has a touch-screen keypad mounted on the wall. From this control center, a person can access all electronic features of the home such as audio, video, home theater, lighting, security and climate. “All of our electronics are housed in a rack system in the basement, which allows us to watch or listen to nine different sources in eight areas,” Bridgid says. “Sarah can be listening to iTunes in her room while I’m watching high-definition satellite in the kitchen and someone is listening to the Cards game on the deck.” The sound from any of the sources plays through the flush mounted speakers in the ceiling, offering the benefit of the sound and technology without seeing big black boxes and wires everywhere.

Rust adds that using this kind of technology actually makes the home easier to decorate. “We didn’t need furniture to house electronics or even any light switches on the walls, which left more room for things that are beautiful, like artwork,” he says. “It allows for a less cluttered look.”

Bridgid adds: “We also benefit from the energy savings that comes from easily being able to control the electronics, lighting and heating and air from our room or on our iPhones. It really means that we aren’t leaving lights on in empty rooms, nor are we heating and cooling areas of the house when they aren’t in use.”

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MARATHON BUILDING ENVIRONMENTS HIRES WES PARKS AS BUSINESS MANAGER

sspence — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 20:23:37 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2012

MARATHON BUILDING ENVIRONMENTS HIRES WES PARKS AS BUSINESS MANAGER

Columbia, MO – Today, Marathon Building Environments owners Greg Wolff and Frank Sovich announced the hire of Wes Parks as business manager. Parks will replace nine-year company veteran Ron Benne, who will retire later this year.

Parks, the newest member of Marathon Building Environments’ senior leadership team, is charged with managing the company’s financial affairs.

“I could not be happier to have Wes at the financial helm of our company,” Wolff said. “He understands that his role is about more than just keeping the books, it is about financial leadership and using the data to help us make smarter decisions for our customers and for the growth of the company.”

Sovich added, “We love that Wes understands the money side of things – that part is a non-negotiable for this job – but we are also excited that Wes’s experience in the banking world has given him exposure to countless local businesses and business leaders. Having Wes on board will help us serve our customers better.”

Leading up to his new position, Parks spent 11 years in the Columbia and St. Louis banking industries.

Marathon Building Environments, headquartered in Columbia and founded in 1987, is a full-service provider of business office furnishings, commercial floor covering, commercial interior design services, commercial and residential window treatments and audio, video, security and climate-control systems.

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