Signal Mountain High School senior Zack Bowman got his first taste of professional construction through his ambitious senior project, dugouts for the girls' softball field he built with the help of construction business insider and mentor Bryan Glasscock.
From left, Hamilton County District 2 Commissioner Jim Fields, Signal Mountain High School senior Zack Bowman and construction business insider Bryan Glasscock worked together with other businesses and members of the community to build dugouts for the girls' softball field at Signal Mountain Middle/High School."It's a long-term structure they can use for many years," said Glasscock of the 10-by-40-foot dugouts that had to be certified by an engineer and approved by the town of Signal Mountain, the Hamilton County Board of Education and the Signal Mountain Softball Association prior to construction.
Bowman said he decided to take on the dugout project after seeing his sister Camryn Bowman, a seventh-grade softball player at SMMS, practicing on the fields without any type of shelter.
"All the girls were dying in the heat," said Zack Bowman. "I thought it would be nice for them to have a little cover."
"The coaches are tickled pink to have it," said Glasscock, a Signal Mountain resident and father of a former SMHS softball player. "They say it makes it look like a real softball complex."
"We're extremely proud of Zack and his effort in his senior project, and extremely appreciative of Mr. Glasscock and his company and their work on the dugouts," said SMHS softball coach Shane Roberson. "They're first-class."
Bowman sent out letters to friends and family requesting donations to fund the project, collecting $4,010. Hamilton County Commissioner Jim Fields, who donated discretionary funds to help with senior projects at SMHS, supplied a matching grant. Bowman said he still needs $562 to complete the dugouts, and Fields agreed to match any additional funds raised.
Fields said he felt the project was worthy of receiving county discretionary funds due to its usefulness for school athletes as well as the community as a whole.
"It really enhances the park," he said of the construction of the dugouts, which Glasscock said would normally have cost the county around $25,000 to build.
"Being in the building and construction industry for 32 years, we had a lot of vendors I could call on," said Glasscock, adding that donated materials, equipment and labor made the costly project possible, as did the help of Gary Waters, assistant superintendent of facilities for HCDE, in gaining the various approvals necessary to begin.
"This is not the type of project kids and dads can do on the weekend - it had to be done professionally," said Glasscock, who provided the building permit as well as worker's compensation and general liability insurance for labor.
The use of Gary Yerby's concrete pump truck to pump concrete into the dugout walls saved them $500, said Glasscock. The 30 gallons of paint donated by Sherwin Williams in Red Bank would have cost upwards of $600, and Rudy York's donated labor to paint the dugout in Eagles' red and black would have been $600 to $800, he said.
Chick's Lumber discounted the cost of the roof framing system, and Roofing and Supply Company discounted the metal roofing system built with discounted labor by Lloyd's Construction, said Glasscock.
Discounted concrete blocks were provided by Sequatchie Construction, and Bill Duncan discounted his labor for the block work, said Glasscock. Additional blocks and labor were provided by Robert Rose and Bowman's father, Greg Bowman. Stephen Hendrix contributed around $250 worth of engineering work and Mike Taylor of the Mountain Education Foundation provided assistance in setting up a fund for tax-deductible donations, said Glasscock.