  Workers with EM contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company recently began demolishing the K West Annex on the Hanford Site. The annex was constructed to support the safe packaging and transfer of radioactive sludge from the K West spent-fuel basin and away from the Columbia River.
RICHLAND, Wash. – A Hanford Site building that was critical to transferring radioactive sludge away from the Columbia River is coming down. Demolition of the K West Reactor Annex is another key step toward completing cleanup at the former plutonium production reactor.
The project includes draining and removing the reactor’s spent-fuel basin where the sludge was stored, then placing the reactor building in interim safe storage.
“The annex building accomplished its mission to support the safe packaging and transfer of sludge from the basin in 2019,” said Mark French, EM Richland Operations Office division director for Hanford’s Central Plateau Cleanup Project. “Now, removal of the facility allows us to continue the progress we’ve already made to reduce risk in Hanford’s K Area and along the river.”
Crews with EM contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo) have been moving and sorting radioactive debris into underwater bins in the 1.2-million-gallon basin since last summer. Workers using underwater cameras and specialized tools place the contaminated material into steel tubes, which will be filled with grout, a concrete-like substance, and removed during basin demolition.
Workers recently finished installing a system to pump out and filter the contaminated water from the basin. They will transfer the water to Hanford’s Effluent Treatment Facility by tanker truck for disposal. Testing activities on the system are currently underway, with the draining of the basin expected to begin by the end of this year.
“While we still have plenty of work to do, it’s exciting to see how far we’ve come,” said Mike Kruzic, CPCCo 100 K Closure Projects manager. “I’m proud of our team and their continued focus on safety over speed.”
Following removal of the spent fuel basin, workers will construct a safe storage enclosure over the main K West Reactor building, a process known as “cocooning.” The enclosure will protect the building while the radioactivity in the deactivated reactor core decays over the next several decades, making it safer to complete disposition of the reactor in the future.
K West will be the eighth and final Hanford reactor to be cocooned following the cocooning of the nearby K East Reactor in October 2022.
-Contributor: Dieter Bohrmann
 Fluor-BWXT-Portsmouth employees celebrate 4 million safe work hours with a catered lunch at the Portsmouth Site.
PIKE COUNTY, Ohio – Employees with Fluor-BWXT-Portsmouth (FBP), EM’s decontamination and decommissioning contractor for the Portsmouth Site, were recently treated to a luncheon, celebrating the completion of 4 million safe work hours.
The significant achievement was realized during the execution of the site’s most intensive set of fieldwork projects to date. Since 2021, FBP initiated and completed the demolition of the X-326 process building, construction and operation of the On-Site Waste Disposal Facility and excavation of more than 400,000 cubic yards of dirt from landfills and plumes.
“Portsmouth Site employees are encouraged to perform work safely on a daily basis. Thanks to this extra effort, the track record shows positive results on-site,” Portsmouth Site Lead Jeremy Davis said. “When everyone is dedicated to safety, opportunities arise to set records at the site.”
 Fluor-BWXT-Portsmouth Site Project Director Greg Wilkett, center, talks to Whiz Detty, left, and Tom Graf at a celebration marking 4 million safe work hours recently held at the Portsmouth Site.
FBP employees recently reached the 4 million safe work hours mark, building on their previous accomplishment of 3 million safe work hours in April. This is the second time FBP has achieved or exceeded 4 million safe work hours during its contract, which began in 2010.
“I am proud of this Portsmouth team as they continue to deliver outstanding safety results while performing technically challenging and hazardous work scopes,” FBP Site Project Director Greg Wilkett said. “We are now pushing forward with 5 million safe work hours as our next goal.”
FBP also recently set records for the lowest injury rates in its EM contract history, and number of days accident-free. FBP has approximately 2,300 workers from 60 different disciplines, along with multiple craft and trades employees, assigned to the Portsmouth decontamination and decommissioning project.
-Contributor: Michelle Teeters
 This series of photos shows the release of offspring of confiscated eastern box turtles at the Savannah River Site by the University of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and its partners earlier this year.
A happy ending for baby turtles, a victory for partnerships in action
AIKEN, S.C. – The University of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL) and other collaborators have successfully released offspring of confiscated eastern box turtles at the Savannah River Site (SRS).
The accomplishment was the culmination of a story four years in the making following the journeys of over 200 confiscated eastern box turtles, their offspring and owner-surrendered turtles.
Joining the laboratory in the effort were the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), USDA Forest Service - Savannah River (USFS-SR) and the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.
In August 2019, 200 illegally collected turtles were recovered from inhumane conditions.
“Many turtles were emaciated,” said Tracey Tuberville, an SREL senior research scientist. “They didn’t have any access to food, water or even bedding.”
Andrew Grosse, state herpetologist with SCDNR, said, “What does anyone do with 200 confiscated turtles? Most rescues, rehab facilities and zoos do not have the capacity to care for that many turtles.”
Within hours of being contacted, Tuberville and Kurt Buhlmann, SREL senior research associate, jumped into action. They quickly created space for the turtles at the laboratory’s facilities housed at SRS. There, the turtles could heal.
Working together, SREL, USFS-SR and SCDNR selected potential release sites on the SRS for a permanent home for the turtles once they recuperated. Shortly after, Charlie Davis, forest ecologist with USFS-SR, offered personnel and equipment to assist with building soft-release pens.
Such resources from SREL and its partners set up the turtles for success. They were released on lands routinely managed and monitored by a variety of agencies on the SRS.
“No one can collect from this site,” Buhlmann said. "It’s protected."
Grosse added: “This is a testament to good partnerships and being able to implement a plan quickly.”
The achievement is a demonstration of the hard work of many agencies working together to protect a species.
As part of ongoing research efforts, the turtles' movements, survival, reproduction rates and health will continually be observed by Tuberville, Buhlmann and Ryan Rimple, an SREL graduate student.
“This release is an example of success for the future. It took collaboration to make it a triumph,” Tuberville said.
Rimple is monitoring and tracking the spread of ranavirus in the turtles as part of a long-term study funded by the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. The study concludes at the end of this year, with findings being shared in late spring 2024.
Rimple said, “Perhaps even more impactful than allowing those turtles to contribute to wild populations, we’ve been able to provide invaluable novel data to our conservation partners to help guide” the conversation on what to do with confiscated turtles.
-Contributor: Amanda Hurst
In other Savannah River Site wildlife news...
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As the offspring of confiscated eastern box turtles make a splash at the Savannah River Site, endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers continue to grow in numbers at the site. Mike Budney, EM site manager, joined U.S. Forest Service personnel to observe the monitoring process for the woodpeckers. Read the full EM Update story here.
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 Leaders of Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos and Northern New Mexico College joined the families and friends of Milnor Branch and Dominic Montaño to celebrate the students’ successful completion of the two-year N3B Nuclear Operator Apprenticeship Program. Branch, at left, and Montaño are shown holding their certificates of completion for the program.
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. – Representatives of Northern New Mexico College (NNMC) and EM Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) contractor Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos (N3B) were on hand last week to congratulate Dominic Montaño and Milnor Branch, the most recent graduates of the N3B Nuclear Operator Apprenticeship Program (NOAP).
The apprenticeship program began in 2020 and is offered in conjunction with NNMC’s associate of applied science in nuclear operations degree program. N3B pays tuition and related education expenses for its apprentices who earn that degree.
During the two-year program, Montaño and Branch were full-time N3B employees. They received a competitive salary and full benefits during their on-the-job training at the EM-LA legacy cleanup project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and while they completed coursework at the NNMC Española campus and took classes online.
“The apprenticeship was challenging but my family was behind me,” said Montaño. “Milnor and I worked together, and we supported each other.”
Both students expressed appreciation for the instructors and N3B program supervisors who helped them succeed in their training.
 From left: Hector Balderas, Northern New Mexico College president; Milnor Branch; Dominic Montaño; and Brad Smith, Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos (N3B) president and general manager. Branch and Montaño are pictured holding their certificates of completion for the two-year N3B Nuclear Operator Apprenticeship Program.
This was the third graduating class of the NOAP. Like previous graduates, Montaño and Branch will join N3B as nuclear operators. They’ll monitor safety compliance, support daily operations and manage inspections in support of EM’s legacy environmental cleanup mission at LANL. Both have been assigned to the N3B Environmental Compliance Group on the remediation team, which focuses on cleanup of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
“The apprenticeship program is vital to the success of our work for EM-LA, and we couldn’t offer it without the support of the leaders at Northern New Mexico College,” said Brad Smith, N3B president and general manager. “We’re working together to prepare New Mexico students for long-term, rewarding careers, which is a significant element of our community support mission.”
NNMC developed its associate degree program in partnership with N3B and incorporated the curriculum into the apprenticeship program.
“We’re grateful for the opportunity to work with N3B,” said Ivan Lopez, NNMC provost and vice president for academic affairs. “The apprenticeship program is life-changing for these students. Now they have a wonderful career ahead of them.”
Montaño is a native of Tierra Amarilla, north of Los Alamos. After graduating from high school, he worked several jobs and had considered a career in wildland firefighting. Montaño learned about the NOAP while working in maintenance and groundskeeping at N3B.
“The apprenticeship was a turning point in my life and career,” said Montaño. “I plan to pursue an environment-related bachelor’s degree at some point, but in the meantime, I’ll try to move up the ladder at N3B — hopefully into a managerial or supervisory position.”
Branch grew up in Española and attended high school in nearby Pojoaque. He signed up for the apprenticeship program directly out of high school with the encouragement of a family member who works at N3B.
“This seemed like a really good way to obtain a specialized skill and an associate degree at the same time,” Branch said. “I definitely want to continue my education and earn my bachelor’s degree and remain in this region.”
Two additional students are midway through the NOAP at this time, and two more are scheduled to begin the program in October, according to Mark Russell, N3B’s director of training and apprentice programs.
The apprenticeship program and two N3B workforce development bootcamp programs will be featured at an Aug. 18 meeting in Los Alamos addressing EM’s workforce needs for cleanup. The meeting is hosted by the Energy Facility Contractors Group and the Energy Communities Alliance.
-Contributor: Brian Leugs
 Oak Ridge workers remove asbestos piping from inside Alpha-2. Efforts to date have removed nearly 3,000 cubic yards of waste from the facility.
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – EM crews have completed major deactivation efforts on a Manhattan Project-era facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex scheduled for demolition next year.
Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and contractor UCOR completed the efforts this month at the multi-story former uranium enrichment facility spanning nearly 325,000 square feet. The work had begun in 2020.
EM’s deactivation and demolition (D&D) work at Oak Ridge presents unique challenges amid ongoing missions at Y-12. Alpha-2 is co-located with other active facilities at Y-12, requiring utilities to be rerouted prior to demolition. UCOR has been working closely with Y-12 management and operations contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) on that task.
“Our close collaboration with CNS has allowed us to move our D&D mission forward while they continue their operating missions in close proximity to one another,” said UCOR Project Manager William Lloyd. “The result is a strengthened partnership and continued mission success for both.”
 Alpha-2 is a former uranium enrichment facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex that dates back to the Manhattan Project era.
 EM crews take samples in the basement of Alpha-2. They are scheduled to begin deactivation in that space later this year.
A precursor to demolition, deactivation is the process of placing an excess facility into a stable condition to minimize existing risks and protect workers, the public and the environment.
Before the Alpha-2 demolition begins next year, workers must deactivate the basement and reroute nearby utilities. UCOR is helping CNS create a design for the rerouting, which will also enable demolition of the Old Steam Plant at Y-12. EM crews finished preparing the plant for teardown in 2021.
Deactivation at Alpha-2 included clearing asbestos-contaminated piping, removing floor and ceiling tiles and draining oil from equipment. To date, crews have disposed of nearly 3,000 cubic yards of waste and removed 280,000 pounds of lead-shielding blocks.
UCOR is on schedule to complete the basement deactivation work later this year and begin demolition in the spring.
Tearing down Alpha-2 will eliminate a hazard from Oak Ridge and provide land for reuse at Y-12.
-Contributor: Carol Hendrycks
Savannah River National Laboratory Researcher to Receive $2.5 Million to Advance Fusion Energy Research
AIKEN, S.C. – Holly Flynn, a researcher at EM’s Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), will receive $2.5 million over five years to fund research associated with fusion energy after being selected as a DOE Office of Science Early Career Research Program awardee.
The program awards are part of DOE’s longstanding efforts to develop the next generation of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) leaders to solidify America’s role as the driver of science and innovation around the world.
Flynn is one of 93 early career scientists chosen from across the country who will receive a combined $135 million in funding for research covering a wide range of topics, from artificial intelligence to astrophysics to fusion energy.
“It feels amazing to receive an Early Career Research Program award,” said Flynn. “I am so excited that I get to focus my time on research that will have a big impact on the future of commercial fusion energy and SRNL. I am beyond humbled and ecstatic for this opportunity.”
Flynn’s research will ultimately develop a real-time accountancy open framework for fusion energy. Specifically, Flynn’s research will couple machine-learning methods currently used in self-driving cars and radar tracking with physical measurements of tritium in the fuel cycle to develop a framework for real-time accountancy of tritium gain and loss. Machine-learning algorithms take information from a virtual computational model of the fusion test system, and data from the tritium measurement sensors, to provide an integrated visualization of tritium inventory with incredible accuracy. The successful development of real-time accounting of tritium levels, an “accountancy open framework,” during fusion operation is critical to the success and efficient operation of commercial fusion energy.
Flynn received her doctorate in energy, science and engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. As part of The Bredesen Center, she performed her doctoral research on the Prototype Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (Proto-MPEX) in the Fusion Energy Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
After graduation, Flynn accepted a postdoctoral position at SRNL in June 2020. She began work in computational modeling, machine learning and artificial intelligence, and data science for fusion energy, additive manufacturing, and cybersecurity. In June 2022, she accepted a full-time position as a senior scientist at SRNL and began her role as the fusion energy science modeling lead. During the last three years, she expanded her research experience into Bayesian fusion algorithms, the fusion fuel cycle and its components, sensor and time series analysis, and defect and anomaly detection.
-Contributor: Scott Shaw
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 A team from EM and Sandia National Laboratories is pictured observing a demonstration of the Spot Robot at the Sellafield Engineering and Maintenance Centre of Excellence with Sellafield representatives. From left are Niall Paterson, Joshua Hudson, Luke Henley and Alice Nash, Sellafield; Ashley Furman, Longenecker and Associates; a Sellafield representative; Michal Rittikaidachar, Sandia; Jean P. Pabón, EM Technology Development Office; Jason Wheeler and Jake Deuel, Sandia; and Ed Matthews, Sellafield.
At the Sellafield site on the coast of Cumbria, England, remotely operated submersible vehicles perform inspection and manipulation tasks in ponds where spent fuel is stored.
A four-legged robot characterizes a contaminated area inaccessible to personnel and performs basic remediation tasks.
And a robotic-arm system for segmentation of decommissioned glove boxes is being evaluated along with unmanned aerial systems to perform surveying tasks as part of the cleanup by the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), whose primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage, and nuclear decommissioning.
Unique hazards in EM’s cleanup work increasingly demand such emerging technologies, including robotic systems that allow workers to perform work remotely. That’s why representatives with EM’s Technology Development Office and robotics subject matter experts from Sandia National Laboratories recently visited Sellafield to discuss how robotics, artificial intelligence and other emerging tools can be developed and used in nuclear cleanup operations.
“It was great to see how the Sellafield team has successfully implemented some of these technologies, and we look forward to future discussions and collaborations where we can leverage and mutually benefit our cleanup missions,” said Jean P. Pabón, EM Technology Development Office senior program manager.
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A team from EM and Sandia National Laboratories participated in a demonstration of a pipe-crawling robot used for site inspections at the Sellafield Engineering and Maintenance Centre of Excellence. |
This latest collaboration comes on the heels of a trilateral workshop focused on stakeholder engagement. A team of leaders from EM headquarters and cleanup sites traveled to London, U.K., to participate in the workshop with NDA and Canadian government representatives and impacted stakeholders. And late last year, EM’s Technology Development Office and Sandia employees were among a team that evaluated technology to improve the safety and well-being of EM’s workforce at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in Pensacola.
During the most recent visit to Sellafield, the EM-Sandia team observed multiple robotic deployments and evaluations and discussed common successes and challenges associated with the technology maturation process.
They talked with developers and end users of the systems to better understand how the Sellafield teams worked together to mature and transition the systems to routine operations. The EM contingent also discussed their robotic development efforts and identified areas for future collaboration.
Jason Wheeler, a research and development robotics engineer at Sandia, noted the importance of such teamwork with international collaborators.
“Because the nuclear cleanup mission involves such unique hazards, it’s essential that we work closely with our international partners to learn from each other’s successes and failures in deploying emerging technology,” Wheeler said.
The EM-Sandia team expects to continue collaborative efforts with its U.K. partners.
 EM Sustainability Program Manager Albes Gaona presents GreenBuy Awards to contractor Katrina Lund, the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project’s environmental compliance manager, during his visit to the site earlier this year. The Moab Project received two GreenBuy Awards for excellence in “green purchasing” for fiscal year 2022. EM headquarters congratulated both the Moab Project and the Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center, which oversees the Moab Project.
MOAB, Utah – DOE has awarded EM's Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project the coveted Superior GreenBuy Award, honoring the site’s efforts to reduce its footprint through environmentally friendly acquisitions over the past five years.
The Superior GreenBuy Award recognizes leadership and continuous improvement in purchasing sustainable products. The Moab Project qualified for the Superior GreenBuy Award after earning the Gold Level GreenBuy Award for fiscal years 2012, 2013, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
“Congratulations to the Moab team for another successful year achieving excellence in sustainable purchasing,” Moab Project Acting Federal Cleanup Director Matt Udovitsch said. “I’m proud of the team for their ongoing commitment to protecting the environment.”
Launched in 2011, DOE’s GreenBuy Award Program recognizes Department sites that practice “green purchasing” beyond the minimum federal requirements. The program is based on purchases made from the Priority Products List, which identifies products that are energy and water efficient, and made from biobased or recycled content materials.
Among the products the Moab Project purchased in fiscal year 2022 were fluorescent light bulbs, recycled paper towels, computers and mobile phones, a water bottle refill station, and landscaping items such as native seed mixes comprised of native species that adapt to conserve water in arid conditions. The Moab Project received its most recent Gold Level award for purchasing nine products in six different categories.
-Contributor: Barbara Michel
 A Washington River Protection Solutions crew used a mock-up of a portion of a tank dome at the Hanford Site’s Cold Test Facility to practice cutting and removing a tank dome core.
RICHLAND, Wash. – Workers on the Hanford Site are preparing to cut into the dome of an underground waste-storage tank later this summer to get ready for future waste retrieval operations.
This is just the third time in 15 years that EM Office of River Protection (ORP) contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) will create an access hole in a tank that contains radioactive and chemical waste from plutonium production operations during World War II and the Cold War era.
WRPS crews used a mock-up of a tank dome to test a new drilling machine and tools designed to significantly reduce time and potential exposure for field crews.
“Mock-ups increase safety and efficiency, giving crews a chance to practice, provide feedback, and apply lessons learned as they prepare to work on the real waste tank,” said Jim Greene, ORP Tank Farm Programs Division manager. “Using this technology means we can limit the time crews have to spend in a hazardous area.”
 NEW EMTV VIDEO ALERT: Watch this video about a mock-up of an underground waste-storage tank at the Hanford Site that allows workers to practice using core cutting equipment before performing the work in the field.
Known as the Tank Dome Core Cutting System, the modified drilling machine will excavate several feet of soil above the tank and drill through the tank dome. This is an improvement over workers digging by hand to remove the soil.
The drilling system was developed to create a 4-foot-diameter hole in Tank A-106 for the placement of a new riser, or long access tube, through which crews will install waste retrieval equipment.
Building the mock-up and training started earlier this year at Hanford’s innovative Cold Test Facility, where workers test prototype systems and train in a nonradioactive environment.
“Occasionally an existing riser can become blocked with decades-old, contaminated equipment,” said Peggy Hamilton, WRPS Single-Shell Tank Retrievals manager. “It is safer and more efficient to create a new riser than return the existing riser to a condition suitable for use. The training sessions at the mock-up helped the team become familiar with the new system and identify opportunities for improvement before setting up and operating the equipment at the tank.”
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Workers use the Tank Dome Core Cutting System, a modified drilling machine that will create an access hole in the top of an underground waste-storage tank where workers will install equipment to retrieve radioactive and chemical waste from the tank. |
The new cutting system is based on previous successes in dome access. In 2010, WRPS cut a 55-inch-diameter hole in the top of a tank in Hanford’s C Tank Farm using high-pressure water and a fine material called garnet grit. Then in 2013, WRPS used a newly developed rotary-core cutting system to cut a hole in the dome of another C Farm tank. A tank farm is a large group of underground waste storage tanks.
The six 1-million-gallon capacity tanks that make up the A Tank Farm — including Tank A-106 — were built in the mid-1950s. As part of the cleanup mission, crews are safely retrieving waste from the older single-shell tanks into newer, more robust double-shell tanks until the waste can be vitrified, or immobilized in glass. Waste retrieval operations in the A Tank Farm are scheduled to start in mid-2024.
When completed, the A Tank Farm will be the third at Hanford where workers have finished retrieving waste from all tanks in a farm. Workers have finished waste retrieval operations on the 16 tanks in the C Tank Farm and will have finished the four tanks in the AX Tank Farm by then. To date, EM has completed retrieval operations on 19 of 149 single-shell tanks with operations at two additional tanks in progress.
-Contributor: Kristin M. Kraemer
WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – The EM program at the West Valley Demonstration Project conducted its annual Safety Day to reinforce and highlight the importance of safety through demonstrations, hands-on activities and guest lectures. The event organizers held demonstrations on electrical safety, heat-stress monitoring, procedural compliance, and three-way communication, and they provided information on nutrition and staying healthy. A “Jeopardy” style game tested employees’ knowledge of safety controls, tools and procedures in a fun, competitive manner. Cheryl Wozniak, safety engineer with CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley, EM’s cleanup contractor at the site, coordinated the event for all employees. She thanked them for making safety their No. 1 priority. “Thank you for all your hard work in helping us to maintain our Voluntary Protection Program Superior Star status,” Wozniak said. “Your involvement and proactive approach to safety continues to promote a safety culture that is continuously improving the work environment and reducing risks. Together, we help each other stay safe and healthy.”
-Contributor: Joseph Pillittere
 From left, Enterprise Technical Assistance Services Project Manager Nathan Miller, Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership (FRNP) Program Manager Myrna Redfield, Mid-America Conversion Services (MCS) campaign coordinator Meg Kelley, EM Paducah Site Strategic Planner Robert “Buz” Smith, Swift & Staley (SSI) Project Manager Tammy Courtney, SSI campaign coordinator Amanda Scott, MCS Program Director Rob Gentry and FRNP campaign coordinator Steve Christmas.
PADUCAH, Ky. – Through their DOE Feds Feed Families program, EM Paducah Site workers raised funds to purchase about 130,000 pounds of food for local nonprofits whose mission is to provide local families with reliable access to affordable, nutritious food.
One in four children and one in six adults in the U.S. do not know where their next meal is coming from, according to Salvation Army Lt. David W. Donegan.
“We are grateful to the Department of Energy and their contractors for supporting our summer feeding programs and our choice food pantry program in Paducah,” Donegan said. “These donations from the Feds Feed Families program help us fill that gap.”
 Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership Intern Andrew “Cole” Bobo, right, entices auction attendees with displays of cakes, pies and other baked goods donated to support the Feds Feed Families program this summer.
EM and its contractors at the Paducah Site, including Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership (FRNP), Swift & Staley, Enterprise Technical Assistance Services (ETAS), and Mid-America Conversion Services (MCS), teamed up to collect the equivalent of 130,000 pounds of food for the annual Feds Feed Families campaign.
Each company found fun and creative ways to raise funds for this year’s campaign. FRNP organized a cake auction and bake sale to help teach fundamental networking skills to college interns. The interns worked with professional mentors and senior managers to collect baked goods and funds to make the event a success. ETAS coordinated an ice cream social to help personnel beat the heat and MCS employees launched a friendly online competition between internal departments to raise money.
“Our contractors continue to grow the Feds Feed Families program with their innovative fundraising events, which allows our local nonprofits to put more food on the shelves for families in need,” Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office Manager Joel Bradburne said.
This year’s campaign benefited 10 local nonprofits: Marcella’s Kitchen in Marshall County, Kentucky; Community Kitchen, Family Service Society, Paducah Cooperative Ministry, Martha’s Vineyard, Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul and River City Mission in McCracken County, Kentucky; St. Mary’s Food Pantry in Ballard County, Kentucky; and COPE Food Pantry in Massac County, Illinois.
-Contributors: Dylan Nichols, Jessica Vasseur
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