GLACIAL NAMED COMMUNITY
SERVICE AWARD WINNER

A dredging project that ultimately led to a riverfront community park earned Glacial Sand & Gravel Co., Kittanning, PA the 1998 NAA Excellence in Community Service Award.  Presented at the recent NAA Convention in Las Vegas to Mark Snyder, Glacial's President, the award is the culmination of a cooperative effort spearheaded by the company with support and cooperation of the community.  Glacial is one of the Snyder companies. 

Glacial is a family-owned company with deep roots in the Kittanning area.   Mr. Snyder served on the Kittanning Riverfront Park Commission charged with overseeing the park project.  He, along with other Snyder family members, recognized that dredging was crucial to the overall success of the entire master plan.

The borough of Kittanning is one of only a few river valley towns that have preserved its riverbanks for public use and recreation.  The borough has maintained the riverbank as a Riverfront Park that hosts regional festivals, concerts, weddings and other community activities.  In late 1996, Kittanning Borough was awarded a $4.3 million master planning grant for the park and community and for improvements to the Riverfront Park.

Integral to the success  of the Riverfront Park Project was the deepening of the Allegheny River to provide pleasure boat and riverboat excursion crafts access to the panned sheet pile riverwall, amphitheater and boat launch ramp.  The dredging project included the removal of approximately 200,000 cubic yards of material at a cost estimated by the Corps of Engineers to be nearly $6 million.

When the area's local Congressman was unsuccessful in securing the additional funding needed to complete the dredging project, Glacial offered to complete the dredging project at no cost to taxpayers or the Federal, State, or local governments.

Early in 1998, project permits were issued and dredging operations began shortly thereafter.  After 78 days and approximately 2,000 hours of dredge and towboat equipment time, 276,314 tons of material were removed, and the project was finished just hours before the "Grand Reopening" celebration began on Flag Day, June 14, 1998.

The project was an excellent opportunity for residents to see river dredging first-hand and to observe how it did not disrupt the community activities.  Glacial's role in upgrading the park exemplified the strong commitment of the company to the community's quality of life.

During the application process, NAA received numerous letters of support for Glacial's bid from local service organizations and government officials.  "We have never seen such a letter writing campaign before in our award program," said NAA Acting President Rick Meininger.  "It demonstrated that Glacial has earned tremendous support in its community."

[ Letters of support ]