Weston DeHart discussed CMS Willowbrook's work in Chickasha, and shared the behind-the-scenes story of the Classen Curve fire in Oklahoma City last year.The Rotary Club of Chickasha met Thursday, March 30, 2023. Rotarian Mitch Williams led the club in singing "Hard Hat and a Hammer".
The Chickasha Middle School Students of the Month for March were in attendance: Kaden, Jimmy, and Gracie. Another student, Iva, was unable to attend.
Rotarian Gerron Smith updated the club on the Rotary Run fundraiser. At the time of the meeting, $8,150 of the $10,000 goal had been raised. Volunteer lists have been sent out to members. 42 runners were signed up.
As Rotarian of the Day, Smith introduced the speaker, Weston DeHart, President of CMSWillowbrook.
"Willowbrook" was founded in 1974 and is now the third largest commercial contractor in the state. They have done construction for education, mutli-family developments, healthcare, commercial purposes, and municipal projects. While the company is primarily concerned with project management, they will perform work themselves if it will advance the project and is in the owner's best interest. Some of their regular clients include Science & Arts, Grady Memorial Hospital, the Grady County Fairgrounds, Oklahoma State University, among many others.
CMSWillowbrook was also heavily involved in the restoration of the 100 block of Chickasha Avenue. It started with renovating the Chickasha Hotel. Many of the properties they rebuilt now house successful businesses, including The Speak, Canadian River Brewing Co., Tammie's Bling, Flower Shop Winery, and Brandi's Bar & Grill.
Finally, DeHart shared a new documentary, which told the story of the Classen Curve fire in February 2022. CMSWillowbrook was overseeing the project, which was a multi-use development in Oklahoma City. When the fire occurred, the building was fully destroyed. Rumors spread that as the developer, CMS was at fault, which has since been proven to be false. The documentary, produced by Intellego Media, covered the aftermath of the fire from the perspective of the contractors that had been working on the building.
Lunch was provided by Alexander Eats.