The DSC Standard® – December 2012

 |  Filed in The DSC Standard®

Seasons to Celebrate

For Team DSC®, community commitment isn’t a perfect science. Sometimes it’s a logical progression that connects our building expertise with market demand. Sometimes it’s a human need or a call to serve that we simply can’t turn away from. In every case, we act out of a desire to bring lasting benefits to our community, our colleagues and our clients.
In this regard, 2012 has been a season to celebrate. We embarked on a rewarding new relationship with the Arizona Science Center, worked as a “community” to deliver the Dream Rooms project, launched a new web home for Team DSC® and broke ground on two of the most environmentally conscious homes in our company’s history.
Our approach is not a perfect science, but it is deliberate and thoughtful, and always with you in mind. Here’s to being thankful for this formula and for all that it will bring in the year ahead!
With gratitude,
Jerry Meek and Team DSC®

 

Inspiring, Educating, Entertaining

Desert Star has always embraced and encouraged innovation, both as a culture and as individuals. So when the Arizona Science Center asked us to sponsor a permanent display in its lobby, the commitment seemed a natural fit. Last quarter marked the completion and debut of “Desert Star Construction Innovations in Arizona,” a quarterly, changing display that showcases the amazing innovation and research happening in Arizona in a number of STEM-based fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

The first display topic is one that’s close to our hearts: Building Desert Homes. In this display, guests were provided information on green building and examples of the materials used by Arizona companies to take action on climate change, water conservation and improving human health. They were then challenged to construct a green home and to participate in activities by the Center’s Guest Experience Staff that related to the featured topic.

Giving back as part of the Center’s permanent support system has been a wonderful experience. We’re proud to share in its mission to “inspire, educate and entertain people of all ages.” Hope to see you there soon!

Web Sweet Home

DesertStarConstruction.com is not what it used to be… it’s better! We invite you to visit our new web home for Team DSC® and check out our easier-to-navigate format, enhanced with new photo galleries, updated and expanded team member bios, a map of our homebuilding legacy and more information on our efforts—and your options—in sustainable building. We also have a client and trade partner log-in page, where we share job updates, schedules, plans and more. Take a peek at the “For Fun” tab as well, featuring photos of our team, job sites and great times over the years. See if you can spot someone (or some place) you know!

We hope you enjoy these updates. We also always welcome your thoughts on new site amenities that might make your life easier!

Dream Come True

Team DSC® joined this year in celebrating the completion of the The Rescue Project Dream Rooms, a DSC-led effort that through ten design firms, 34 DSC trade partners, 300 contributing companies and more than 1,000 volunteers turned ten uninhabitable hotel rooms at the Phoenix Dream Center into safe havens for victims of human trafficking. This quarter, we’ve been thrilled to watch this project earn well-deserved recognition.


In late June, the Dream Rooms earned a Judge’s “Special Award of Excellence – Community Spirit” from the Gold Nugget awards, an international awards program recognizing those who improve our communities through exceptional concepts in design, planning and development. This quarter, the Dream Rooms also received word from Engineering News Record that Dream Rooms is a “Best of 2012” award winner.To those who helped create this reality—who worked with us and did not turn away from the needs of those seeking rescue in our community—a thank you is simply not enough. But we do thank you, and we will always be so grateful.

 

Energy in Action

Desert Star is currently underway on two LEED Certified net-zero homes—properties that mark all that is possible in sustainable construction, even in our extreme desert environment. Of course, these homes would not be possible without our clients themselves. You represent the energy, creativity and desire that makes innovation and advancement possible. We can’t wait to share the results with you!