BUILDING HEROes

In 2017, Russ founded Vaagen Timbers to produce state-of-the-art Mass Timber products for the buildings of the future. After a groundbreaking in May of 2018, Vaagen Timbers was open and certified in July of 2019. The company has delivered projects all over the US and even projects in Europe. Russ has spent countless hours working on forest collaboration to thin and restore overstocked forest stands and believes strongly that mass timber provides the best value and exposure to how we can restore our forests and build low-carbon footprint buildings in the future.

“Using an eco-friendly and integrated approach, Vaagen Timbers aims to develop and deliver beautiful, strong and versatile wood products that customers can be proud of. Their vision is to change the way people think about the places they live, work, and play, and to deliver the best product while connecting forests and communities together.” https://vaagentimbers.com/

BACKGROUND

Matt and his wife, Theresa, started Matt’s Place Foundation just after diagnosis and have since helped raise awareness of ALS and create support for PALS (people with ALS) and CALS (caretakers for ALS). Definition: a disease in which neuron cells in the brain and spinal cord slowly deteriorate. Over time, ALS destroys the ability to; walk, speak, eat, swallow, and breathe.

In this episode, Theresa talks about the needs and strategies to make homes more accessible for progressive diseases or aging in place.

ABOUT MATT WILD

In 2015, Matthew Wild, a 41-year-old former U.S. Marine, began experiencing strange feelings in his hands and arms, showing signs of muscle deterioration. Nearly a year of diet change and healthy eating had not alleviated his symptoms. In February 2015, a neurologist confirmed the initial diagnosis that Matt has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. As a former Marine who revels in the challenge of a seemingly impossible task, Matt wanted to be an inspiration for others battling ALS. Soon after his diagnosis, Matt came up with a slogan: “Uncrushable Spirit.”

WHERE TO LEARN MORE

To learn more about what was discussed in this episode of the Building HEROes Podcast, please use these additional resources.

• Matt’s Story at https://www.mattsplacefoundation.org/matts-story

• Hope & Housing Youtube Series https://www.youtube.com/@MattsPlaceFoundation

• Donate here! https://donorbox.org/matt-s-place-foundation-1

Two leaders from McKinstry explain how new builds and renovations can remove waste and climate harm through engineering, design, and technical procedures. With integrated methodology in construction projects, the company seeks to understand how increasingly complex buildings work with new legislative compliance issues, and how we can come up with innovative solutions that drive the efficiency of buildings The role of both the building operator and occupants are discussed, including passive and active strategies for both parties that can help minimize carbon impact. Customers often have big, complex problems to solve, and McKinstrey then creates partnerships to meet the needs of these problem statements.

In many ways, a building’s efficiency relies heavily on the building operator. In this episode, we spend time with Melanie and Rebecca learning about the Northwest Energy Efficiency Council. They focus on improving the energy efficiency of buildings through training and resources for building operators in the PNW.

Understanding how energy is used in the residential buildings we live in allows illumination of a host of misconceptions and simplifications. An honest appraisal of our home energy picture encourages us to explore what matters and matters most. We can learn what will best help our carbon footprint, and our energy costs while improving the vitality of our living environment. Best methods vary significantly by geography, local resources, and our changing climate.

In this episode, we talk with Gus Simonds and Perry England from MacDonald Miller. Gus Simonds has been the CEO of Macdonald Miller since 1988 using his variety of skills to ensure that even the most complex building problems can be solved. Perry England has been with MacDonald Miller since 2005 and is proud to help buildings work better while taking care of the community and the environment.

In this podcast, we speak with Hendrik Van Hemert, the Managing Director for Edo, and his involvement in the South Landing project, and what it means for the future of grid interactivity in the built environment.

Richard Danks started out as a mechanic at a boatyard. He finally accepted a job at the Austin Company where his father worked for many years, but not until after he had applied and been rejected more than 60 times by other companies. He has traveled across the United States working on a multitude of project types and programs. This podcast discusses the culture of the construction industry as an employee. Mr. Danks lets the listener into his specific experiences, good and bad in the industry. He also gives future employees some advice that helped him during his time, along with some things he wished he would've known.