The second annual Junior Engineering Day hosted by Empow[HER] at the Henderson headquarters on Sept. 16 was another success as dozens of children participated in demonstrations led by our talented engineers. After the inaugural event was for children of employees, this year’s fun-filled day also included children of clients.

“This event was first born with the goal of engaging our own employees’ kids, but it immediately grew last year as we have numerous folks who are passionate about spreading cheer about our profession,” Vice President | Director of KCMO Operations Julie Pierce noted. “Since this falls under our community outreach piller of Empow[HER], it makes perfect sense to align with numerous folks – from clients to school districts.”

In all, 51 kids participated. The children experienced 10 stations covering a variety of disciplines: Electrical (Electromazing), mechanical (Keeping out the Heat), plumbing (Plumb-It), refrigeration (What do a car, school, and grocery store have in common?), fire protection (As Seen on TV), lighting (Light.ly), technology (Sound on Fire), sustainability (Water Bottle Do-Overs), health and wellness (Eats and Feats…of Strength), and Henderson Building Solutions (Lemonergy).

“The main goal of Junior Engineering Day is to get the kids involved and to show them that engineering is fun,” said Electrical Engineer Kim Williams, who organized this year’s event. “I think every station had special features in their own ways. Each was different and fun, and I think the kids learned a lot.”

Senior Vice President Jason Wollum kicked the morning off with opening remarks while Julie and Associate Vice President Kelly Noel also passed along their expertise to those in attendance at the beginning and end of the day.

Numerous #TeamHenderson colleagues volunteered with the planning, setup, execution, and cleanup. Kim expressed gratitude for all involved to make this a memorable experience for the children.

“This day would not be possible without all of the volunteers that helped to make it happen,” she noted. “We had 48 volunteers that helped out in some fashion this year. That is a lot of people that were willing to help make this a success. Even if they couldn’t be there the day of the event, there were many people who helped in the days prior and with the planning that made our jobs so much easier. This says so much about Henderson as a team!”