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Making a difference: Jim Casper
July 1, 2024
APPLETON – Founded in 1889, The Boldt Company (Boldt), a subsidiary of The Boldt Group, is a fourth-generation family- and employee-owned construction services firm headquartered in Appleton.
With 18 offices across eight states, Boldt works with customers nationwide in the healthcare, power, industrial, education, automotive and commercial markets.
President/CEO Dave Kievet said Boldt doesn’t just build buildings – it builds communities.
Since the company’s inception, the Boldt family has prioritized giving back to the community.
From the establishment of the Boldt Family Fund – a foundation that provides grants to charitable organizations interested in scientific, health, the performing arts and literary and/or educational purposes – to its Volunteer Time Off (VTO) program – which provides all regular full-time, majority-time and part-time employees paid time off to volunteer, he said Boldt does what it can to make a difference in the communities it calls home.
Recognitions for service
Over the years, Kievet said Boldt has received various awards and recognitions for the company’s donations of time, money, in-kind gifts, etc. – with the most recent being the United Way Fox Cities 2023 Community Changer Award in the medium-size company category.
Kievet said it was an honor to accept the award, but said Boldt doesn’t do what it does for the awards or accolades.
“I think (this award in particular) recognizes and symbolizes we’re doing the right things, which is what is ultimately important,” he said. “Our culture within our organization is one centered on people – first and foremost for our employees, their families, our customers, the partners we do business with and the people in our communities.”
At Boldt, Kievet said the company’s overall culture focuses on supporting communities.
“Building, for us, includes building the necessary foundation for healthy, thriving communities,” he said. “The United Way Fox Cities is the right partner for this, as the organization addresses the needs of those who will never let you know they need help. These may be our friends, family, neighbors and co-workers.”
Boldt employees, Kievet said, consistently step up.
This past year, 84% of team members contributed to the United Way campaign, and with company matches, Boldt provided $411,000 to the United Way – earning it the community changer recognition.
“Our culture of giving to the communities in which we all live, work and play is a valuable part of our business and that we’re on the right track,” he said.
He said he’s been involved with United Way on some level for most of his 35-year career with Boldt, including in Stevens Point, San Francisco and Sacramento, California.
Kievet said he is currently serving as the co-campaign chair of the United Way Fox Cities campaign – a role ending at the end of 2024.
Boldt and its employees are long-time supporters of United Way agencies locally and across the country, Kievet said.
“We encourage active engagement in the United Way at different levels within our organization,” he said. “A lot of it revolves around fundraising and commitment.”
Some employees, Kievet said, are also involved in other United Way programs, including the Diaper Re-Pack initiative.
“I think the statistic is that one out of every two families in the Fox Valley needs assistance with diapers for young children,” he said. “So, from time to time, they have opportunities for our employees to volunteer to go to the diaper repack center and package diapers so they can be distributed to families in need.”
Kievet said one of the things he appreciates about the United Way is its commitment to anonymity when it comes to those they’re helping.
“For a lot of personal or business reasons, there are members in our community who are struggling and need help and who don’t want to let anybody know they’re struggling,” he said. “United Way is a unique and great organization in that by contributing to them, they ensure you’re helping those that are most in need in our communities we would have no other way of knowing about. That aspect of anonymity is important.”
Giving beyond United Way
Kievet said Boldt’s arm of generosity extends beyond the United Way – helping support dozens of other local charitable organizations, including:
- Make-A-Wish Foundation
- YMCA
- Girl Scouts of Northwestern Great Lakes
- Children’s Wisconsin
- Boys & Girls Club
- Fox Valley Literacy
- American Cancer Society
- Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
- Neenah Animal Shelter
- Fox Cities Performing Arts Center
- NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness
- Feeding America
- Local homeless shelters, soup kitchens and community meal programs
Kievet said Boldt and its partners are helping build a new, 6,000-square-foot animal shelter at a discounted rate.
The shelter is expected to be completed this month.
The time employees give, Kievet said, adds up quickly.
As of April 2, he said Boldt employees nationwide donated 7,610 hours to a total of 396 different nonprofits.
“We believe there are needs in the community, and we do our best to ensure we provide for them,” he said. “There are a lot of worthwhile nonprofit organizations. We encourage everybody to contribute to where their passion lies.”
Kievet said the whole reason Boldt exists as an organization in the first place is “because Oscar (Boldt) wanted to provide good jobs for people.”
“It wasn’t to make the most money, gain the most recognition or build the biggest buildings,” he said. “That spirit and intent still exist today.”
Kievet said Boldt is always looking for ways to help build stronger communities.
“It’s one of the fundamental principles of why we exist in the first place,” he said. “We help our customers to grow their businesses, which help grow communities.”
To continue to support the industry itself, Kievet said Boldt does what it can to promote trade careers with youth in the local school systems.
The company, he said, partners with educational institutions to offer hands-on experiences for students interested in the trades.
“We reach out to a lot of schools in the communities where we operate because many schools are no longer promoting the industrial arts like they used to,” he said. “So, there are few places where students can get exposure to careers that exist in the construction industry.”
Exposing students to opportunities within the industry, Kievet said, can help spark interest that might not have otherwise been there.
“We’re suffering in the construction industry of attracting more of the workforce into the building trades,” he said. “It’s necessary for us to go to the schools and communities and begin to educate them as to what exists.”
Additionally, Kievet said Boldt supports Fox Valley Technical College with internship and apprenticeship programs and works with female-oriented programs and groups, like the Girl Scouts, to expose girls and young women to the construction field.
“Being able to talk to them and educate them about what’s available, I think, is making a difference,” he said. “Working with the Girl Scouts on building programs and trying to get them exposure to the (various things that certain jobs entail) is where we try to spend a lot of our time.”
Kievet said Boldt also participates in a program called She Build – which is designed to give women exposure to what the construction industry is about.
“If that is something they may be interested in pursuing, we’ll then pair them up with mentors who help answer the questions they might have about what it takes to get started in a career in construction,” he said. “Anything we can do to create more opportunities for all individuals to get into the building trades is what we’re about.”
At the end of the day, Kievet said continuing Boldt’s culture of building strong communities is one of his most important responsibilities as president/CEO.
“Regardless of how big we’ve grown or what we end up doing, as long as I am here, we will always have a commitment to people, which includes our communities,” he said. “As I begin to work with the next generation of leaders within our organization, I spend a lot of time focusing on why we exist – it all revolves around people.”
Building buildings, Kievet said, is the easy part.
“Building relationships is the tough part,” he said. “So, we focus on the people aspect of our business, and that includes the communities where we live, work and play.”
