‘When we have the opportunity to give back, we definitely do’

Rachel Sankey

Staff

August 19, 2024

ALTOONA –  At Hoeft Builders, Vice President and Partner Luke Rykal said for the business to be successful, “we need the community we’re involved in to be successful.”

Rykal said the commercial contractor has given back to several different organizations in the community – the Boys and Girls Club of the Chippewa Valley and the Children’s Museum of Eau Claire being a few – an effort that started with John Hoeft, who founded the business in 1983.

“I never met John, but the story I’ve heard is he was a giving guy – (his son) Peter as well,” he said. “He’s passed on that culture. When we do well, we want to treat others well and help wherever we can.”

The company’s focus on building relationships with its clients, Rykal said, translates into its community work as well.

Supporting the community

Hoeft supports community organizations through monetary donations, resources or volunteering – Rykal said it all depends on what the organization needs. 

“We look at, ‘hey, do you need money? Do you need resources? Do you need networking?’” he said. “What do you need from us to be successful, and we’ll put that hat on.”

For the Boys & Girls Club, Rykal said help was given in the form of low-cost facility improvements.

“We do a lot of work for the Boys & Girls Club, and a lot of the time, we’re doing a project for them at a low cost or no cost – trying to get their facilities a bit better,” he said. 

Rykal said Hoeft has also supported the University of Wisconsin-Stout (UW-Stout) through a financial gift of $76,000.

“We gave a significant donation last year to improve its weight room facility,” he said. 

The university, Rykal said, has been an “integral part of our organization.”

“Half of our employees are graduates from UW-Stout, so it felt like a great opportunity for us to give back and help it grow,” he said. 

Rykal said Hoeft also donates to the Chippewa Falls YMCA and participates in events the organization has – such as its golf outing.

Proceeds from the event go to the YMCA’s annual Strong Kids Campaign, which provides children the resources they need to have a healthy and well-developed life – such as teaching a child how to swim or helping a teenager learn to read.

In addition to supporting the area’s children, Rykal said Hoeft donated a significant amount (in the $100,000-plus category) to the Children’s Museum of Eau Claire for its new building that opened in January 2023.

He said Hoeft was also the general contractor on the project in partnership with Market & Johnson.

In past years, Rykal said Hoeft has also helped local families – such as fulfilling five family’s Christmas wish lists through the Western Dairyland Economic Opportunity Council, a nonprofit organization working with individuals and community organizations to mitigate poverty conditions.

In 2022, Rykal said Hoeft’s carpenter crew built dugouts for the Lowes Creek Baseball team, which he said the company felt was a great way to support the community/community activities.

Other ways Hoeft helps out where it can in the community, Rykal said, is by serving on local boards.

The Chippewa Valley Health Cooperative, he said, is one example.

Peter, along with six other business and community leaders in Eau Claire and Chippewa counties, formed the nonprofit organization to make quality health care accessible and affordable for those in the Chippewa Valley region.

“He’s on the board… bringing his skills and resources to the table – his network of people – to help with fundraising,” he said.

 Rykal said other boards Hoeft team members are a part of include the Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation, the Children’s Museum of Eau Claire, Eau Claire Area Economic Development Corporation Board Member and Junior Achievement of Northwestern Wisconsin.

A full list of the organizations Hoeft has supported through the years is available on its website (hoeftbuilders.com).

Helping as much as possible

When it comes to Hoeft’s giving, Rykal said the company tries to help as many organizations as possible through meaningful giving.

“We try to spread it (out) as much as we can,” he said. “We’re still considered a mid-size company, so the dollar can only go so far, but we try to give as much as we can to as many as we can.”

When looking at who to help, Rykal said Hoeft also focuses on how those organizations impact the community.

“And, do we have a close tie with them?” he said. “Have we used their resources? The company as a whole, I would say – we love to give back when we can, and we enjoy it when we have the opportunity to do it.”

As most of Hoeft’s employees live in the Chippewa Valley and Eau Claire region, Rykal said giving back to organizations in the area is even more important.

“All of our employees are pretty much local,” he said. “If we can give back and make those organizations better that we utilize, it’s a win-win in our book.”

Though it’s not required for businesses to help out in their communities, Rykal said doing so is crucial to the vitality of the area as a whole.

“When we have the opportunity to give back, we definitely do because when they grow, we grow with them,” he said.

More about Hoeft

When Hoeft Builders was first founded in 1983, Rykal said John started small – with “grocery stores and fast food restaurants – things like that.”

When John passed away, Rykal said his son Peter returned from college and took over the business.

From there, Rykal said the company continued to grow.

“We have just fewer than 50 (employees) now,” he said. 

Rykal said Hoeft Builders is a “full-blown” construction management general contracting firm and specializes in design-build projects.

“We don’t do any residential, but all the way from hospitality, medical clinics, big warehouses, distribution centers – you name it, we do it all,” he said.   

Though Hoeft Builders does do public work, Rykal said it specializes in business-to-business.