Thursday, February 25, 2016

Texas Bench Installation

Monday, February 22 was the date set for the installation of my "Family Tree" bench in The Woodlands, Texas.  All of these pictures (except the last 2) were taken by Michelle Betcher who is the Project Manager for The Woodlands Township.
 I made the 900 mile trip down in 2 days with this flat bed truck from Thrifty Rental.  I'd loaded the 4,000 lb. sculpture the previous week with a 23 ton crane from JBB, Inc. and Dereck Sheroan as the operator.
 On the left is John Powers who is the Assistant General Manager for The Woodlands Township.  He made all the arrangements for the site preparation and scheduled the crane.  I love the name of this crane company:  Heave Ho Crane Co.
 This is a great photo by Michelle.  We're rigging up the sculpture for the lift.
 The operator, Mike Rasberry, was excellent to work with.  He was "spot-on" for the entire lift.  I totally recommend these folks for the Houston area!
 On the left is Brandon who was with me for the entire setting.  It's great to work with experienced people; it takes some of the stress off me.
 There was a lot of help from other City employees.  They anticipated my needs before I could even ask for help.  That just makes things go that much smoother.
 Will it hold me up?  You bet!  Installations are stressful and even after 33 years it never seems to get easier.  However, my experience with the people in The Woodlands was exemplary.  I wish that all installations would go this way.
 Burning Down the House?  I noticed this on the way down.
This close-up shows that it has lights as part of this ...public art?

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