Fair 48° F

Home > Archive > Mar 20, 2008

Desert Hills Construction: Building Up the Community
By Cami Cox
Staff Writer
Desert Hills Construction, in the business of building from the underground up since 1994, was named Trade Contractor Member of the Year by the Southern Utah Home Builders Association, Feb. 5. The company was given the award based on meeting criteria set forth by SUHBA, which included involvement and participation in the Home Builders Association and diligence in serving the local community.
“We're excited to receive the award, and I think we're a great company and try really hard to make our customers happy,” Jason Rogers, Desert Hills Construction manager and co-founder, said.
Desert Hills performs such construction work as grading, excavating, underground utilities installation, earthmoving and paving. As a company, they have built a reputation for reliability in Southern Utah, SUHBA executive officer Carol Sapp said, but more than helping to construct buildings, Desert Hills is helping shape the community.
“We want to recognize them for their service and for what they do in the community,” Sapp said.
SUHBA gives its annual award based on a number of things, SUHBA Member Services Director Kathy Tolleson said. Among reasons Desert Hills was chosen as this year's recipient was the company's diligent participation in SUHBA, its accomplishments in the industry, and, of course, Desert Hills' attention to community service.
Desert Hills has donated time and equipment to community projects. They are part of ongoing efforts to build the new Children's Justice Center on 500 South in St. George, which is nearing completion. They have taken part in grading for the site, constructing the parking facilities and installing the sewer and water equipment.
“I think that's a really worthwhile cause, and we're excited to be helping on that particular project,” Rogers said.
Also among its philanthropic efforts, Desert Hills Construction aided in the 2007 “Parade of Playhouses,” sponsored by SUHBA, which raised funds for Habitat for Humanity.
For the Parade of Playhouses, local construction companies built elaborate playhouses that were auctioned off to raise money for habitat. The event took place at the Dixie Convention Center, and Desert Hills donated time and manpower to transport the playhouses first to the Dixie Center and then to the homes of the purchasers after the event. As the playhouses were very large, transporting them was a cumbersome task, Sapp said, but Desert Hills stepped up to the plate to help, all in the name of aiding the cause.
“We just really appreciated that,” Sapp said.
Desert Hills Construction also took part in building the Doctors' Free Clinic (now the Doctors' Volunteer Clinic) when it was first created. For that project, Desert Hills Construction aided in excavation, draining, and installing the water and sewer lines.
Desert Hills Construction was additionally involved in relief efforts during the 2005 floods, doing all they could to help stem the floodwaters and assist those whose homes were in danger.
“We had so many, many, many people involved when the 2005 floods hit us, but (Rogers) was one of those that just went out there and worked day and night and day and night and day and night, donating equipment and manpower to actually keep more homes from being destroyed,” Sapp said.
Helping to shape not only the community but the community's young residents, as well, Rogers and others at Desert Hills also take part in the Construction Career Days event for local students each year, sponsored by Utah State University. Rogers and his crew have participated every year since Construction Career Days started, and they annually haul some of their heavy equipment to the school sites and set up construction-related games and activities for the kids, teaching them and striving to get them excited about the construction industry. In this way, Desert Hills Construction is helping cultivate a new generation of potential construction workers, Rogers said, and building up the builders of the future.
“In the construction industry, it's getting very hard to find people that want to work in this industry. It's a hard industry – it's hot and dirty,” he said. “This gives young people of high school age and junior high school age a chance to see what we do, and, possibly, get some young people coming up that will be interested in working in this business.”
When it comes to maintaining his own good business relations, Rogers said it comes down to the simple concept of customer service and also having a good crew of workers around him.
“Our first concern is the customer,” he said. “We want to make sure that the developers in the Southern Utah area are taken care of.”
“We believe that we have some of the best. We just have a really fine group of employees.”
Sapp said Rogers, his business and his employees were well-deserving of the honor they received from SUHBA.
“We recognize them also because they are just so invaluable to us, and we want them to know that,” she said. “We just appreciate them.”
Desert Hills Construction can be found at a new location, 491 E. Riverside Dr., Building 2, in St. George. To contact the business, call 656-2900.

---