Catherine's Princess Castle
Seven-year old Catherine of Kelso, TN has a brain tumor. Earlier this year, Catherine and her aunt Donna learned she was eligible to receive a wish from the Make-A-Wish® Foundation of Middle Tennessee. After meeting with her wish granter Stewart Bronaugh and thinking about her favorite things, Catherine wrote this letter:
Once the members at AIA and AGC learned of Catherine’s wish, they immediately teamed up to collaborate on how they could make her dream come true -- the first time the AIA and AGC have partnered on a project. Architects Rob McKelvey, AIA and Chad Polk, AIA volunteered to design the playhouse. AIA’s Carol Pedigo and Patsy Blankenship and AGC’s Kelly Dando went to work gathering contractors and materials to meet the architects’ specifications.
The Parent Company, WASCO, R.D. Herbert & Sons, Design Build Partners, Dale Incorporated, Lockett Improvements, and LP Products volunteered to donate materials and labor to finish the castle. “We had an outpouring of interest from our members to help create Catherine’s dream and are excited be a part of this project and build what the architects envisioned,” said Kelly Dando, Executive Director AGC of Middle Tennessee.
On Saturday, October 20, Catherine spent the day visiting friends while the AIA and AGC crews finished painting and decorating her castle. Shortly after lunch, she received a princess dress to wear to a princess tea party with her little brother.
Catherine and her brother came home thinking they were simply having a tea party. Instead she was surprised to discover that the tea party was actually in her very own castle. Her castle was painted in her favorite colors of pink and purple. Inside the castle, she has her very own kitchen where she can cook for her dolls, along with a rocking chair, table and chairs and stairs going up – just like she wished for in her letter. The stairs lead into a loft inside a 14’ high tower where she can step out onto a balcony to look for any princes or fair maidens that may be coming to visit.
“We are delighted to help make Catherine’s wish come true,“ said Carol Pedigo, Executive Director of AIA Middle Tennessee. “We hope this will give Catherine many hours of fun with her playmates.”
“We are truly grateful for the partnership and collaboration between AIA and AGC of Middle Tennessee. They have truly made a little girl’s dream possible,” said Michelle Rosen, Executive Director of the Make-A-Wish® Foundation of Middle Tennessee.