Gary City Council has passed a resolution commemorating Powers & Sons fiftieth anniversary.
Mamon Powers, Sr. opened the business in the northwestern Indiana community on Feb. 21, 1967.
Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson, along with Councilwoman Mary Brown, D-3rd, whose district includes the company, lauded Powers & Sons. The company started as a home building firm but has evolved into a general contractor with a staff of more than 70 employees, The Chicago Tribune has reported.
“They have been excellent supporters of our city and our community,” Brown said of the firm, whose leadership visited City Hall to accept the resolution passed on their behalf.
Freeman-Wilson said that Powers & Sons has been involved in projects ranging from the U.S. Steel Yard stadium, the Gary YWCA, Methodist Hospitals, Marquette Park Pavilion, Williams Elementary School, Lake Central High School and the First AME Church.
“There are some in the audience who’ve been with us close to 60 years and we’ve been to lots of places,” said Mamon Powers, Jr. “We’ve been to Miami and the Everglades. We’ve persevered; as long as someone else can build it, we can build it too. That’s the way we operate.” Seated in the council chambers audience were nearly 30 current and past Powers & Sons employees, The Chicago Crusader reported.
The company’s connections to its hometown are strong. Powers & Sons support community causes such as the United Negro College Fund, Frontiers International Service Club, Friends of Wirt-Emerson, Legacy Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana, Northern Indiana Links, and United Way.