For the seventh time in eight years, Jacobsen Construction has won a Utah Best of State award recognizing its work in the highly competitive construction industry.
Jacobsen's latest win was announced in the "General Contractor" category. The award is given to the entrant in each category who best demonstrates superior achievement in their field, an innovative and creative approach to their work and meaningful contribution to the quality of life in Utah.
For its 2021 Best of State entry, Jacobsen focused on its success in building enduring communities by transforming Salt Lake City's downtown and skyline, constructing health care facilities that will forever elevate the quality of care in the intermountain west, shaping the experiences of students statewide and sustaining Utah's resilient businesses and innovators.
"At Jacobsen, every structure we create plays a major role in the lives of students, patients, worshippers, shoppers, employees and citizens," Jacobsen's Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications and Brand Marketing Amy Christensen said in a statement. "Over the course of each project, we build enduring communities that bring together thousands of people — owners, subcontractors and our employees — to create the places where life happens."
The entry also addressed Jacobsen's proactive adaptation of its safety-first culture to account for the COVID-19 era.
"Jacobsen took an aggressive approach early in the pandemic by not only following, but actively seeking, the guidance of Utah and federal health authorities," Christensen said. "We were early adopters of mask wearing, social distancing and other protective measures."
Jacobsen's entry also celebrated the company's efforts to support its friends in health care amid the COVID-19 pandemic by amplifying health experts' COVID-19 prevention messages, donating N-95 masks to medical providers and more.
"The pandemic brought out the best in our people, as they sought exemplary ways to serve their colleagues, communities and clients," Christensen said.
Jacobsen's innovative adoption of helmets on job sites also was highlighted, as were the company's cutting-edge approach to major historical renovations and its unique ownership model.
"Jacobsen is a 100 percent employee-owned ESOP company — which means being part of a completely different corporate culture," Christensen said. "All of us, as employee-owners, are proactively contributing to our individual prosperity every day as we collectively take excellent care of our clients."
The "Best of State" entry described Jacobsen's efforts to meaningfully give back to the communities where its people live and work. One example was Jacobsen's use of Boo Boo the Bear to make a genuine connection with young patients at Primary Children's Hospital and brighten their hospital stay. Another example was Jacobsen's donation of time and materials to extensively remodel the mobile coffee shop trailer used by Lucky Ones Coffee, a Park City business that employees and empowers people with disabilities.
"It's gratifying to know that every project we build betters people's lives in some way. But we're hungry to do even more," Christensen explained. "We look for simple ways on and off the job site to Build Enduring Communities through connecting, serving and caring."
