Brasfield & Gorrie at Goshen Valley
Brasfield & Gorrie at Goshen Valley Boys Ranch
In June of 2022 Brasfield & Gorrie, the 2021 ENR Contractor of the Year, spent two weeks at Goshen Valley Boys Ranch to complete construction on several important improvements and maintenance at the Ranch.
Brasfield & Gorrie is an industry leader in the construction space, and in 2021, their Atlanta team chose Goshen Valley as their nonprofit partner of the year for 2021 and 2022. They work on a wide range of project types, from aerospace, to healthcare, to sports and much more. More importantly than their projects, their “purpose is building exceptional people, trusting relationships, great projects, and strong communities.” Brasfield & Gorrie has gone above and beyond to fulfill that mission at Goshen Valley.
Goshen Valley serves over 110 foster youth and many families in the North Atlanta region across four programs. Goshen Valley Boys Ranch was the first program founded, located on 160+ acres in Waleska, GA. Home to 40 young men in foster care, The Ranch was founded to provide the safety of a home, love of a family, and hope for a future to the kids that call The Ranch home.
With large acreage to care for including six homes and other facilities, the Facilities Director at Goshen Valley, Josh Williamson, has a long list of projects to work on. Over the past two weeks, his list got a lot smaller - thanks to Brasfield & Gorrie.
Over the past two weeks, Brasfield & Gorrie sent their summer internship group and multiple superintendents to oversee the completion of many needed projects at Goshen Valley. Brasfield & Gorrie donated all time and materials to complete the following projects:
- A Horse Barn
- Back Deck of the Administration building
- Re-leveling front porch of the Administration building
- Pond Renovation for recreational use
- Grading at Pond
- Hardscaping pathway to pond
- Laying riprap at pond
- Finishing the recreational Creekside Trail
- Re-building 3 bridges at the Creekside Chapel
- Grading field by baseball diamond
- Grading the road to the top fishing lake
- Spreading gravel over creekside trail and chapel
- Building staircase behind the James House to make the top level accessible
- Fixing horse fences
- Clearing brush
- Donating leftover materials worth over $5,000
Maintenance Director at Goshen Valley Boys Ranch, Josh Williamson, knows best how this will impact not only The Ranch, but also the boys in foster care who call Goshen home.
“In total it would take me over a year with the budget, staff, and equipment I have access to, to do what Brasfield & Gorrie has done in two weeks. The impact Brasfield & Gorrie has had on our facilities here at the Ranch will be felt for years to come by our staff and, more importantly, the boys we serve. In addition, opportunities for teaching our young men were created by having Brasfield on site as they demonstrated excellence in quality and safety, as well as demonstrating a healthy working environment. Opportunities like this do not have a price tag.” - Josh Williamson, Director of Facilities at Goshen Valley Boys Ranch.
As a community, we want to thank Brasfield & Gorrie for going above and beyond to be servant leaders and to be an integral partner for Goshen Valley. The foster youth in care at Goshen are better for it, and our community is stronger even still.
Brasfield & Gorrie selects Goshen Valley as Nonprofit Partner of the Year
Brasfield & Gorrie selects Goshen Valley as Nonprofit Partner for their 2021-2022 Fall Fundraiser
After a month-long process which began with 13 nonprofit applicants, Brasfield & Gorrie has selected Goshen Valley to be their partner for their 2021 and 2022 fall fundraisers. This event and partnership have historically raised around $250,000 per year to support the chosen nonprofit’s mission.
As of 2019, Goshen launched a new program to target root cause issues surrounding foster care, providing mental health and therapy services to families at risk of experiencing a foster care placement in the future. This funding will allow Goshen Valley to scale this program and serve far more vulnerable families. 
Zach Blend, CEO of Goshen Valley, says, “This is an exciting time in the life of Goshen Valley. As our direct care work with Georgia’s foster children enters its 23rd year, we are equally excited about the positive influence we can also have through serving at-risk families preventively. The support raised by Brasfield & Gorrie and their subcontractors will fund the progression of Goshen Therapeutic Services throughout the state’s northwest region. Our intention is to continue to serve foster children within our three operating agencies to the very best of our ability while being mindful of the root cause matters that create the need for such services. Easy access to therapy, family counseling and other support services is the first step in that process.”
This year Brasfield & Gorrie instituted a new process to select their nonprofit partner of the year. Thirteen non-profits were invited to complete an application, and five were selected to present to a leadership committee. The group was then narrowed down to three, and an employee vote determined the winner. Goshen Valley received 53% of the employee votes in this process.
“In addition to the financial support our employees and trade contractors will provide, we will participate in service days on Goshen’s Ranch campus. We love getting our hands dirty,” said Brent Perkins, director of personal development at Brasfield & Gorrie. Perkins led the selection committee.
“At Brasfield & Gorrie we believe in building strong communities. We love being a blessing to others. Goshen’s work with boys in the foster care system, the therapeutic services offered to families, and their increasing focus on root cause education for families all line up with our values. We are excited to be a partner with Goshen Valley!” - Brent Perkins
Zach Blend compared residential foster care to running a construction business, but one where you can only build on the site of a previous catastrophe. “We do great work in residential care, but we also want to focus on root-cause. We want to stabilize families before the building collapses. This funding will allow us to expand our work in ways that will keep families strong before a foster care placement occurs. We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of Brasfield & Gorrie, and we are confident that many families will be strengthened and rescued as a direct result of this partnership.”
About Brasfield & Gorrie
Founded in 1964, Brasfield & Gorrie is one of the nation’s largest privately held construction firms, providing general contracting, design-build, and construction management services for a wide variety of markets. We are skilled in construction best practices, including virtual design and construction, integrated project delivery, and Lean construction, but we are best known for our preconstruction and self-perform expertise and exceptional client service. Brasfield & Gorrie has 12 offices and more than 3,200 employees. Our 2020 revenues were $3.9 billion. Engineering News-Record ranks Brasfield & Gorrie 22nd among the nation’s “Top 400 Contractors” for 2020. Brasfield & Gorrie is ENR Southeast's 2021 Contractor of the Year.