By: Tom A. McLaughlin, PE
Sometimes a project isn’t so much about what it is, but where it is. Last spring, we began working on a project at Slaughter Rec Center. The only thing distinguishing about the HVAC retrofit was that it was with one of our favorite partners, 2RW, and by our favorite steel fabricator, Industrial Fabricators of Virginia. I remember chuckling to myself when we inadvertently misspelled “slaughter” as “laughter,” which seemed more appropriate for a rec center anyway.
After completing the project, I learned that this building was named after Mary Slaughter. Mary Slaughter made history sixty-five years ago as the first woman to play a varsity sport at UVA and compete in the ACC. Slaughter was known for her tennis prowess and was the only woman on the team. She played for two seasons before the ACC told her she wasn’t allowed to compete. Two decades later, women got their own teams at UVA. Learn more about Slaughter’s story here.
After leaning this history, the statement of where it is vs. what it is couldn’t ring truer for me. We are proud to work with UVA on projects big and small, and we’re especially proud to have a part in the upkeep of a building that honors Mary’s courage.
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