Pantex Blog
Smart Cookies
Pantex Engineers Host Workshop for Girl Scouts
Don’t tell the young women engineers at Pantex that engineering is a career for men only. They just spent their Saturday making sure that old-fashioned notion winds up in the dustbin of history.
The half dozen young Pantexans, all around their mid-20s, put on a workshop called “Smart Cookies” to show more than 40 Girl Scouts that engineering is a great career for everyone, especially young women.
“There is no doubt that engineering has traditionally been viewed as a man’s career field, but that is changing,” said Savannah Gates, a process engineer at Pantex. “We want to continue that transformation by encouraging these young women to join us in the engineering field.”
Gates was joined by her fellow engineers Ashley Latta, Brandy Ramirez, Sarah Cox, Jessie Phifer, Raquel Barrera and Halianne Crawford in organizing the workshop. The Pantex engineers demonstrated the principles of a variety of types of engineering, including electrical, mechanical, civil and chemical.
The activities ranged from making a homemade battery from foil, pennies and paper towels soaked in a vinegar-salt solution to building cars powered by the kinetic energy of a mousetrap. The mousetrap cars proved so entertaining for the Girl Scouts, and took up so much of the day, that the women engineers were forced to postpone several other engineering activities that will be used as the basis of a second workshop later this year.
“It was amazing to see how excited these young ladies were to learn about engineering,” Phifer said. “You could tell our message really resonated with them, so I’m hopeful that some of these girls might be working with us as engineers at Pantex one day.”
Pantex Declared StormReady
On the storm-wracked plains of the Texas Panhandle, it pays to be ready for severe weather. The Pantex Plant has risen to that challenge, once again earning recognition from the National Weather Service (NWS) as a StormReady site.
“Pantex was one of the first entities of its kind to become StormReady,” said Jose Garcia, meteorologist in charge of the NWS’s Amarillo office. “Pantex is a special facility, and it is important the public knows it is prepared for severe weather.”
Garcia and other NWS officials were at the plant Wednesday to present Pantex officials with the recertification. He said StormReady status indicates Pantex has the weather sirens, shelters, notification technology and emergency response infrastructure to respond effectively to severe weather.
The StormReady program started in 1999 in Tulsa, Okla., and has since grown to encompass more than 2,000 sites. Pantex was the first nuclear site to earn the designation and remains one of only a handful that has achieved StormReady status.
Alonza Campbell, manager of the Emergency Management Department at Pantex, said the Plant has a long history of working hand-in-hand with the community. Pantex maintains contact with the NWS to anticipate storms and other inclement weather conditions. Pantex even uses and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radios to alert residents living near the plant of emergency conditions.
“We recognize that we have a responsibility to our neighbors to be prepared for all types of emergency situations,” Campbell said. “In this part of the country, severe weather is a fact of life and it is one of the potential risks we have to be ready for at all times.”
Pantexans Run and Ride Against Hunger
Pantexans again hit the road Friday, December 7, to raise awareness about hunger in the Texas Panhandle during the second Pantex Run Against Hunger. Byron Logan, an officer from the Pantex Safeguards and Security Division, escorted by four coworkers and a Bearcat armored vehicle, made a 40-mile bicycle ride from Pantex to Panhandle schools and then to Highland Park schools. While at the schools, the Pantexans encouraged the students to support their schools’ food drives and the importance of giving to those who are in need. The students then had an opportunity to explore the Bearcat.
At Highland Park schools, four Pantexans took to the road for a 20-mile run to the High Plains Food Bank’s food drive collection center in Amarillo. Other Pantexans and family members joined them along the route. A group of Pantexans meet the runners at the food drive finish line, where they presented a $4,300 check to the food bank. The donation was from Pantex employees to support the runners.
The Pantex runners were Logan, Randy Stokes, Cliff Cawthon and Sherry Philyaw. Darla Fish joined them for the last five miles of the run.
“We wanted to do something to help people in our community who are struggling,” Logan said. “We run long distances, and we wanted to use that skill to raise awareness about hunger in our area.”
Pantex Receives Philanthropy Award
B&W Pantex was honored for its charitable giving last week during National Philanthropy Day ceremonies in Amarillo.
On behalf of the company, B&W Pantex General Manager John Woolery received the Outstanding Business/Corporation Award from the Texas Plains Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
The award pointed out the generous support of Pantexans for the Coffee Memorial Blood Center, which held a total of 24 blood drives at the plant and collected more than 750 units of blood last year. Pantex was also singled out for support of the United Way of Amarillo and Canyon, High Plains Food Bank, Family Support Services, the Discovery Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters and several other agencies.
Horse sculpture reflects site's patriotism
A new American Quarter Horse sculpture is now on display at Pantex outside Building 16-12, a first stop for visitors. The horse is a unifying symbol within the community, and horses with various designs are on display across Amarillo at banks, restaurants, civic organizations, hospitals, factories, schools and retail stores.
The Plant's 125-pound fiberglass American Quarter Horse sculpture was painted by artist Gary Ward and features a rendering of the American flag, an eagle, and wind turbines. It was purchased from Amarillo Center City as part of its Hoof Prints project, which began in 2002 to provide eye-catching landmarks. Proceeds benefit Center City, an organization that works to enhance downtown Amarillo.
