In February, our IBEW/NECA partners will begin planning their largest annual volunteer community improvement initiative for Rebuilding Together St. Louis.  Since 2003, the Electrical Connection has donated more than $2.3 million in labor and materials to improve more than 585 homes for low-income St. Louis homeowners in its partnership with Rebuilding Together… …and this year that number will clear 600 total home improvements over the past 21 years.  But it is a monumental planning effort for the repair blitz in April.  So, in February, IBEW/NECA leadership will work with Rebuilding Together to assess needs and plan and procure supplies and equipment. Then, they will mobilize hundreds of skilled IBEW electricians, dozens of NECA contractors and support staff to make the repairs, many of which correct faulty wiring that could lead to electrical fire or shock hazards.

New and creative entertainment venues surfaced in 2023, tapping the skills of NECA contractor VISION Electric & Systems and its IBEW Local 1 workforce. One of VISION’s projects was the TOP GOLF in Midtown St. Louis.  It features climate-controlled hitting bays for year-round comfort with HDTVs in every bay and its sports bar and restaurant. VISION was also the preferred electrical contractor on the TOPGOLF Chesterfield Mo. location which opened in 2018.  Chicken N Pickle is an indoor/outdoor entertainment complex in St. Charles that debuted in December of last year, offering “a casual, chef-driven restaurant and sports bar that boasts pickleball courts and a variety of yard games.” Meanwhile, U City entrepreneur Joe Edwards tapped VISION and IBEW to illuminate his Magic Mini Golf in the historic Delmar Loop.  Its indoor attractions include 18 holes of miniature golf, two full-size shuffleboard courts, a stage and a projection screen that can be used for entertainment, a 5-car Ferris wheel from the Muny Opera, as well as pinball and arcade games.

Chicken N Pickle

NECA Contractor Schaeffer Electric partnered with TKH Security to help Horseshoe St Louis improve the customer experience at its premier casino and entertainment destination in St. Louis, Missouri.  Schaeffer and its IBEW workforce installed TKH Securities’ “state-of-the-art Automated Parking Guidance System (APGS), ushering in a new era of parking efficiency and convenience for Horseshoe St Louis and its patrons.” The APGS “optimizes parking facility management and enhances the parker’s experience from initial garage entry to an open space. Monitoring up to six parking spaces simultaneously, the M5 camera-based smart sensor is the core of the automated parking guidance system (APGS). Sensors utilize streaming HD video 24/7 to provide operators with real-time occupancy data for each parking bay. With 99%+ accuracy, M5 sensors ensure precise and up-to-date information about space availability. Green and red LED lights on the sensors navigate parkers to the available spaces, reducing the time to park by up to 63%.” Schaeffer has partnered with TKH on a number of other parking efficiency projects for Washington University, SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, Mercy, and University of Missouri They all utilize the system’s capabilities to integrate into the venue’s security system. They provide almost 100% coverage of the parking garage and parking lots since the sensors are all camera based.  Learn more.