Georgia’s goBeyondProfit business alliance announced today that Athens-based W&A Engineering earned the goBeyondProfit Champion Award. The peer-nominated honor is given for exemplary citizenship in company culture and deployment of company resources that empower community. 

Central to earning the award, W&A Engineering acts on its mission to Build Better Communities, which influences operations, directs interactions with clients, informs the workplace environment that employees experience and guides the company’s impact on local communities. A complete profile is featured online at goBeyondProfit.org/Champion/.

“W&A Engineering’s corporate citizenship rivals peers with vast infrastructures. Leveraging their expertise and values, they support big intentions with a well-designed structure and consistent, clear action,” said goBeyondProfit President Megan McCamey in an award ceremony held at W&A offices on March 25. “W&A Engineering proves the theory that businesses of every size can be a powerful force for good.” 

“A phrase I've heard all my life is "leave it better than you found it," said W&A Engineering President & CEO Jon Williams. “We apply that daily in our work product, in caring for employees and families, and in building better communities. Everywhere we go, whatever we do, we want to leave it better than we found it.”

W&A Engineering won the award by standing out across the honor’s three key pillars: 

• DEPLOYING COMPANY RESOURCES: By focusing on five key impact areas (Community, Economic Development, Education, Sustainability and Employee Wellbeing), W&A’s citizenship is cohesive and consistent. Since 2016, W&A employees have dedicated more than 8500 hours toward the corporate citizenship program, and that commitment, combined with charitable donations, is valued at more than $925,500. . In addition, company leadership helped local businesses get access to PPP loans and used its resources and relationships to help the public health department quickly launch a COVID testing sight.

• CULTIVATING COMPANY CULTURE: Employee Wellbeing shows up as a pillar of W&A Engineering’s philanthropic program called W&A Cares. Employees benefit from investments and generous programs for employee health, wellness, team building, financial security and professional development as well as the experience of volunteering together.

• EMPOWERING COMMUNITY: W&A Engineering celebrated its 20^th anniversary in 2020 by partnering with others to make good on its promise to Build Better Communities.  Each month W&A selected a different Athens business to name a nonprofit beneficiary. Throughout the month W&A highlighted the business and nonprofit in its social media, and, during the week of the 20^th, W&A drove traffic to the business with a radio ad campaign. The result? W&A matched the business’ first $500 in sales revenue with a donation to the nonprofit. In short, the campaign turned an anniversary celebration into community action, boosting local businesses to meet community needs.

W&A Engineering improves communities with innovative design, effective and efficient engineering, and professional service. Founded in 1999, W&A Engineering (previously Williams & Associates) is a growing multidisciplinary firm with offices in Athens, GA, and Nashville, TN. W&A has project experience in over 45 states and provides on-call economic development services in more than 35 communities. W&A Engineering has five core departments: Civil Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Traffic Engineering, and Economic Development.

goBeyondProfit is a statewide alliance launched by business leaders for business leaders to spur corporate generosity and improve people’s lives. To submit a nomination for future goBeyondProfit Champions, visit the goBeyondProfit website and nomination form.