Help Us Give Kids A Smile!

Team Elmer’s is proud to partner with the Traverse Health Clinic, home base to the Traverse Bay Give Kids A Smile Program (GKAS), to help promote awareness for their oral health education and prevention program.

GKAS has provided education and oral health screenings to elementary school children in Grand Traverse, Benzie, Antrim, Leelanau & Kalkaska Counties since 2007. Last year, the program provided oral health education to more than 4,000 K-3rd grade students. GKAS screened 1,489 students, and of those, 337 had signs of decay and 40 had urgent dental needs (abscess and/or pain present).



Each student who attends an oral health education class is provided with a free “Tooth Care Kit.” The kids leave with a new appreciation of dental care and are thrilled to receive their kits… Particularly those who do not have toothbrush, paste, or floss at home.

This year GKAS is in need of 4,000 Tooth Care Kits for the elementary students in our five county region. Thanks to help from Team Elmer's employees and area dentists, we've collected 2,000 kits to date.

Click here for more information on the Traverse Health Clinic.

“Kids with untreated dental decay can’t eat or sleep properly; they can’t concentrate in school; they can’t smile.”
--U.S. Surgeon General  

Boardman Lake Cleanup

There are environmental cleanups…and then there are environmental cleanups.

To address historic impacts to sediments that resulted from the migration of groundwater contamination to Boardman Lake in the late 1970s, a large remediation effort was performed.



After environmental engineers Global Remediation Technologies (GRT) developed the necessary project scope and complete design documents, GRT, in turn, selected Team Elmer’s to get the job done.

The ambitious project began with the construction and installation of a temporary dam to remove lake water from the contaminated site. And this wasn’t just a wading pool…the dam went 45 feet into the lake and covered 350 feet of shoreline!

Once the dam was in place, water was pumped from inside the dam, discharged into the lake, and 260 dewatering points were installed up to 16 feet deep. The contaminated water was then pumped through a two-stage carbon system to remove contaminants. The crews obtained a permit to allow them to discharge clean filtered water into Boardman Lake.

Next, inspectors from the various parties, including DEQ, worked together to determine which soils should be removed. The water table was lowered to 9 feet below the lake bottom to remove all the impacted soils. All told, Team Elmer’s excavated and removed 2,210 tons of contaminated soil from the bottom of the lake.

Clean soil was then placed in the lake and compacted/ backfilled, the water was replaced, and the dam was dismantled by divers with the support of Team Elmer’s crews on shore.

The project was a source of pride for Team Elmer’s staff, a job well done for GRT, and a sustainable victory for Boardman Lake and the community!

“We selected Team Elmer's because they approached this project in a way that other contractors hadn't considered,” said Adam Segerlind, PE of Global Remediation Technologies. “Their innovative strategy of implementing a temporary dam and dewatering system was cost-effective and their local ties meant they were more suited to overcome the inevitable hiccups that happen along the way. My expectations were met and exceeded!”

For help with your environmental cleanup project, call us at (231) 943-3443 or e-mail info@teamelmers.com.