Stellar Named One of 904 Magazine’s ‘Companies with Heart’ For Third Time

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (January 12, 2017) – Stellar, a fully integrated firm focused on design, engineering, construction and mechanical services worldwide, has again been named one of 904 Magazine’s “Companies with Heart.” Stellar also received the designation in 2014 and 2016.

904 Magazine’s “Companies with Heart” award program recognizes local businesses who give their most valuable resources — their employees — the time and opportunities to improve the quality of life in Northeast Florida.

In 2016, Stellar’s charitable arm, The Stellar Foundation, donated time, money and resources to approximately 70 charitable organizations.

“Receiving this award is particularly notable this year as it’s our Foundation’s 10-year anniversary,” said Mike Santarone, Stellar President & COO. “The impact that our employees have made over the past decade is truly inspiring.”

In celebration of this 10-year milestone, Stellar donated $10,000 to River Garden Hebrew Home, a skilled care nursing home in the Mandarin neighborhood, where Stellar’s headquarters is located. In addition to this celebratory donation, Stellar gave a holiday donation of $2,500 to Food Brings Hope.

One of Stellar’s most notable programs is The Stellar Academy of Engineering at Nease High School, which provides students with a foundation of skills, knowledge and experience in engineering through coursework, guest lectures and course-specific field trips. The program’s enrollment has more than quadrupled in the past nine years.

Last year, Stellar employees raised over $2,000 per quarter from a “Believe in the Jeans” initiative, which allows donating employees to wear jeans for a day. With Stellar Foundation’s matching donations, this effort raised nearly $18,000 for charities such as PACE Center for Girls, Food Brings Hope, Safe Harbor Boys Home and Florida’s First Coast Hurricane Relief Fund.

Stellar’s other philanthropic initiatives include providing gifts for the Community PedsCare Sponsor-a-Child program, collecting 38 four-person Thanksgiving food baskets for Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, donating 200 backpacks and various school supplies to Dreams Comes True, building a $8,600 deck remodel for Hope Haven and granting Food Brings Hope with 11 new school freezers.

About Stellar

Stellar is a fully integrated design, engineering, construction and mechanical services firm that provides the industry’s most comprehensive range of self-performed services, including planning, design, preconstruction, construction, refrigeration, mechanical and utility, building envelope, and total operations and maintenance services. More than 650 Stellar employees worldwide create award-winning food processing plants, refrigerated warehouses, distribution centers, commercial buildings and military facilities. In addition to its Jacksonville, Florida, headquarters and its Western Region office in Modesto, California, Stellar operates nearly 50 support locations and offices throughout the United States and in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, China and Puerto Rico. The company also serves Central and South America, Europe and India. For more information, visit www.stellar.net.