Realtors Association pays tribute to Malmstrom

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kristina Overton
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs Office
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  The Great Falls Association of Realtors participated in the 5th annual CANstruction project Feb. 19 in the lower level of the Holiday Village Mall building a tribute to the Montana Air National Guard and Malmstrom Air Force Base. They built a model of an F-15 fighter and an ICBM missile with the chosen theme of "We CAN defend against hunger."

The group used 1,700 cans in the construction of the missile and the aircraft.

"CANstruction is a national event with more than 100 cities participating in an effort to publicize problems with hunger," said Sharon Virgin, Broker/Owner of American Realty Group. "It's not just the bigger or smaller cities, it's a nationwide issue, and projects like this are a neat way to bring it to the attention of both adults and children."

Only five members of each CANstruction team were allowed to work on the project at a given time, and were confined to a 10-foot by 10-foot working area until either the completion of the project or time allowance passed.

"All the groups had engineers and architects working with them making sure the structures would stay standing," Ms. Virgin said. "We also had some pretty strict building requirements as far as what we were allowed to use and not defacing any of the cans."

Spectators were then able to cast their votes for their favorite sculpture Feb. 20 by either donating $1 or a can a food, which summed up to $700. Canned foods, including those from the structures, and monetary donations were given to the Great Falls Food Bank.

According to Gayle Gifford, executive director of the Great Falls Community Food Bank, the CANstruction event is one of the largest food drives for the year.

"We like these kinds of events because we get large quantities of foods in bulk such as tuna, vegetables, and chili," said Ms. Gayle. "The overall response from the community was fantastic and it was encouraging seeing all the support. Getting the recognition for hunger that we received was more important than anything."

The Great Falls Association of Realtors won Best Meal, which is awarded to the structure that not only looked good, but consisted of items that make up a well-balanced meal.

Other participants included Max Media KFBB/Fox, Victory Christian Church, and Giant Springs Chapter of Credit Unions.

People's Choice was awarded to Victory Christian Church for their replica of Noah's Ark. Other categories included Best Use of Labels, Structural Ingenuity, Juror's Favorite and Honorable Mention.

Other structures included Disney character Wall-E and the KFBB communications tower.
For more information about the national CANstruction organization, visit www.canstruction.com.