Community Relations

Conco Companies supports the community through special events and on a daily basis though its truck advertising campaign.  On each of our Concrete delivery units you will see the logo of a local non-profit agency .  The agencies include local and regional groups, schools and other programs that are prevalent in our community.

Quarry Open House

Conco Quarries at Willard has had several open houses for the entire community.  We welcomed over 1,700 friends and neighbors to our last Open House!  This Open House included all-day entertainment from various school groups, lunch, earth-friendly and community displays and information, lots of child-friendly activities and tours of the quarry.  Everyone had a great time (click to see pictures).  Please check back in the future to see when the next Open House will be scheduled.  In the meantime, we have an open door policy at Conco and invite you to call and set up a time that we can take you on a tour of our quarry and show you how the products that Conco provides are important to your everyday life.

SCHOOLS & CLASS TOURS

Conco is very involved in many schools throughout our communities.  We believe in education and we want to make sure that all students grow to understand how important Mining and Quarries are in order to maintain the modern lifestyle that we have grown to enjoy.  Conco offers a free one-hour enjoyable and educational classroom presentation of “If it is Not Grown, It Has to be MINED!”  Following the classroom presentation, Conco will also provide a free tour of the quarry for all participants if you would like.  This offer is available for all schools and other organizations.  If you are interested, please contact the quarry at 417-742-3521.

MISSOURI AGGREGATE TEACHER’S WORKSHOP

Conco is one of the charter members responsible for developing and growing the Missouri Aggregate Teacher’s Workshop.  Conco has supported this important educational opportunity by being a sponsor of teacher scholarships, providing personnel to help put on the workshop and have welcomed the workshop to our area and quarry during various years.

Annually a week long teacher’s workshop is held for kindergarten through eighth grade teachers.  The primary objective of the workshop is to inform teachers about geology, mining and how mined products are used in our society.  Program topics provide information about Missouri’s mining history, the geology of the state, rocks and minerals identification, mining practices and challenges, environmental stewardship, fossil formation and identification, uses of minerals, and tours of mines and quarries.  Participants are given a variety of much-appreciated classroom teaching aids (videos, rock and mineral identification kits, workbooks, posters, etc.).

If you are a teacher and are interested in this weeklong workshop, please go to the mmef.org website for an application and contact Conco Quarries for a possible sponsored scholarship.

RESCUE DOGS

If you have noticed what seems to be large piles of what might appear to be rock and concrete “rubble” on the west side of Conco Quarries at Willard along Farm Road 105, what you are really seeing is one of the best Rescue Dog training sites in the United States!

Canine Rescue teams from several FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces have trained at the Regional Disaster Search Dog Training Site developed and maintained by Conco Quarries at their Willard location.   It is used for routine training, as well as preparation for National Certification and most importantly, Disaster Response.

FEMA states “This site, which simulates collapsed structures, is an invaluable training location for training disaster search canines.  Without sites such as this, there is no effective way to train canines and handlers for conditions they face in emergencies such as the Oklahoma City bombing, World Trade Center and Pentagon, as well as natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina and the Greensburg, Kansas tornado.”

FEMA Canine FSA (Functional Skills Assessment) is done at the Regional Training Site.

The FSA tests the canine/handler team on five elements: obedience, agility, directional control, bark alert and rubble search for two buried live victims.  All teams complete the first four elements, then do the rubble search portion.  Once the team passes the FSA, they have six months to pass the FEMA Certification Evaluation, which consists entirely of rubble search for multiple victims.  This site is most often utilized by members of Nebraska Task Force 1, headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, as well as Missouri Task Force 1, headquartered in Columbia, Missouri.  However, we are proud to have welcomed teams from all around the country, including the Las Vegas, NV, Fire Department (Nevada Task Force 1), teams from Memphis, Tennessee (Tennessee Task Force 1) and Leadville, Colorado, (Colorado Task Force 1),  New Mexico (Task Force 1) and Wisconsin.  We are proud to host these brave dogs, men, and women from around the country to Conco, Willard and our surrounding community.