Several Thunderbirds were on hand to help celebrate Phoenix Children’s new emergency department’s “Topping Out” ceremony, a tradition held when the last beam is placed atop a structure during its construction. This was the final steel beam to be hoisted to the top of Arizona’s new Emergency Department, only Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center and the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders – a much needed expansion project that was helped by a $500,000 donation from Thunderbirds Charities in June of 2015.

Construction workers, hospital staff members and partners within the community gathered as the clinking of iron stopped and the ceremony began. Signatures and well wishes covered the beam as some very official patients joined the construction team and helped guide the very last beam in place. An evergreen tree topped the steel frame, a tradition symbolizing good luck for future occupants and continued growth.

The tradition of a Topping Out commemorates not only the completion of a project, but celebrates the process of building. While the grand opening festivities at the end of a building’s construction are meant to introduce the structure to the public, the topping out ceremony honors the accomplishment of the construction crews. Phoenix Children’s and all its constituents are grateful to the men and women working to make the Hospital a better facility for its patients and their families.

View All Photos of the Event Here!