Jan 24, 2023

^{William Gantt with his family}

William Gantt worked for Prospect Steel Company in Little Rock, Arkansas as a Class IV Welder. His company fabricated industrial steel for big projects such as tall buildings, stadiums, casinos, hotels, railroad and auto bridges, distribution warehouses, and data centers. They even fabricated steel for a Tesla plant, the Atlanta Falcons stadium and the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

On November 9, 2020 he became quadriplegic as the result of a motorcycle accident.

While William worked in Little Rock, he lived in Alexander, a small rural town about 20 miles away. Like most people who become paralyzed, William had an assortment of needs. Power outages in bad weather were not uncommon, but now maintaining power took on a higher level of importance in order to keep medical equipment powered. While researching potential solutions online, William discovered the Joseph Groh Foundation, a foundation created to provide information, advocacy and financial support to people in the contracting industry who are affected by life-altering disabilities.

From there, William reached out to the foundation, hopeful that they might be willing to help him meet any of his requests. One request he had was a portable generator that could be wired into the main panel for auto transfer in the event of power loss. In addition, his mom and wife both had a hard time operating the Hoyer lift on carpet. William requested hard surface flooring for both his small bedroom and an adjacent small room where he did his physical therapy. Finally, he requested a laptop and smart switches so he could investigate going back to school to earn his college degree. About his career as a welder, William joked that he missed his job almost as much as he missed walking. “With a computer however, perhaps now I can do what my father always wanted me to do – get a college degree.” The smart switches enabled him to operate lights, fans, TVs etc. through his computer.

Thanks to the contributions of generous sponsors, the Joseph Groh Foundation was able to meet all of William’s needs.

^{William with his new portable generator and new hardwood floors in his bedroom}

When everything had been completed, William wrote us to say, “Thank you so much! You have no idea how much you’re helping me and how grateful I am. It’s been a tough year, going from where I was in life to being dependent on someone else to do everything for me. Since the wreck, I felt like a little bit of my soul was taken that day, but it feels restored after everything you guys have done for me.”

Daikin is a proud supporter of The Joseph Groh Foundation. Ralph's story is made possible through the generous donations of the Foundation's sponsors. Light your beacon for others and become a Joseph Groh Foundation Luminary today.