Quigg Engineering Inc. has served clients since 2006 and "provides a progressive and thoughtful approach to planning, engineering and surveying, always remaining aligned with clients' needs, to provide professional, quality and timely engineering and consulting services," according to the company's website.
Engineers innovate and solve problems, but beyond highway and bridge design, land surveying, environmental studies and permitting, traffic engineering, construction inspection and site design, the firm focuses on giving back.
"There are a lot of reasons why I started the company," said president and CEO Lori Quigg. "I wanted to be able to be present in my kids' lives. I wanted to set an example of a good (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) firm that does quality work. I wanted to be able to provide jobs where people felt like they were a big part of a quality firm, not just a number, and where family was important to everyone."
Lori Quigg said that she enjoys being able to use her business to help others.
"Giving to people just makes me feel good and follows God's teachings. It's gratifying to pay people well, give good raises and give bonuses," she said.
Lori and Rebecca Stocker started the company, which is designated as a Woman-Owned Disadvantaged Business Enterprise by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Quigg's daughter, Sophie, who works as the assistant business development director, said her mother was motivated to improve on what she had seen in the industry.
"My mom had been an engineer for a while and had seen other DBE firms not perform quality-wise to the standard she thought they could. She decided she would try to start her own company and really focus on quality work," Sophie said.
What began in the basement of their home has now grown to a firm of around 100 people across six states.
"My mom is really big on giving back," Sophie added, "especially to people who have given so much to protect us or are unable to help themselves."
She said either the company or her mother personally donates to groups such St. Jude's, Wounded Warrior Project and Tunnels to Towers Foundation, a New York City nonprofit that provides mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children and builds custom-designed smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders.
Many of the donations help support veterans, which is not surprising, since Lori comes from a military family. When the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan, she explained, "We left some people behind that were being hunted, tortured and killed for helping the U.S. My nephew got involved with helping some of them get out, so I got to help purchase visas for an entire family to help them get out (of Afghanistan)."
That family is now happy to be living in Texas. Lori said, "I'm grateful that I could make a difference in their lives."
Lori said her Catholic faith also influences the charities she chooses to support. She felt strongly about contributing to Our Saviour School in Jacksonville when it came time for the facility to expand.
She also provided a scholarship to be awarded to a female majoring in engineering at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Every year, a student receives a scholarship of $1,000, and Lori said she can relate to those who need financial assistance to complete their education. And when she was in college, she "was one of a few women in engineering," so she's glad to see more women getting into the field.
Sophie finds inspiration in these efforts. "Seeing everything she has done and given back to others has been amazing to witness firsthand. She is very selfless and really makes me want to follow in her footsteps in that way," she said of her mother.
For her part, Lori said she hopes she has helped her children realize the importance of giving back, and she wants to continue her charitable efforts.
"At my age, you think a lot about your purpose in life and what God's plan is," Lori said. "I think He has blessed me with my family and my business, so it's easy to give to good causes. My faith has strengthened over the years, thankfully, so I'm hoping to do more philanthropy in the future."
