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Every year, Banks Construction takes part in Hard Hats with Heart and plays a role alongside many other local construction companies in raising awareness—not only for our individual teams but for the entire industry. This year’s event takes place on October 7, 2025, bringing together leaders across Charleston’s construction community to focus on heart health and wellness.

Hard Hats with Heart is a construction-specific initiative from the American Heart Association to improve the cardiovascular health of Charleston’s construction workers. 

For us, whether it’s our On-Site Nurse Stephanie Brooks supporting wellness among our team, making healthier choices at home or at work, participating in the Hard Hats with Heart event, or walking in the Lowcountry Heart Walk each year, we all share one goal: supporting the American Heart Association and heart health. Since its inception in 2019, Hard Hats with Heart has raised over $1 million to support the American Heart Association’s mission in the Lowcountry, and we’re proud to help carry that forward alongside other local industry leaders.

In a recent press release on the American Heart Association’s Newsroom, Operations Manager and 2025 Hard Hats with Heart chairperson Blake Banks shared:

“In the construction industry, our people are our greatest asset, and they often face high stress, long hours, and physically demanding work. That’s why this initiative is so important. Hard Hats with Heart is about more than raising awareness; it’s about creating real change in how we support the health and well-being of our workforce. I’m honored to lead this year’s campaign and work alongside other industry leaders to help build a healthier future for our teams.”

We’re proud to take steps alongside other construction leaders and their teams toward a healthier future for our community here in South Carolina, building not just our infrastructure but a stronger, healthier industry for the people who make it possible. We’re grateful to join forces with the Executive Leadership Team and organizations like Choate Construction, Trident Construction, HITT Contracting, and SeamonWhiteside to help lead this important cause.

As Katie Schumacher, executive director of the American Heart Association, Charleston, said: “Together, we are creating a culture that prioritizes heart health.”

To read the full press release and see the 2025 Executive Leadership Team Members and their organizations, visit the AHA page here.

For more information about Hard Hats with Heart and to join us at the October 7th event, visit www.heart.org/CharlestonHardHats or email CharlestonSC@heart.org.