In 2017, Mark LeCraw began working with Third Lens Ministries. He is the president and co-founder of LeCraw Engineering, a Georgia-based consulting and engineering firm. Through his years of experience as a professional engineer, LeCraw has been able to help Third Lens with several projects. His role involves planning the site for the buildings.
“So the process for us is once the project is funded once, the architectural programming has been completed we’re provided with a survey and a building footprint and a general idea of what what the needs and expectations are and, and we we put together a site plan,” LeCraw explained. “Sometimes it requires multiple iterations to get to the ultimate plan. But once the site plan is blessed by everybody involved we start to move into our construction design phase, producing a full set of construction documents.”
So far LeCraw’s firms has helped with projects for myLifespeaks in Haiti, True Deliverance Holiness Church in Auburn, Alabama, P.E.S.T International in Georgia and a project in Mississippi.
“My partner and I are both big believers and also passionate about giving back,” LeCraw said. “And we were looking for ways to create opportunities for our staff to give back.”
LeCraw serves as a member on the Board of Directors for Third Lens, he does volunteer work with Feed My Starving Children, The Boy Scouts of America and is an active member of his church, Gwinnett Church.
All of his projects have meant something to LeCraw, but during his time with Third Lens one moment that sticks out to him is his first trip to Haiti.
“It was that first trip down to Haiti and seeing the poverty and the children,” LeCraw said. “We went and visited the existing school, we’re building a new school campus quarter mile away. Visiting their existing campus and interacting with with them and the teachers, they don’t all speak English, but you could just see the new pride and they knew Tom, the architect. We walked in the room and you could see them light up. That’s was when I knew that we were doing something good, when I saw that.”
LeCraw was added to Third Lens’ Board of Directors in 2018, and his role is mostly focused on risk management.
“Risk management is reviewing contracts,” LeCraw said. “I talk to a lot of attorneys, insurance folks, so I’m trying to keep the risk for the organization as low as possible. So in the case of Third Lens it’s keeping, not only Third Lens’ risk low, but it’s also thinking about the architects and engineers that have volunteered their plans, and how do we mitigate their risk? So that while they’re giving this free service of engineering or design work, they’re not opening up their their firms to unnecessary liability.”
Outside of risk management, LeCraw participates in the general Board of Directors activities such as meetings and continuing to help Third Lens grow as an organization.
“We’ve got quarterly board meetings, lots of reviews,” LeCraw said. “We’re constantly trying to improve processes and put different documents and guidances in place and review of all that as we move forward. Just the growing pains of a growing organization.”
