Supporting A Vision for Clean Water in Communities Everywhere
Originally Published by The Wooten Comapny, NC, October 2025
By itself, a drop of water may have little impact. Multiplied, over time, water transforms the landscape. It is the same concept – that many volunteers coming together can make a massive difference – that has propelled Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-USA) to improve the lives of more than 5.2 million people around the world.
As a firm with a long history of public infrastructure projects, The Wooten Company shares EWB-USA’s vision of ensuring access to clean water. And, thanks to an aspiring engineer’s experience volunteering with EWB-USA’s chapter at NC State, Wooten leadership saw fit to contribute $1,000 to support a sanitation project currently underway in Guatemala.
In her four years at NC State – when Emma Hester wasn’t hitting the books – she was often giving her time to the school’s EWB-USA team. Their cohort helped deliver a rainwater harvesting system that now supplies rural Guatemalan families with enough water for drinking and cooking year-round.
“It was a one-of-a-kind experience, something I’ll never forget,” Hester explains, now in her first year with Wooten. “Knowing that our combined efforts will have a lasting effect is what drives me, what motivates so many engineers, to go into this field.”
As CEO of EWB-USA, one of Boris Martin’s areas of focus is establishing meaningful partnerships that ultimately help communities develop vital infrastructure such as schools and healthcare facilities.
“Our work here in the U.S. and around the world is fueled by support from companies that are aligned with our values and expertise," Martin says. "Contributions like Wooten’s at the local level help our volunteers get these meaningful projects across the finish line.”
The Wooten Company was founded in 1936 by State College alumnus L.E. Wooten, Sr. The firm helped advance rural electrification efforts and implement the requirements of the 1972 Clean Water Act. He was posthumously inducted into the NC State College of Engineering Hall of Fame in October 2023.
“I know Mr. Wooten would be pleased to see his life’s work continue here in our communities as well as those served by EWB-USA around the globe,” says Gary Hartong, Wooten President. “It all comes back to applying what we know so that communities have what they need to be healthy and thrive.”