The city of Palm Desert recently celebrated Outdoor Workers Appreciation Week, partially at the urging of Renova Energy, a solar energy company based in Palm Desert. Renova Energy founder Vincent Battaglia believes those workers are a key part of the Coachella Valley infrastructure, according to an Aug. 15 release from the company.
“Everyone in the Coachella Valley needs to pause and reflect about the fact that our quality of life would not be the same without the selfless individuals who toil in the heat as part of their job,” Battaglia said in the release. “That includes farmworkers, landscapers, pool maintenance workers, HVAC repair techs, construction workers and so many more. We appreciate them all so much.”
Battaglia conceived and developed the idea of Outdoor Worker Appreciation Week due to the harsh conditions outside workers need to battle during the hot summers in the Coachella Valley, the release said. The nature of Renova Energy’s business requires many of its employees to be outside often, and Battaglia acknowledged those workers need to be commended.
Battaglia said about half of Renova Energy’s more than 300 employees are constantly outside, doing tasks such as surveying, prepping solar panels, installing them, cleaning them and doing maintenance, the release reported. Due to this, he said it “felt right to create an organized week to highlight their perseverance and dedication.”
The city of Palm Desert hosted an Outdoor Workers Appreciation Day July 22, partly due to Renova Energy’s involvement, KESQ reported July 20. Renova itself hosted an outdoor workers' appreciation festival at the Palm Desert Headquarters on the same day.
At Renova’s outdoor workers' day, remarks were made Palm Desert Council Member Jan Harnik, Battaglia and California State Assemblyman Greg Wallis, the release reported. California State Assemblyman Greg Wallis recently wrote a resolution that would officially recognize Outdoor Workers Appreciation Week, to be held July 17-23.
Wallis introduced that resolution, ACR 101, with the idea that the state of California would follow the lead of Palm Desert in acknowledging outdoor workers, KESQ reported.
Previously, Palm Desert celebrated Outdoor Workers Appreciation Day, and this year it was expanded to become Outdoor Workers Appreciation Week, according to an NBC report.