Between the start and finish of the workday Thursday, 40 homes in the Helena area received outdoor makeovers.

In its eighth year, the community's Spirit of Service day involved some 278 workers from eight employers around town, taking a day to paint, rake, trim, prune, edge, caulk and generally clean up the yards and outside of homes for 40 seniors unable to complete the work themselves.

The day is coordinated by Rocky Mountain Development Corp., which identifies the seniors eligible to have their homes worked on, and Anderson-ZurMuehlen, which began the program in 2000.

On 8th Avenue, a team of around 17 people from Morrison-Mairle worked to paint a house, trim a number of limbs and make the overgrown lawn look neat again.

"To truly transform a house, the hardest thing is labor, and when you've got this many people working for free, it's amazing what you can do," said Cassie Riggin, a road design engineer with the firm who spent the day as team leader at the 8th Avenue house.

Riggin said that in addition to performing a community service, the spirit day is a great chance for bonding with people from work.

"When you sit in an office all day, it's kind of nice to get outside and sweat a little, and you get to know people from other departments," she said.

Workers don't go inside homes, for liability reasons, and there are limits to the type of jobs that can be undertaken outdoors. A couple of area contractors did volunteer Thursday to help build a couple of small decks.

Morrison-Mairle is a relative newcomer to Spirit of Service Day, as is Heritage Propane, which sent around 25 workers to four different job sites, including one on Walnut Street in the Sixth Ward.

"We're involved because it gives us an opportunity to give back to the community," said John Simkins, the firm's accounts payable supervisor. "We've been here 19 years, and we're thankful we have such a great community here."

AZ & Co. chief operating officer Gary Carlson said that by the end of Thursday, the annual work day will have included work on 203 homes across the Helena area.

"We were looking to do something that was hands-on instead of just writing a check," he said of the birth of Spirit of Service in 2000. "It started with the fact that it's a giving of yourself, a giving of your employees' time."

He said the firm also wants to develop leadership skills among its employees, and that several people who don't have supervisory jobs have been in charge of Spirit of Service job sites and become better employees as a result.

Other employers taking part this year included Employee Benefit Resources, American Federal Savings Bank, RMDC, the City of Helena and Wal-Mart.

More than 40 businesses around town donated supplies, which included everything from paint and masking tape to trash bags and food for workers.

Reporter John Harrington: 447-4080 or john.harrington@helenair.com