(Seguin) — A group of Seguin business leaders is realizing that supporting kids doesn’t have to stop at the end of the band hall or end zone.
The founding members of the first-ever Seguin High School Construction Trades Booster Club recently gathered to witness their first official action as a group.
That action was personally awarding new tools for students in the program.
Local resident Carlos Moreno initiated the idea for the new construction trades booster club. Moreno, a SHS graduate and owner of LoneStar Home Solutions, has seen the program grow over the last couple of years under the direction of CTE instructor Jason Rice.
Most recently, Moreno helped pair up some of his students with the San Antonio Habitat for Humanity Chapter, where students worked to build the framing walls for the non-profit homes.
This course of action and other demands currently in the trades industries led Moreno to officially organize the booster club, which currently consists of a dozen boosters.
Prior to presenting the students with their brand-new tools, Moreno was able to speak to the booster founders all of who contributed the $7,000 needed to sponsor kids and make the presentation happen.
“I think between all of us we can continue to grow and create something that is going to be sustainable. I don’t want it to be a one and done type deal. We are all businesspeople. If we do something, we are not just going to do it until it fails, right? So, I know there’s going to be a lot of energy here and I’m just asking for grace. I’m just asking for advice, and I don’t know how to do it, but I know that in this community, there are some great people here,” said Moreno.
Also welcoming the group of new boosters was Rick Bough, Seguin ISD director of career and technical education. Bough was on hand to provide more insight on how creating the booster club would allow the program to do even greater things.
“We do fund this program. We fund all of our programs but what the opportunity is with this, is when these students get these tools, one of the struggles is getting students persistence and to continue on through a program all the way to the end. The benefit of having the booster club is that these tools that will go to these students to use while they are here, that student that completes their pathway at Seguin High School gets to take those tools with them. I can’t do that because anything I purchase belongs to the school and we can’t send it on with them but through the booster club we can. There is a lot of red tape if we try to build something and then sell it. Having a booster club allows for that to be done outside of the financial structure of the school district. So, the booster club is who provides the resources to build those. The booster club owns it. The booster club sells it and then has the opportunity to donate that back to the district for use,” said Bough.
For most of the new boosters, it was their first time visiting the construction trades classroom facility. Moreno says topping their experience was being able to watch the students and their excitement of receiving their new tools.
“Right now, the kids are picking one of each tool that the booster club has provided the money for. Parker Lumber’s has a connection with Milwaukee and these kids are just filling up their toolboxes that they built – custom toolboxes — and now they are able to fill up the toolbox and do projects here at the school and then they can take them home and do things on the weekend and when they graduate, they can take the tools with them. Each of their toolboxes is valued at about $600 but with the discount, it’s about $300 that they are getting. So, it’s awesome to just watch them. It’s like Christmas but for them to just know that the people of Seguin, the community of Seguin, do care about them and we are investing back into our trades — these are all business company/construction owners, and we are investing back into our community not just through the kids but into our industries as well,” said Moreno.
Among the first booster club members to lend a hand in jumpstarting the program was Joe Espinola, manager of Parker Lumber here in Seguin. Espinola says he is excited about supporting these kids and helping to provide them options for their future.
“Parker Building Supply is a regional company here in South Central Texas and we rely on the community to support us so our just is to help support the community so whatever we can do to kind of give back and help cultivate the next generation of trades people, builders, citizens – that’s why it’s important to kind of just show these kids support that there is a network out there if they decide that they don’t want to go the college or the military option or something like that – that there is plenty of people in their hometown that are willing to help them and help them get their life started,” said Espinola.
Also investing in the students were Joe and Brenda Flores, owners of Joe Cools AC & Heating.
Brenda says there was no hesitation in becoming a founding booster.
“We are talking about our future and in just our industry alone, we definitely have a need for people that want to do this work and a lot of it just comes from exposure. If we can give these kids some exposure and give them the option to possibly want to do something like this – we all win – the kids, the industry and us as a company. So, for us, it was just a no brainer. This is our future that we are talking about,” said Brenda.
Husband Joe agreed that he and his wife made the right decision in joining and can’t help but think how his own life at the beginning of his career would have been easier if he was shown this same level of support while still in school.
“If I had taken an HVAC program right out of high school, I probably would have gotten involved in it a whole lot sooner. I didn’t get involved until I was 27, 28 (years-old) and then, you have to work for a company, build up some hours and then you can go on your own if you want to take on that challenge. This is an excellent program that Seguin High School has,” said Joe.
The same can also be said for Mike Edwards, owner of M.E. Plumbing. Edwards says there are no limits to what kids can do today.
“We had Ag. We didn’t specialize in anything. So, we built picnic tables and welding. It wasn’t construction orientated at all so it would have been easier for me going into my field for sure,” said Mike.
Supporting the program, however, started even earlier for Edwards and his wife, Katie. Katie says they believe in the value of experience and early exposure to any respective trade.
“We just want to give the students a little bit of experience and understanding what plumbing is and what it can be so we have a few days blocked off that we are working with the students and the teachers to come do some plumbing curriculum, to do some demonstrations, to talk about how about important plumbing is to society and why we feel that it is a great career path for any students leaving high school, “said Katie.
In total, 45 tool sets were donated to students. The remaining list of founders for the first ever SHS Construction Trades Booster Club includes Alamo Group, Dietz Tractor Company, Masters Electric, Caterpillar, SA Belting and Pulley, AmeriTex Pipe & Products, United Alloy, Sullivan Contracting Services, and the Guadalupe Gas Company.
Moreno adds that booster club members do have to be a business. He says individuals wishing to support the program are also encouraged to sign up as a member. Those interested are asked to call Moreno at 830-534-3444.
