For this month, I chose to highlight Jeovanny Alvarenga of the Houston office. When I think of One Team, I think of how Jeovanny is connected to the team in multiple ways. Jeo took on the challenge of working out the kinks in Bluebeam project collaboration for field construction and record drawings. He has run multiple training sessions and just did one on September 18th for the group in Arkansas.
Jeovanny was born San Miquel, El Salvador and lived there for his first three years and then moved to the USA in the early 80’s. He is one of five and the youngest of four boys. He lived on the same street (Rosemary Lane) in Houston Texas from ages 3-20. His home was near 59 & Hopper which is around the East Little York Homestead Area. Three exits before Beltway 8.
Jeo has been moving further north in Houston as time goes by. Jeo’s older brother Moses passed away last year, so after that, Jeo moved to a new place. Having wanted to own some land and live more in the country, he now hangs his hat in Porter, Texas which is 23 miles north of Houston. From there he can see the planes land at 9X1 North Houston Airport in his neighborhood. https://www.airnav.com/airport/9X1
His High School was Douglas MacArthur HS in the Aldine Independent School District. General was the mascot. Jeovanny liked it when they started a new program at his school that gave hands-on technical preparation. He had the same students and teachers in those classes for all four years. He prefers not just reading a book, but also creating something that associates with the facts that he was reading about.
During high school, at the age of 15, Jeo started making noodles. Following that, he worked at a grocery store during his second year of high school. High School was a busy schedule with wakeup at 4:30am for his Seminary course at Church. That gave him a sense of responsibility.
After high school, Jeovanny worked at Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) for Continental Airlines managing the stock rooms (pillows, paper towels, and such). At the age of twenty-one, he received his class A license and became a commercial truck driver. He drove over the road in the USA for three years hauling exercise equipment, computers, bicycles, and chemicals. Then he worked three years locally in Houston and Dallas for Grocers Supply. Working no matter what, Hurricanes and whatever. He had to take a load of water to Galveston during a hurricane. Flood waters were up the door on the truck, but he kept on trucking. He even drove dump trucks for a while. He sure knows a lot of Houston.
Prior to arriving at Lone Star Communications (Previously HALCO), he worked for low voltage company MCA doing data cabling in some HISD schools. In 2012, Jeo went to Trade Star on a Thursday to seek new work, and on Friday they called for the drug test. By Friday afternoon, they found him a job with HALCO. Trade Star wanted to know if Jeo could speak Spanish. Jeo lost his Spanish language growing up, so he was just barely functional. They gave him the information for Justo Garza to start working on a Monday at an elementary school near MacGregor & 288 installing Responder 4000.
Jeovanny’s current role as Project Superintendent is characterized in his words as being an information distributor. “We are in the middle of the PM’s and the lead techs and passing information to the customer.” It is more complicated than that, but the role is indispensable no matter how you describe it. He is also a whiz on the forklift and drove me around on the forklift bucket while I replaced the high lamps in the warehouse with LED lights a couple of years ago.
A little Jeo Q&A:
Q: What is something most people don’t know about you?
A: My brother Moses had a sixth sense. Growing up there was something always abnormal going on. I am not a fan of horror movies, but I am interested in the paranormal.
Q: What is the most unusual job you’ve ever had?
A: Making noodles in a noodle shop. Kim Son noodles. I had my hair in a ponytail. Vietnamese people thought I was one of their countrymen and would start speaking to me in Vietnamese.
Q: Do you have any pets? Are you a dog person or a cat person?
A: No pets. Not enough time to dedicate to a pet.
Q: What are your hobbies?
A: I used to Kayak. Now computer programming & web coding. I like to take a program that is written and take it apart to see how it functions.
Q: What is your favorite Houston sports team?
A: I am an Astros baseball fan. I am a dormant Texans fan. Don’t get me started about taking a knee during the national anthem.
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Houston, and why would you recommend it to people?
A: I found this place when I delivered restaurant supplies. 100% Taquito because of the dessert. Best Tres Leches cake.
Q: What are you currently reading/listening to/binging on Netflix?
A: The Flash on NetFlix. Then I watch the crossover or spin-off shows. (editor: Like spokes in a wheel)
Q: What is something you’ve always wanted to do, but haven’t done yet?
A: Skydive.
Thanks to Jeovanny for sitting down with me on two occasions to get information for this highlight. Remember if you want to skydive, you have to get in the airplane first 😊. Then you can go out for Tres Leches.
- Ronald Kruse, Chief Operating Officer Houston