February 2022
I met Roel Hernandez about twenty-one years ago when we were Advanced Communications and Cabling.
When I started 21 years ago, as a grunt, for lack of better term, Roel was a technician who treated me with nothing but respect. He has always been a wealth of information for me and the entire Central Texas team. Roel has been an installer, technician and a project manager. While focusing on the Education Division, along the way he has been crossed trained on healthcare products and security products.
Roel has always been a great asset for us in Operations. When an opportunity arose in Education Sales, he was able to expand and flawlessly transition. Since joining Dustin Reed in Education Sales, we have had many doors open for us in the South Texas Region that we had not seen in a long time. We are exciting for the future of Lone Star Central Texas with Roel out there knocking down doors. Roel exemplifies Lone Star Culture - One Team, One Purpose, One Family.
Here is a little about Roel, from the distinguished man himself
"I was born in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1979 and grew up on the west side of Corpus Christi.
Both sides of my family are not originally from Corpus Christi. My mother side of the family came from Falfurrias, Texas and my father side of the family came from both Mathis, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. My grandmother and grandfather, on my mother side, when settling in Corpus Christi opened a grocery store to help sustain life for them and their six children. My grandmother, Nena, on my father’s side, took care of all the children even though some were not of her own. She was a great mother and loving housewife. My grandfather worked for the highway department as a road striper for many years. As a child I would remember my grandfather coming home from work, dark from being in the sun all day and everyday he would greet my grandmother and ask her how her day went. Both sides of my family were very hard working."
Roel’s tells about his lifestyle and what gets him through the tough times
"My immediate family and I like to spend weekends together, love to watch movies of all genres and at times, enjoy playing board games. That’s always a lot of fun. We currently have three dogs that are a handful, possibly might take on two more. We may have five little ones, four Shih Tzu and one Pomeranian. We have two boys ages 14 and 12, both great kids! One likes sports a lot and the other likes computers and robotics."
One of my hobby’s is a passion and that passion is food. I have a great passion for food of all kinds, from BBQ, grilling, baking to frying. I like to take my time to prepare my dishes either inside cooking or outdoor grilling. I am always looking for ways to perfect what I have prepared for the day. It brings joy to me to see my family and close friends eat and enjoy what I made for them. What I like the most is that if I am having a frustrating week or have some issues on life itself, I can take all that frustration out and bring it to a positive with food. When taking that first bite of what I have prepared can bring a smile to my face or people’s faces then I have accomplished something. One of my favorite things to cook are pork and beef ribs, with a side of collard greens and pinto beans with ham hawks. I like to take time to prepare these dishes, so the meat is nice and tender. Occasionally, I like to go hunting, fishing and play ping pong."
How Roel Got Here
"I started Star/ACC/ Gulf Coast Time recorder in the summer of 1998. I had worked at an outlet store when I was 16 years old then I had worked for a foot action when I was 17. A friend of mine asked if I would like to consider working for a Gulf Coast, I had no idea what I was about get myself into. I started out as a cable puller and assistant, working in the education and healthcare division."
Project Manager
"Two projects stand out the most. They were both a big test as a field tech/ project manager. They were both in the south region of Texas - PSJA ISD. Both were very big high schools. One was new construction, and the other was a retrofit. Both were with AC&C. I was around 26 years of age and had these two big projects and a crew. It was a lot of responsibility and installing at the time a new system, both were Telecenter 6 projects with distributed Gateways and us providing the fiber optic cable. They both were good learning experiences on how to manage and complete a project."
A Few of Roel’s Skill Sets
"Systems I am proficient in are almost all of Rauland’s Educational systems, Director Series, Telecenter 21, Telecenter ICS, Telecenter 5, Telecenter 6, Rauland CPS, Telecenter U, Security and Surveillance Systems-Salient surveillance system, Open Options, and S2 access control."
Transitioning to SALES
"I was nervous at first in the transition. I was in a comfort zone in my previous role. It was something that I was and still am very good at. I was approached on certain occasion into consider taking on the sales role for the South Texas area. I gave it a lot of thought and took the leap of faith. I like it; it is a challenge. Everyday there is always something to accomplish, you may not always have a PO in hand, but accomplishing something is always a plus. I have a great team that helps whenever I have an issue that I can’t address. Talking and listening to our customers, is what I like about sales and being able to help and giving them a solution to an issue that needs to be addressed."
New Position, New Task!
"Some of my daily tasks are, putting together quotes in 360, working with engineering if I need assistance on quoting a proposal. Making sure everything is correct on the proposal. And at time still assisting on technical and programming our systems that we have out there. Calling on new and existing customers. Making sure our existing customer are satisfied on what they have and just talking to them to let them know we are here for them. Customer relationship is very important. Not just to call them when we have something to sell."
What does he like?
"What I like the most about this job is the sense of helping people with resolving an issue or situation that needs to be addressed. I like to come up with a solution to their needs. Doing research if it is out of my comfort zone is always a challenge, however, it’s motivation to get all the information to an existing or potential new client. I like that Lone Star values their customers very much. Customers are our number one priority. I like being able to help all around in all the different divisions in our offices. I like to hand down the knowledge that I have to our techs out in the field. Either technical or software when it comes to programming a particular system."
Where are you in 5 years?
"I see myself as one of the top education sales representatives. Last year was a start and a little rough. You must establish good customer relationships with people. One of the main things is trust and confidence on what you as a person have to offer. When a person or client trust you then it’s game on moving forward."
Final Words of Wisdom
"One of the things that I accomplished that I didn’t at first think was fit for me was going to technical college when I was younger. By doing that helped me out a whole lot on what we do here at Lone Star as far as installation and programming. Studying and learning the basic principles on how things work helped tremendously. When we were a small company at first ACC/ GCTR. We didn’t have that many resources to find and go to. We figured things out on what and who we had. Going to school helped me learn a lot about the Rauland Telecenter and other areas in the division. It helped me become who I am today. I have completed and looked over many projects in the Education Division. I wanted a move and an opportunity in another area. Now I am blessed to be in this position and would like to do well in this area as well. I have a good team all around."
"Most of the people here in Central Texas have been working together for many years. I have been here for about 24 years now. I started when I was just 18 years of age and now 42. Time has moved on quick along with technology and seeing things constantly changing. Keeping up with what is out there is a big key factor on how we will succeed in the future. New ideas are always important because ideas can become creations in our industry and keep all of us employed for our future."
- Victor Gonzalez, Chief Operating Officer Central Texas