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Note: This article was originally published by Eye On Sheet Metal, a resource for the unionized sheet metal industry.

John Espinos (second from right) received the Patriot Award in November.

John Espinos has mentored many apprentices in his time as training coordinator at SMART Local 27 in central and southern New Jersey, but receiving a Patriot Award for going above and beyond in his support of a servicemember took him by surprise.

“I was not expecting this at all,” Espinos said. “It actually brought a tear to my eye.”

The award pin and certificate were presented to Espinos by Ronni Enzman, Monmouth County chairperson for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), at a small ceremony at the training center on November 27.

Sgt. Mike Pruchnicki, currently in the second year of his apprenticeship, is the servicemember who nominated Espinos. He recalled all the extra time Espinos took with him to help get his Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits in place and, later, to make his deployment as smooth as possible.

“John helped me a lot since I came to Local 27 … he supported me each time I went away on orders or training, and ensured I still would have work when I returned,” Pruchnicki said. “He has been very supportive through everything, and when I found out about the Patriot Award, I couldn’t think of anyone else more deserving than John.”

The Patriot Award is one in a series of Department of Defense awards granted by the ESGR, and it reflects efforts made to support servicemembers through a wide range of measures including flexible schedules, time off prior to and after deployment, caring for families and granting leaves of absence when needed. Servicemembers can nominate a supervisor they feel has made a substantial difference for them.

“This is yet another way to show the sheet metal industry is employing veterans, and veterans appreciate the support they are given,” said Josh Moore, International Training Institute field representative and SMART Heroes specialist. “This young man was worried about his apprenticeship, and he was glad John was there to support him. I think it’s great that the local is being recognized. They’re the ones that support the apprentices as they make their transition into journey work.”

Moore and Espinos believe this is the first time a training coordinator for a SMART local has received a Patriot Award. The ESGR awards program is progressive, with the Patriot Award serving as a first step toward further recognition. In order to qualify for consideration for higher honors, such as the Above and Beyond Award or the program’s highest recognition, the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, an employer must first have at least one supervisor recognized with a Patriot Award.

Espinos is no stranger to recognition as a mentor — or lapel pins of appreciation. He’s been involved in Boy Scouts of America as a scoutmaster for many years, and over time he accumulated quite a few mentor pins from Eagle Scouts who wished to honor those who had helped them on their journey. It got to the point, he said, that at Boy Scouts events he would jokingly walk lop-sided and say all the pins were weighing him down. Memories of those events came back to him as he received the Patriot Award.

“It reminded me of something my dad said before he passed,” recalled Espinos. “He told me, ‘You were a rough kid growing up, always in trouble, but I knew you were here to make an impact on other people’s lives.’”

The difference Espinos made for Pruchnicki was evident when Espinos received his award, but this is far from the first or last time a training coordinator will go to bat for an active-duty guard or reserve member. They step in to coordinate solutions when a contractor must lose a valued apprentice due to deployment, then make sure that servicemember’s job is safe and waiting for them when they return. Training coordinators at sheet metal locals also often help apprentices with VA matters and paperwork or online forms for the GI Bill, as well as making sure the apprentice gets hours covered to receive health care, pension and everything else that should be available to them.

Espinos said that there are quite a few hoops to jump through, but once you go through it the first time, it gets easier each time afterward. He also noted that apprentices at Local 27 are really in full-time classes for only around four weeks a year, each year of the five-year program.

“In that short amount of time, it felt good to make an impact on [Pruchnicki’s] life,” Espinos said.

Note: This article was originally published by Eye On Sheet Metal, a resource for the unionized sheet metal industry.

John Espinos (second from right) received the Patriot Award in November.

John Espinos has mentored many apprentices in his time as training coordinator at SMART Local 27 in central and southern New Jersey, but receiving a Patriot Award for going above and beyond in his support of a servicemember took him by surprise.

“I was not expecting this at all,” Espinos said. “It actually brought a tear to my eye.”

The award pin and certificate were presented to Espinos by Ronni Enzman, Monmouth County chairperson for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), at a small ceremony at the training center on November 27.

Sgt. Mike Pruchnicki, currently in the second year of his apprenticeship, is the servicemember who nominated Espinos. He recalled all the extra time Espinos took with him to help get his Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits in place and, later, to make his deployment as smooth as possible.

“John helped me a lot since I came to Local 27 … he supported me each time I went away on orders or training, and ensured I still would have work when I returned,” Pruchnicki said. “He has been very supportive through everything, and when I found out about the Patriot Award, I couldn’t think of anyone else more deserving than John.”

The Patriot Award is one in a series of Department of Defense awards granted by the ESGR, and it reflects efforts made to support servicemembers through a wide range of measures including flexible schedules, time off prior to and after deployment, caring for families and granting leaves of absence when needed. Servicemembers can nominate a supervisor they feel has made a substantial difference for them.

“This is yet another way to show the sheet metal industry is employing veterans, and veterans appreciate the support they are given,” said Josh Moore, International Training Institute field representative and SMART Heroes specialist. “This young man was worried about his apprenticeship, and he was glad John was there to support him. I think it’s great that the local is being recognized. They’re the ones that support the apprentices as they make their transition into journey work.”

Moore and Espinos believe this is the first time a training coordinator for a SMART local has received a Patriot Award. The ESGR awards program is progressive, with the Patriot Award serving as a first step toward further recognition. In order to qualify for consideration for higher honors, such as the Above and Beyond Award or the program’s highest recognition, the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, an employer must first have at least one supervisor recognized with a Patriot Award.

Espinos is no stranger to recognition as a mentor — or lapel pins of appreciation. He’s been involved in Boy Scouts of America as a scoutmaster for many years, and over time he accumulated quite a few mentor pins from Eagle Scouts who wished to honor those who had helped them on their journey. It got to the point, he said, that at Boy Scouts events he would jokingly walk lop-sided and say all the pins were weighing him down. Memories of those events came back to him as he received the Patriot Award.

“It reminded me of something my dad said before he passed,” recalled Espinos. “He told me, ‘You were a rough kid growing up, always in trouble, but I knew you were here to make an impact on other people’s lives.’”

The difference Espinos made for Pruchnicki was evident when Espinos received his award, but this is far from the first or last time a training coordinator will go to bat for an active-duty guard or reserve member. They step in to coordinate solutions when a contractor must lose a valued apprentice due to deployment, then make sure that servicemember’s job is safe and waiting for them when they return. Training coordinators at sheet metal locals also often help apprentices with VA matters and paperwork or online forms for the GI Bill, as well as making sure the apprentice gets hours covered to receive health care, pension and everything else that should be available to them.

Espinos said that there are quite a few hoops to jump through, but once you go through it the first time, it gets easier each time afterward. He also noted that apprentices at Local 27 are really in full-time classes for only around four weeks a year, each year of the five-year program.

“In that short amount of time, it felt good to make an impact on [Pruchnicki’s] life,” Espinos said.

Staff Sgt. Antonette Ventura’s path to becoming a sheet metal journeyperson took an unexpected detour when she was deployed to Saudi Arabia in late 2020, during the middle of her apprenticeship. Thanks to the support she found at the SMART Local 88 training center in Las Vegas, however, her confidence in finishing the program never wavered.

“She’s very hard-working, very knowledgeable and willing to learn,” Abraham said. “I am hopeful that she would be willing to be an instructor in the near future.”

Ventura, who grew up in Hilo, Hawaii, is the first member of her family to venture into the unionized trades. She moved to Las Vegas to seek her future among the opportunities in the growing city, then found Local 88 during her job search. When she got the approval letter to come and test, she immediately went in and performed well on the exam, as well as the interview. The first two years of her apprenticeship went smoothly — and she took to the work straight away, impressing her instructors as well as Ed Abraham, Local 88’s training director.

Ventura said she would encourage anyone — especially women — to jump into careers such as sheet metal.

That all had to be put on hold when she was called up as a reservist and found herself facing almost a year in the Middle East. Ventura joined the Air National Guard in 2007 and has served for the past 14 years, based out of March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, California. For many in the National Reserves, a long deployment can mean the total uprooting of one’s life: cars are sold, leases terminated and jobs or schooling are put on hold indefinitely.

“There really wasn’t an end date because things can happen. For security purposes, you just don’t know — they don’t want people posting dates on social media and such,” Ventura said. “I was worried about not being able to finish my apprenticeship on time because I didn’t know how the situation was going to be handled.”

Following a conversation with Abraham, Ventura said she had real peace of mind. She was assured that her place was secure, and that the union would work with her as she served overseas and help smooth the transition when she returned. The contractor she had been working with in Las Vegas, Kamran Metalworks, was likewise accommodating. 

From November 2020 through September 2021, she was deployed to Riyadh Air Base in the capital of Saudi Arabia, helping support Operation Freedom’s Sentinel in her capacity as an HVAC-refrigeration technician. With the pandemic in full swing and vaccinations becoming available during that time, her work was vital in keeping COVID-19 vaccines at the ultra-cold temperatures required for early doses. Her duties also included maintaining boilers and air conditioning systems throughout the base and working with contingency equipment.

Abraham — or “Schoolhouse Ed,” as Ventura calls him — helped her navigate the regulations on how activated members of the National Guard or Reserves are handled within the union. Her membership was temporarily changed to a special limited membership, and dues were paid by the union during deployment. Abraham also made sure to reach out on a monthly basis while Ventura was deployed to check up on her.

“That meant a lot,” she recalled. “It made me feel very connected.”

Ventura said there were conversations among the many personnel on the base about jobs and future work, and during these talks she could not help but sing the praises of SMART and Local 88. “One of the guys . . . after hearing me talk about it, he started getting interested in trade work and researching it,” she said.

Now in her fourth year, Ventura looks forward to completing her sheet metal apprenticeship in July and hopes to work in either the service or architectural sides of the trade. Although she loves Las Vegas and the people she has met there, she knows a union education in sheet metal affords her the opportunity to go many places.

She also said she would encourage anyone — especially women — to jump into careers such as sheet metal.

“Don’t be afraid to try,” she said. “You won’t unlock your potential unless you take that first step. I’m so glad I did.”

Abraham agrees that women like Ventura make the trade stronger, and he was happy to help her get back up to speed so she can complete her apprenticeship as scheduled.

“She is doing amazing in the program,” he said. “Any company should be glad to have her on their team.”

Pictured left to right are SMART Local 71 members Paul Holland, Nick Hoffman, Anthony Paris, Shilo Rogers, Dan Morino, Jeff Gatti and Ryan Hurley. As part of Local 71’s SMART Army and Apprenticeship Community Service programs, these members partici­pated in a cleanup of Raymond Klimek Veteran’s Park in North Tonawanda, N.Y., a suburb of Buffalo. Spear­headed by Paris, a U.S. Army National Guard veteran, the beautification project took place on May 21–22, one weekend ahead of Memorial Day. Not pictured are Busi­ness Manager Paul Crist and Business Agent Timothy Benes, who also participated in the cleanup.