Meet Hector: TNMPeople

A Pecos Hidden Hero

The changes that have occurred in Pecos in recent years have been plain as day for Hector and other area natives to see.

He's in the thick of it, both on the job and off, is helping Pecos navigate the challenges and to help the community succeed. He oversees electric growth projects in the area and was named a Hidden Hero for what he does for youth in town.

Unprecedented growth

Pecos' location adjacent to the Permian Basin's growth oil economy has driven an increase in business and people to the area. With those has been a need for TNMP's electric system to grow, too.

"It was a really small town and everybody knew everybody," he says of Pecos in the recent past. "Traffic was just your normal small-town traffic. Now very seldom will you see a familiar face and everyone driving around you seems like they are racing to get to their destination. The growth in Pecos is unbelievable."

Hector started on line crews at TNMP, then later became a designer, helping to plan how electric system growth would be executed. Now, as a project leader, his responsibilities include overseeing the actual construction of the growth by contract electric crews.

"There were over 600 projects that we built last year, including big jobs and smaller customer jobs," Hector says. "There are no words to describe the growth we've had. We manage it and, as infrastructure grows, we grow, too."

Hidden Hero

As well as guiding the growth of the electric system in the area, Hector also guides youngsters as a youth football coach.

He was a running back at Pecos High and Sul Ross State, but he always wanted to be a coach. Hector started coaching the Pecos Junior Eagles, including his 8-year-old son, Kolt, in 2016 and has led the team to three straight championships in the Permian Basin Youth Football League.

"Being able to coach is my way to give back to the community and a way to get back in the game of football," Hector says. "It's something I really enjoy and I can't get enough of it."

The success his players have experienced led to him receiving, much to his own surprise, the Pecos Chamber of Commerce Hidden Hero award in 2019. The chamber's definition of Hidden Heroes: "ordinary people who are extraordinary role models."

That sounds like it fits Hector.

"When Kolt goes to middle school, I'll still continue to coach and I'd like to go back to a younger age group," he says. "I want to help them grow their skill sets of the game, but also to be good kids with good morals and who take responsibility. I'll continue to coach as long as I can do it."