Jose Linqui – Featured Employee

This week’s featured employee is Jose Linqui, who joined G&H as a machine operator on February 20, 1990. Jose told me this has been his only job since coming to the United States back in 1989.

If you look at Jose’s picture, you will see him smiling. Even though I asked him to smile, I like to think he is smiling because he loves working on the Bystronic Flex 4 laser machine, where he makes products for the oil industry.

Jose was born in El Salvador, which is situated on the Pacific coast of Central America. El Salvador has Guatemala to the west and Honduras to the north and east. It is the smallest of the Central American countries, with an area equal to that of Massachusetts, and it is the only one without an Atlantic coastline.

While in El Salvador, Jose attended the Technical Institute. He graduated with a Civil Technical Engineering Degree and worked as a supervisor in the construction of buildings.

In 1989, during civil unrest in his country, Jose dreamed of a better life for himself and his family. With a brother and two sisters already living in Los Angeles, Jose decided to move there first. Not long afterwards, another brother – who happened to be working for G&H – called him and told him there was work in Houston! So Jose moved one more time and joined our G&H family.

Jose is married to Aidee and has three children – two sons, Frederick and Carlos, and a daughter, Karla – and they are all married and live in Houston and the surrounding area. In addition, Jose is blessed with five grandchildren! All of his children graduated from High School and his daughter is currently studying Accounting at a local community college.

He shared with me that when they first came to the United States, his daughter was nine years old and had never seen a person of a different race. When she questioned him about this, he answered her by saying, “It matters not what color or race a person is, but that we are all the same in God’s eyes and should respect each other always.” “That is what I have implanted in my children, that we should try our best to get along and live life to the fullest,” Jose said.

Jose says that he loves to read “just about everything.” He also loves to fish and has a nephew who lives in Clear Lake, which is where he tries to spend a lot of time. I asked Jose what kind of fish is his favorite to catch, and he got this big, animated grin on his face – said he loves to catch them all, but particularly catfish. His best time, however, is spending as much time as possible with his grandchildren!

We want to thank Jose for his dedication and hard work at G&H!