Edgar Mendoza was born,

to a dairy farmer and a

house wife. His father lived

and worked in the United

States while his mother

lived in Cuidad

Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua,

Mexico. His father would

return to Mexico during

vacation periods. Shortly

after turning 8 years old he

was brought to the U.S.A

to live in the small agricul-

tural town of Johnson City

located in Southwestern

Kansas. Edgar’s dream was

to play football but it was

never supported by his

family. So, he decided in-

stead to attend Seward

County Community Col-

lege in Liberal Kansas. A

certificate in diesel tech-

nology seemed the logical

choice since he always

liked taking engines apart

and rebuilding them, “…

especially the big en-

gines.”, he joked.

VOLUME 26

A Little Means A Lot

By Mike Medina

OCTOBER, 2015 S E R C O R P O R A T I O N

SERvices for you

SERvicios para usted

Inside this issue:

One Step Closer to a Dream 2

A Great Career Decision 3

Family Owned Business Values its NFJP Participants

4

From Training to a Successful Career

5

Edgar is a Deferred Ac-

tion for Childhood Arrival

(DACA) recipient. As a

result there is not much

help financially to assist

him with tuition. He also

did not qualify for federal

financial aid like PELL

Grants and any private

scholarships. Fortunately

for Edgar he did qualify

for the National Farm-

worker Jobs Program

(NFJP) and he was pro-

vided with tuition assis-

tance. When asked what

the NFJP meant to him, he

simply said, “it meant a

lot to help pay for some of

my schooling”. He went

on to add; “with the diesel

mechanic degree I will be

making good money. No-

body ever knows what the

future holds for people

like me in my situation.”

Edgar is currently working

for American Implement, a

John Deere Dealership in

Ulysses, Kansas. He is very

happy with his current em-

ployment and as he said,

“……..I am looking for-

ward to being employed

here for many years. I am

so glad that I have a full

time job and don’t have to

work on the farm anymore.”

Edgar was a regular part

time farm worker making

$10 per hour. He did the

usual labor on the farm,

such as plowing, drilling,

and fixing farm equipment.

Edgar now earns $15 an

hour. The only fear Edgar

has now is not being able to

renew his DACA status and

being sent back to a county

he has very little knowledge

of or knows. He hopes to

one day become a United

States Citizen so he can

participate as a full member

of society and be treated

equally and live without

fear.

Justin Winter is a hard working young man with a dream. His goal is to be a Master Diesel Mechan-ic. In February 2014, he was interviewed for the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) and

was determined eligible. At that time he was working wherever he could. He worked with corn and soybeans at a farm located in Girard, Kansas (KS), just a few miles west of Fort Scott, KS. He was also work-ing part time at a John Deere Dealership. Having two jobs spoke loudly about his solid work ethics. That year he made a little over six thousand dollars working two part-time jobs and earning low hourly pay. He was in need of financial assistance to pay for training and the rest of the ex-penses related to school. Justin was studying to obtain a Farm Equip-ment Certificate at Fort Scott Community College, John Deere Tech-nical Program. Financial assistance was provided by SER Corporation as he qualified for the NFJP. He was a very good student and put a lot of effort in everything he did. He was always cheerful and a fast learner. When I spoke with him he told me that he enjoyed working with people and machines and repeated that one day he wants to be a Master Diesel Mechanic.

After completing his certificate I contacted the human resource (HR) director of Legacy Farm and Lawn. Justin had shown interest in work-ing for this company. Legacy Farm and Lawn is a farm equipment

company with several locations in Missouri and services John Deere equipment along the west side of Missouri. Soon after successfully developing an On-the-Job-Training with Legacy Farm and Lawn for Justin, he was permanently hired. I kept in frequent communication the first couple of months to make sure this was a good fit for both. HR was very pleased with the work and effort that Justin demonstrated. They continued to receive good reports from Justin’s supervisor. The same work ethic that Justin demonstrated while in school was also very present at his new job. When speaking with Justin, he reported that he was very happy to be able to work at something he had always wanted to do. He said, “The people are nice and I like working with the equipment.” Justin is now working full time and his income has more than tripled since he gradu-ated. He is very thankful for the assistance he re-ceived from SER Corporation. Now, becoming a Master Diesel Mechanic is just a step closer to mak-ing a dream come true. I am happy I was able to be part of his journey.

P a g e 2

One Step Closer to a Dream By: Joel Leiva

S E R v i c e s f o r y o u S E R v i c i o s p a r a

V O L U M E 2 6 P a g e 3

A Great Career Decision By Richard Vargas

Alex Conley worked many years in agricul-ture in his home town but knew he wanted to do something different. He decided to pur-sue a career as an Automotive Technician. The decision was made to enroll at Pratt Community College and he began a two year technician program. Alex attended one of my presentations at Pratt and he was very interested to learn about the National Farm-worker Jobs Program (NFJP). Soon after, I met with Alex and he qualified for the pro-gram and I was able to help him with finan-cial assistance.

Alex graduated and began looking for a job

in the automotive industry. Bucklin Tractor & Implement (BTI) is a John Deere Company located

in Pratt. They agreed to enter into an On-the-Job Training contract with SER Corporation/NFJP and

hired Alex. The SER OJT agreed to pay the employer 50% of Alex’s training wages. Alex proved

himself and now has a successful career as a full-time technician with BTI. He enjoys working

there and is very thankful for the financial assistance he received from SER and the opportunity the

OJT provided him.

P a g e 4

Family Owned Business Values its NFJP Participants By Roberta Pianalto

S E R v i c e s f o r y o u S E R v i c i o s p a r a

Yost Farm Supply is a family owned full service farm supply business specializing as a New Holland Dealership. Since their first day of business in 1964, customer satisfaction has been their top priority. They sell, service, and provide parts for tractors, combines, hay tools, seed-ing equipment, harvest equipment, sprayers, & tillage equipment. They also offer sales and service for lawn & garden customers. Over the years, Yost has been able to add Hesston, Gleaner, Massey Ferguson and many other lines of equipment to meet the needs of their customers.

They originally opened their business in St. Francis, Kansas (KS) and their success prompted them to open a second location in Goodland, KS. Recently they opened another location in Imperial, Nebraska. Outstanding customer service they feel, is the secret to their success along with knowledgeable well trained employees who understand the farm service business.

Highly efficient service technicians are vital to this type of business. That is why they were thrilled to hire several SER National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) participants who have become very valuable employees. SER Corporation and Yost Farm Supply collaborated to develop an “On the Job Training” contract for several participants. Yost Farm Supply received 50% reimbursement for training costs for its’ new employees who were NFJP participants with an agricultural work history. Jon Yost is the Manager at the Goodland location and is very happy with the trainees as well as receiving some extra funds to help train the new em-ployees. We hope to partner together again with finding top quality service technicians which help the company grow and have continued success with customer service.

SER Corporation is excited to continue the working relationship with Yost Farm Supply. It is

companies like Yost Farm Supply who are willing to hire SER NFJP participants and give

them a chance for a better life. It is very well known if you want your business to grow, then

focus on your Employees and your customers.

V O L U M E 2 6 P a g e 5

From Training to a Successful Career by Vicki Needham

For almost 23 years, Vicki Needham, Client Service Agent, for SER Corporation has been working to help seasonal and migrant farm workers obtain a better future. Throughout the years Vicki knew she had written a lot of classroom training contracts with North Central Kansas Technical College (NCK Tech). She was amazed to find she had written nearly 821 classroom training contracts to assist farm workers during the last 23 years. The partnership between SER Corporation National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) and NCK Tech has been very beneficial to both. Within the last few years the partnership has expanded past the point where NCK Tech entered into an employer On-the Job Train-ing Contract and hired some NFJP participants as NCK Tech staff.

Eric Burks, NCK Tech President, stated, "The SER program has been a fantastic resource for our stu-dents. Beyond the financial assistance participants receive, it has also helped students gain a greater appreciation of their background in agriculture. Not only do we appreciate the SER program for the help it provides for students, but now the College is also reaping the rewards as we have hired two graduating participants."

NCK Tech has saved over $3,300 in wages by utilizing the OJT service. Both participants were NCK Tech trainees and received assistance from the SER NFJP. The NFJP participants not only received an excellent education but also gained a wonderful job offer which included benefits. NCK Tech de-livers an innovative and personalized education which empowers learners, enrich lives, develop skilled professionals and strengthen economic systems. The College is dedicated to being a leader in workforce development by maximizing value for students, employers and communities through edu-cational excellence.

The partnership formed between SER Corporation and NCK Tech has produced well trained students and now an excellent employer. The College gained staff who they know have been well trained plus they received reimbursement on wages while their new employees were in job training. But those who have benefitted the most have been the seasonal and migrant farm workers who received the ser-vices, education and jobs. Vicki looks forward to working with NCK Tech and hopes she can contin-ue to help them “grow their own” staff by selecting SER NFJP participants for future openings.

EEO/Non-discrimination

SER Corporation is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any person on

the basis of race, religion, color, gender, identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veterans status, or any other status or

condition protected by law.

1020 N Main,

Suite D

Wichita, KS 67213

S E R C o r p o r a t i o n

Phone: 316-264-5372

Fax: 316-264-0194

E-mail:

receptionist@sercorp.com

We’re on the web! Sercorp.com

SER BOARD MEMBERS

Bill Ellison John Salem

Sergio Gonzalez Paul Feleciano Victor Balderas Norman Bent

Edited By: Richard E. Lopez, CEO/President

And Carolyn Benitez EO/NFJP