Roger: “I hadn’t seen my two brothers in Michigan in quite a while, so I went up there to visit. One day while I was driving to the park, I noticed a woman whose car was broke down on the side of the road. It was where three busy highways came together. Somehow I was able to go from the far left-hand lane all the way across to where she was before any other cars came by.”

Pat: “I was a single mom. I had three kids. I had bought a cheap car, and I needed to put an exhaust system on it. I didn’t have anybody to help me, so I learned how to do it myself. Every once in a while, it would come loose. We were on our way to a picnic when it happened again. I was getting under there to tighten it up when he came by. I kind of hid behind my car at first. I wasn’t quite sure what to do. He said he had some better tools than I had. When he opened his trunk and I saw the tools, I was a little relieved.”

Roger: “Growing up, I watched my dad do everything. He said I needed to learn how to fix things. So I started working on cars and building race cars. I became a mechanic. I was head mechanic at a lot of garages through the years. So it took maybe 10-15 minutes to fix her up.”

Pat: “He asked for my phone number. I thought, well, I’m not telling him where I live, but I guess I’ll give him my number. I figured he’d never call me. How many guys are going to call a woman with three kids? I just kind of laughed it off. But he did call a few days later. We just started talking, and he asked me to a show at the drive-in. Then he started taking me and the kids fishing and different things. He had to come back to Texas, and he was down here for probably six months when he called and asked if I wanted to join him. So I did. I moved down with my kids, two boys and a girl. It just felt right. I don’t know how else to explain it. We started living together. And then five years later, we got married. We met on June 23, 1980, and we got married on June 23, 1985. We did it on the same day on purpose. We both had gone through a bad divorce. So we just wanted to make it something special that hopefully would last. And so far, it has.”

— Pat and Roger Williamson

Helping others, like his future wife 41 years ago, is nothing new for Roger. At 75, he continues lending a hand to friends and strangers alike. He helped several people with plumbing issues during the recent winter storm. Also an avid fisherman, Roger has been known to catch and donate hundreds of pounds of catfish to support various fundraising efforts.

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“You can become anything you want to be if you have the work ethic to do it. As a young man I attended the Gulf Coast Trades Center, where I started the journey that led me to the automotive industry. Being at this school gave me the opportunity to surround myself with a lot of positive people. I was able to keep to the path that I wanted to follow to get my life where it needed to be.

“I’ve been working on cars since 1995 or ‘96. It really saved me from the streets. If I hadn’t found the automotive industry, I would have been, maybe, in the penitentiary or worse. I have come from the bottom, from an environment that did not encourage me. I was always being told that I wasn’t ever going to do anything and that I would never be anything. “

“I understand struggle in all its forms from my own life experiences, so I try to help everyone that I can no matter their race, religion or where they come from. Being that one positive person in someone’s life that says, ‘Yes you can,’ or lending a helping hand when it is needed is important to me.”

— Chris Townsend

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“Have you ever heard of ‘Dirty Jobs,’ that TV show where Mike Rowe used to do these jobs that nobody wants to do? One of his jobs was similar to what I did in the Air Force.

“We provided fuel system support for any aircraft, whether an F-16 or C-130. They have fuel tanks just like cars, except they’re gigantic. So to fix them, if you’re a mechanic, you have to suit up and crawl inside the tank. I started out as a mechanic and then ended up as a supervisor. 

“My biggest adventure was serving in Baghdad. We were there training a bunch of Iraqis, and we lived with them in their camps. It was dangerous, but it was interesting to actually learn their culture, learn to speak their language, and really befriend them while we were training them. They’re from a completely different culture, so it takes time. But I really think our role there was making a difference.”

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“I work at a local fleet company, maintaining all kinds of equipment and vehicles. I don’t even turn wrenches anymore; I just manage.

“It was a lot easier when I was fixing cars instead of all the managerial issues. Trying to find and keep good people is always a challenge. Finding them is the hardest part right now. A lot of people would rather sit at a desk and work on a computer. While money is important to keeping them, you have to give them a good work atmosphere or they won’t stay, regardless of what you pay them. Overall, you just have to treat people well, like you want to be treated.”

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“The best job I ever had was in the ‘80s up in Virginia, working as a sheet metal mechanic in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. It’s where they build, remodel and repair the Navy’s ships.

“Being a Vietnam War-era veteran, I was proud to help service the fleet and keep the Navy’s surface crafts and submarines going. The subs were the most interesting to work on. It was really tight quarters, but their overall size was pretty impressive when you got a close-up view of them in dry dock.”

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“I was a diesel mechanic in the Navy for four years, stationed at Virginia Beach, Virginia, at Little Creek Amphibious Base. I’ve been to Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Somalia, Liberia, all over.

“I was 19 years old when I joined. I was partying a lot after high school and just needed some direction in my life. So I went in and it served its purpose, helped me out, and I learned a lot of stuff along the way. It was a good experience. I just didn’t want to make a career out of it.”

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