Whitney Young Job Corps Center

Charlie Miller, a member of OPCMIA Local 518 in Kansas City, Missouri, has worked more than 35 years as a cement mason on residential, heavy highway, commercial and industrial projects. He was a Job Corps Instructor for 2½ years at Pine Ridge Job Corps Center before becoming the Midwest Regional Coordinator for the National Plastering Industry’s Joint Apprenticeship Trust Fund in January 2021. “Being a Cement Mason is an honorable trade and craft,” he said. “Passing this on to a younger generation is not only a passion but a necessity for all of our futures. Introducing young men and women into our craft has been an amazing experience. Taking this group by the hand, literally at times, reaching into their heart and souls, watching their confidence in themselves blossom as they become a more positive version of themselves is the biggest reward in the world. The connection between my career and building future careers is truly a love story worth living and sharing.”

Darryel Gaines worked as an OPCMIA cement mason for 10 years and he has been an instructor for the past 18 years. Working at the Whitney Young Job Corps Center has “given me a chance to really help people,” he said. “To make a change in their lives, hopefully for the better by showing a new alternative of life outside the box.”