Meet the Team
Leadership
Jeff Griffith
President
What’s the most inspiring part of your job?
Being an introvert, I love dealing with people, daily : )
What is the best piece of advice you were given?
1) All you really have is your word. Don’t compromise it. If you say you’re gonna do something, honor a commitment, then do it. Even if it costs you to do it. 2) Know your banker, personally.
What would be your personal motto?
Get busy living, or get busy dying.
What do you think are the best skills that you bring to your job?
Analytical, data driven and laid back.
What are three of your pet peeves?
Clutter, indecision and being on time.
Isaac Benavides
VP of Sales
Complete the following sentence: “If I wasn’t so good at my job, I’d probably be…”
A whitewater guide.
What is the best piece of advice you were given?
You will fail many times before you succeed.
On Sunday mornings, where can you usually be found?
Catching up on news.
Do you have any skills or talents that most people don’t know about?
I can fix anything that doesn’t involve technology
What are three of your pet peeves?
Tardiness, dishonesty and bad drivers.
Enrique Comparan
VP of Operations
What’s the most inspiring part of your job?
Being able to manage daily challenges with our great team and still smile at the end of the day.
What is the best piece of advice you were given?
Be open, ready, and not afraid for opportunity to come your way
What would be your personal motto?
Just keep on swimming.
What are some causes you care about?
Equality!
Do you have any skills or talents that most people don’t know about?
I play the drums. Poorly, but I do my best.
Foundation Specialists
Brandon Holt
Foundation Specialist
What’s the most inspiring part of your job?
Fixing problems
What is the best piece of advice you were given?
Never trust a skinny cook or a fat doctor.
What would be your personal motto?
Keep on keepin’ on.
What are some causes you care about?
Helping children with debilitating illnesses, recovery from addiction and abused women and children.
On Sunday mornings, where can you usually be found?
Drinking coffee and catching up on news
Clint Newman
Foundation Specialist
What’s the most inspiring part of your job?
Knowing that the CenTex team is just as dedicated and hardworking as I am.
Complete the following sentence: “In another life, I’m pretty sure I was…”
A great many things… I believe in reincarnation
What would be your personal motto?
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
What do you think are the best skills that you bring to your job?
I’m detailed and data-driven, some might say obsessively organized.
Do you have any skills or talents that most people don’t know about?
I’m crazy about cycling in all forms…I race gravel and mountain bikes.
Dean Zubkoff
Foundation Specialist
What’s the most inspiring part of your job?
Solving problems case by case.
What is the best piece of advice you were given?
If you don’t lie you never have to remember what you said.
What would be your personal motto?
What you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear a word you’re saying.
What do you think are the best skills that you bring to your job?
Being able to explain our repair methods in clear English.
Do you have any skills or talents that most people don’t know about?
I play golf.
Derek Seaback
Foundation Specialist
What’s the most inspiring part of your job?
Meeting our customers.
What was the most important thing you learned before high school?
That was too long ago!
What are some causes you care about?
Diabetes, Cancer and Crohn’s Disease.
On Sunday Mornings, where can you usually be found?
In the kitchen cooking breakfast.
Do you have any skills or talents that most people don’t know about?
I’m a pretty good bowler.
Dustin Alexander
Foundation Specialist
What is the best piece of advice you were given?
What your kids (family) will remember most isn’t the gift they received or the money you made but the time you spent with them. Time is the only thing you can’t make more of.
What would be your personal motto?
Think outside the box, try something new & let each day be an adventure, because we are not guaranteed tomorrow.
What do you think are the best skills that you bring to your job?
Building relationships, helping educate customers while making them feel comfortable with our repair recommendations
On Sunday Mornings, where can you usually be found?
At Church with my family
Do you have any skills or talents that most people don’t know about?
Building/Restoration projects, playing guitar
Kenny Wallar
Foundation Specialist
Complete the following sentence: “If I wasn’t so good at my job I’d probably be…”
A superhero or a bum.
What is the best piece of advice you were given?
Be yourself no matter what.
If you could invent a holiday what would it involve?
It would definitely involve FOOD.
On Sunday mornings where can you usually be found?
Drinking coffee on my back porch.
Do you have any skills or talents that most people don’t know about?
I have double jointed fingers.
Nick Pratt
Director of Operations - Waco Office
What’s the most inspiring part of your job?
When we’re able to help someone out that has lost hope on ever fixing their home, thinking it’s not worth anything.
Also, telling someone who’s been losing sleep at night waiting to hear what we have to say about their home…and letting them know it’s repairable and not going to cost a million dollars, or that what they’re experiencing is normal.
Complete the following sentence: “If I wasn’t so good at my job, I’d probably be…”
Building new homes or living the “salt life” on the Texas coast and selling BBQ!
What is the best piece of advice you were given?
“I have two that I think of often! One, my dad told me “”nothing is free, you have to work for everything in life, never assume anything and count on no-one to help you through””…he was 100% correct!
2nd best one was- I was looking to move way out in the country at a young age…an old man who I admired very much gritted his teeth and told me to “”stay in the city, make your money as long as you can…then you can have a place like this!”” I remember it really took the wind out of my sail at the time and bruised my ego a little! ha! “
What are some causes you care about?
Make a Wish Foundation, Back the Blue, Wildlife management and Coastal Conservation.
What are three of your pet peeves?
People that don’t do what they say their going to do, Tailgaters, and anyone asking for a well-done steak! That’s just un-Texan!
Field Operations
Florencio Leija
Field Superintendent
Complete the following sentence: “In another life I’m pretty sure I was…”
An explorer or someone who discovered.
What is the best piece of advice you were given?
The best piece of advice I’ve been given is to never give up!
If you could invent a holiday, what would it involve?
It would definitely involve coworkers, family and food.
What would be your personal motto?
“Todo Para Delante”, meaning everything moving forward.
Do you have any skills or talents that most people don’t know about?
I love to cook and I am a creative builder.
Florentino Saenz
Field Superintendent
Complete the following sentence: “If I wasn’t so good at my job, I’d probably be…”
A Mechanical Engineer.
What is the best piece of advice you were given?
Always do everything right.
Complete the following sentence: “In another life I’m pretty sure I was…”
A dentist.
What would be your personal motto?
Always fight for what you want.
What are some causes you care about?
Poverty and the planet Earth.
Administration
Amanda Van Mill
Operations Coordinator
What is the best piece of advice you were given?
When you know better, do better.
What would be your personal motto?
Every day is a second chance.
What do you think are the best skills that you bring to your job?
Communication, organizational skills, honesty and dependability.
On Sunday mornings, where can you usually be found?
Sleeping in!
What are three of your pet peeves?
1) People sending phone numbers w/out hyphens or spaces
2) Hair in the sink
3) The toilet seat being left up
Jennifer Comparan
Accounting/Payroll Director
Complete the following sentence: “If I wasn’t so good at my job I’d probably be…”
A (plant) nursery person.
What was the most important thing you learned before high school?
CPR and First Aid.
What is the best piece of advice you were given?
Be kind. Always.
What would be your personal motto?
Life is better outside.
Do you have any skills or talents that most people don’t know about?
I’m pretty fluent in Spanish. I am working on a collection of rare plants (tropicals). I’d like to backpack the Appalachian Trail. I still love yoga after 25 years.
Marcie Masters
Administrative Director
Complete the following sentence: “In another life, I’m pretty sure I was…”
A Victorian Lady…. I could see me wearing one of those dresses!
If you could invent a holiday, what would it involve?
It would definitely involve roses, chocolate cake and percussion. Shake your maracas!
What would be your personal motto?
The fruits you enjoy are a direct result of your labor.
What are some causes you care about?
Kids that need good homes. If I had room, I’d take them all!
Do you have any skills or talents that most people don’t know about?
I am a registered plumber’s apprentice, I can run a chainsaw and I play a pretty mean tambourine.
Melanie Benavides
Operations Manager
What’s the most inspiring part of your job?
No day is the same! There are always new people to talk to and new tasks to encounter.
Complete the following sentence: “In another life I’m pretty sure I was…”
An air traffic controller!
If you could invent a holiday, what would it involve?
Medical Occupations actually getting time off like the rest of us.
What would be your personal motto?
Through Christ all things are possible!
Do you have any skills or talents that most people don’t know about?
I can tie a cherry stem with my tongue.
Miranda Borders
Inspection Coordinator
Complete the following sentence: “If I wasn’t so good at my job, I’d probably be…”
If I wasn’t so good at my job I would start a Llama Sanctuary for people suffering with PTSD, Anxiety, and Depression.
What is the best piece of advice you were given?
Know your worth.
What do you think are the best skills that you bring to your job?
20 years of customer service experience, memory retention, and flexibility.
On Sunday mornings, where can you usually be found?
Watching The University of Alabama football highlights or Texas Country Reporter.
Do you have any skills or talents that most people don’t know about?
I can spit out random animal facts at the drop of a hat. Did you know a gathering of Flamingos is called a Flamboyance? Fact!!
Stephanie Sexton
Permit/In-House Coordinator
What’s the most inspiring part of your job?
Being able to interact with the public, and working with a group of awesome co-workers.
Complete the following sentence: “In another life I’m pretty sure I was…”
Party Girl!!
What is the best piece of advice you were given?
Treat every person you meet with respect.
What would be your personal motto?
Encourage myself to be the person I am, even when going through difficult times.
On Sunday mornings, where can you usually be found?
Spending time with my family & friends.
Tina Ferrel
Inspection Coordinator
Complete the following sentence: “If I wasn’t so good at my job, I’d probably be…”
If I wasn’t so good at my job, I’d probably be a hairdresser.
What is the best piece of advice you were given?
Don’t go out after 11, nothing good happens after that.
What do you think are the best skills that you bring to your job?
Promptness, integrity, people skills and the ability to adapt.
On Sunday mornings, where can you usually be found?
Church.
Do you have any skills or talents that most people don’t know about?
I like to draw, paint, knit with a loom, piecing quilts and quilting.