If you work at the Tarrant Regional Water District or have visited our Fort Worth campus, you’ve probably seen Cruz Sanchez hard at work.
As part of the facilities team, Cruz works on a wide-range of maintenance projects in and around the Districts’ buildings. From repairs to plumbing to remodeling and more, Cruz and his coworkers ensure that the main campus and other locations are well taken care of.
Some days, you might find him giving office spaces a facelift – tearing down walls and building new rooms from the floor up. Or you may see him performing regular maintenance checks, draining and refilling water heaters, sanitizing ice machines or doing walk-throughs of TRWD’s eight offices.
Cruz says his day can go from quiet to chaotic, depending on the needs and situation – and he likes being kept on his toes that way. That’s what keeps the job interesting.
Celebrating 13 years, starting as a seasonal worker and moving to full time
Cruz just marked his 13th year with the Water District in March. He started as a seasonal worker, mowing the riverbanks along the Trinity River floodway.
After four months on the seasonal crew, Cruz was asked if he’d like to move to a full-time position in the facilities department. “I felt very lucky to be offered a move to full time. I’d been hoping the part-time position would open the door for me to stay,”
His philosophy has always been, “if you don’t go the extra mile, you don’t go anywhere,” so Cruz works hard in everything he takes on.
A guy who likes to keep busy, at work and at home
Even at home, Cruz says he’s “like a busy bee, going around looking for something to do.” He enjoys gardening and landscaping around his house. He also goes out to eat often with his wife and teenage son, and they sometimes invite friends over for weekend barbeques. They also travel a lot. New York is a favorite destination, Cruz says, because of the excitement the city offers and the different types of cultures and foods there are to experience.
“We are good eaters when we visit New York,” he laughs.
This summer, the family will visit Chicago. They’ve been to San Francisco, San Diego, Colorado and the Dominican Republic, as well as Guam, where his wife grew up. A trip to Costa Rica is on Cruz’s bucket list.
“Family time is so important to the three of us,” he says.
Customizing bikes as a hobby
When the family is at home, you’ll likely find Cruz working on one of his favorite hobbies, customizing scooters and mid-sized motorcycles.
After visiting a friend in Austin and seeing a customized scooter outside his garage, Cruz fell in love with the idea of trying that for himself. He says he bought his first scooter in pieces, and found that he was good at customizing. His first attempt was about six years ago, and it quickly became a hobby that he still spends time on today.
“I’ve always been a handy kind of guy, and working at TRWD taught me different skills that boosted my confidence in being able to fix things,” Cruz says. “I work with very smart colleagues, and I now use what I’ve learned from TRWD at home as well. It saves a lot of money on my home projects.”
Values and benefits of working for the water district
Cruz likes building relationships with others, and being at the water district gives him that chance.
“Everyone is so friendly and welcoming. It gave me a feeling of being home, like I belonged here, on the first day I started,” he says.
Cruz is also proud of TRWD’s commitment to community, and the work being done to educate local residents and students about conservation, landscaping, rain harvesting and more.
“TRWD is a great place to work. Every job here is important to the community, and we have amazing leaders who listen and really care about us and our feedback,” Cruz says.
“I wish I had known about the water district earlier so I could have started working here sooner.”
