Concorde Staff
When you think of sports in Texas, what immediately comes to mind? If you thought of Friday night lights and football fields the size of Midwest small towns, you're not alone.
One sport that probably didn't top most people's list is foosball unless you know Jerry Esquivel, one of our admissions representatives at Concorde - Dallas.
"Foosball has been a hobby/passion of mine since a very young age," said Esquivel. "I started playing foosball at the age of about 12. I stopped playing for a long time during my time in the U.S. Army. When I got stationed in Dallas, I starting playing again."
It's a passion that Esquivel recently invested his Concorde Cares time to share with a group of local high school students at Guyer High School in Denton, Texas.
Concorde Cares: Changing Communities One Hour at a Time
Last year, Concorde introduced the Concorde Cares initiative allowing full-time employees eight paid hours to partner with a community organization of their choice. In 2016, our associates logged 1,883 volunteer hours, which translates to nearly $39,000 of donated time.
"I heard about the Guyer High School Foosball Club through a Facebook Group I created in July of 2011 called the 'Texas Foosers,'" Esquivel said. "It is a network of foosball players from all over the state of Texas. We are currently at 475 members and we share information about anything related to foosball. The mission of our group is to promote foosball in the state of Texas."
In fall 2016, Esquivel found out that the Guyer High School club needed a table, and that's when he went to work. After doing some research and talking to other folks, he came across the Foosball Foundation of Atlanta, Georgia.
It only takes a spark to get a fire going
Esquivel recounts: "On behalf of Guyer High School, I requested a foosball table. The Foosball Foundation had me fill out and submit a request form. They also informed me that it was a selection process and that we would be competing against several other organizations. They created a Facebook poll, and the winner would be selected based off of who received the most votes. I got all of my family members and friends to vote for Guyer High School.
"On behalf of Guyer High School, I requested a foosball table. The Foosball Foundation had me fill out and submit a request form. They also informed me that it was a selection process and that we would be competing against several other organizations. They created a Facebook poll, and the winner would be selected based off of who received the most votes. I got all of my family members and friends to vote for Guyer High School.
"The Foosball Foundation eventually notified me that we were selected. I had to coordinate the shipping of the table, create and coordinate an event at the high school and finally have some of my friends come out and help me promote and support this event.
"The look of joy, excitement, and inspiration on the faces of these students was worth every single minute of it."
Erin Henry, Concorde - Dallas President said, "I am proud to work for an organization that promotes serving the community through our Concorde Cares program. Jerry's initiative, creativity and passion to get involved really show the difference one person can make in our communities!"
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