Leticia Vega, Facilities Staff, 20 years
Leticia Vega marked her 20-year work anniversary at Wilshire on Jan. 7. As part of the facilities staff, she is responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the Wilshire building. While her responsibilities haven’t changed much over the years, “supplies and equipment have improved, which helps me do my job more efficiently,” said Leticia.
Leticia’s sister is Facilities Supervisor Maricela Escutia, who began working at Wilshire first and suggested Leticia apply. Leticia said one of the best parts of her job is “being able to drink coffee with my sister every weekday at break time for the past 20 years.”
Leticia and her husband, Juan, have been married over 30 years and have four children and four grandchildren.
Director of Hospitality Holly Irvin said, “Leticia works to serve others day in and day out. Her dedication and hard work are truly commendable. Leticia has a strong work ethic which makes her a reliable and trusted member of our team. I know for a fact that we all appreciate the essential role she plays in caring for our facility. Thank you for the many years of service at Wilshire!”
Leticia said, “I would like to thank God for blessing me with my job, the congregation for their faithful giving, and Maricela and Holly for ensuring we have what we need to do our jobs — and for their support.”
Wilfredo Velasquez-Cruz, Food Service, 10 years
Food service staffer Wilfredo Velasquez-Cruz celebrated 10 years of full-time employment at Wilshire on Feb. 1.
Wilfredo is responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the kitchen and dishes. He also works on setup for all food and beverage service, including coffee on Sunday mornings.
“I’m proud of how I do my job,” Wilfredo said. “The kitchen staff takes pride in what we do.”
Wilfredo learned of the Wilshire job from his brother, Elias Vasquez, who joined the food service staff in 2006. Wilfredo began as a part-time employee in 2010 and joined the staff full-time in 2014. While not at work, he enjoys watching TV, exercising and hanging out with his dog, Coco.
Director of Hospitality Holly Irvin said, “Wilfredo is an integral part of our kitchen staff. He works hard behind the scenes to ensure that the kitchen and dishes are spotless. I have seen Wilfredo juggle a wide range of tasks and he makes it look so effortless. Wilfredo is continuously thinking ahead, rarely does he need to be advised of what to do next. He is always ready to roll up his sleeves to meet the needs of his teammates and get the job done quickly and thoroughly. We couldn’t have a successful food service ministry if it wasn’t for the backbone of our kitchen, Wilfredo.”
Eric Mirochna, IT Manager, 5 years
On Jan. 16, Eric Mirochna celebrated his five-year anniversary as a Wilshire staffer. As IT manager, Eric is responsible for all technology implementation and support at the church, including computers, software, phones and networking.
“I like problem-solving,” Eric said. “I’m pretty good about figuring out ways to do things.”
Eric grew up at Wilshire. His parents are Conrad and Janell Mirochna, and his brothers are Matthew and Daniel. Since coming to work at the church in 2019, Eric met and married his wife, Laura, and became stepfather to Joshua Brown, now a high school senior.
Eric had been on the job about a year when the pandemic forced the shutdown of the building. In addition to helping employees get set up to work remotely, Eric found himself in the new position of diagnosing IT issues over the phone. “It ultimately helped my communication skills pretty significantly, in terms of knowing what to ask to get to the root issues,” he said.
Eric said he never planned a career in technology but acknowledges a fascination with computers dating to elementary school. As a teen he and one of his brothers built their first computer by updating and adding parts to an old model. In 2019 Eric was working part-time doing IT work at Trek Resources, an oil and gas company where his dad works, when he learned of Wilshire’s job opening and applied.
Eric returned to school in recent years and is set to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Texas Woman’s University in May. He previously attended Texas A&M University.
He said he wouldn’t work at just any church. “Wilshire’s goals and values align pretty well with mine. I’m there to support the mission of the church.”