Wayne Greenwood
John Alvino
SMOHIT has welcomed Wayne Greenwood and Jon Alvino as new trustees. Greenwood and Alvino are replacing co-chairs Kevin Jones, who served on the board of trustees for the past 12 years, and Chris Hall, who served for around 10 years. Current trustees Matt Hildreth and Danny Villarruel have taken the role of co-chairs.
Greenwood was introduced to the trade at a young age by his father, who was a Teamster working at a sheet metal company. In 1988 he entered the trade as a laborer, describing himself as only ever an “aspiring” apprentice. By 2005 he opened JEC Service Company, named for the initials of his three children, and recently celebrated 20 years employing sheet metal workers in the Boston area. Greenwood has served on the national board of directors for SMACNA and later became a trustee and advisor for one of NEMI’s committees.
During the joint Fund trustee meetings, Greenwood learned about SMOHIT and its programs. He noted that just recently he called SMOHIT Administrator Aldo Zambetti about resources that might help some of his employees. SMOHIT’s mission is especially important to Greenwood because, like many, mental health issues have impacted those close to him. He said he’s ready to jump in with both feet.
“There’s been a lot more awareness of what SMOHIT does recently,” Greenwood said. “I’m just looking to make a difference and positively impact some people, using our unfortunate intimate knowledge of all this, and help remove the stigma on some of the things that affect all our people.”
Alvino is the business manager and a labor trustee at SMART Local 9 in Denver, Colorado. He found sheet metal in his late 30s, becoming an apprentice in 2011. By 2017 he was serving as business representative and then, in 2021, he was elected business manager. The first in his family to enter the trade, Alvino said he was amazed that he was earning more as a third-year apprentice than he had after a decade in the telecom industry. He’s no longer the only sheet metal worker in his family, as his son is more than halfway through his apprenticeship.
SMOHIT’s mission is a familiar one to Alvino, who is chairman of the board for both the health and welfare fund and the pension fund at Local 9. He recalls a time several years ago when Local 9 lost two apprentices and a former leader to suicide. That heartbreak led to changes, including more investment into the Peer-to-Peer program and SMART MAP sessions.
“So many of our members might be struggling, and whatever challenges or personal issues they’re going through can really pull their focus away from their job,” Alvino said. “SMOHIT has pushed out the cost that’s associated with that . . . too often we can have devastating consequences.”
Looking back on his multiple four-year terms as a SMOHIT trustee, Jones said the work did not seem to take a lot of time, as he benefitted from some great administrators who took the board’s suggestions and ran with them. He said one big change he’s seen over the years is that far more people know about SMOHIT now and are talking about and teaching its programs. The SMOHIT insignia is familiar, he said, and everyone knows what it stands for.
“Aldo has taken it to another level,” Jones said. “It’s been an incredible ride, seeing the changes and implementing them.”
Jones decided to step away so he can focus on the increased business that’s come in for Richards Precision Metal Fabrication in Ogden, Utah, where he serves as the vice president of customer development. He said being a SMOHIT trustee was a natural extension of caring about your workforce, and then caring about everyone’s businesses and the contractors everywhere, helping them all get home safe every night.
Hall, who is the business manager and financial secretary-treasurer of SMART Local 399 in North Charleston, South Carolina, said it’s time for him to step aside so that he can retire in the next three years. In his time as a SMOHIT trustee, he helped shape SMART MAP and was proud of the support SMOHIT was able to provide members during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Like Jones, Hall agrees SMOHIT has greatly increased its profile and now everyone seems to know about the programs. He recalled having a good time during his years as a trustee and also takes pride in having input on the direction there. Nowadays, Hall has been looking forward to the European trip he and his wife of 34 years are planning to take once he retires. He said SMOHIT needs the voices of younger members, and offered the new trustees some advice.
“Remember it’s not about you,” Hall said. “It’s about looking out for the members paying into the fund and making sure their money is spent properly.”