Local retires after years of serving community, youth

For six decades, Frank Gurule has worked consistently, and most of that work has been with youth in his community.

Born and raised in the village of Los Lunas, Gurule is the oldest of 10 children, eight of whom survived to adulthood.

“Serving” is a concept ingrained in Gurule since a teenager, he said.

His father, Frank Gurule, died when Gurule was 14, leaving his mother, Dolores “Lola” Gurule, to raise he and his siblings.

“My mom raised us by herself, but the community helped us a lot. They made sure we had what we needed,” Gurule said. “I think that’s where it started, because people helped us. And I said to myself, one of these days I want to be in a position to help others.”

All eight children graduated from high school and five earned college degrees, thanks to Lola’s commitment to education as a teacher herself.

After high school, Gurule began his service, joining the U.S. Navy and serving during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968. When he left the service, the GI Bill allowed him to get his degree in criminal justice. He returned to Los Lunas, and began working at the Mountain Job Corp Center in 1969, mentoring youth from ages 16 to 21.

He worked for Los Lunas Schools for two years, and then spent a decade as the director of the Rio Grande Youth Center before serving as a counselor for youth ages 16 to 21 from 1982 to 1988 for the CHINS — Child In Need of Services — program.

In 1988, Gurule began working for YDI in Valencia County, which is where he spent the next 36 years placing thousands of students and youth with employers in the organization’s on-the-job-training employment program.

Working with youth is definitely a challenge, Gurule said, but gratitude — which may come years down the road — is what made it all worthwhile.

“There is a lot of gratitude afterwards. You don’t always see the results right away, but down the road, you see it,” he said.

During his time as the job developer with YDI Valencia County, Gurule estimates he placed more than 3,000 youth participants.

“Now, almost every day, somebody in the community will come up to me, ‘Frank, you remember me? You got me that job,’” Gurule said. “Now it’s their kids and grandkids.”

In his three-plus decades of work with YDI, Gurule helped the organization establish relationships with businesses around the county — everything from doctors offices to lawyers to mechanics — contracting with more than 100 businesses to give youth a chance to start a career and stay on the path to high school graduation.

“These jobs help these kids and it helps a generation,” he said.

Gurule served his community in elected office, spending eight years as a village of Los Lunas village councilor and 12 years as a Valencia County commissioner.

“I think that was because I was visible in the community,” he said.

An avid sports fan and dedicated athlete in his youth, Gurule can often be spotted at local high school sports events, there to offer his support to the youth.

Working for YDI, Gurule helped students and youth develop job skills such as developing a resume, interviewing skills, how to dress for the job, the importance of time management and timeliness, as well as teaching them how to budget their new paychecks.

“There was a lot of training. We just didn’t throw ‘em out there,” he said. “They have to learn all these things and we helped.”

Over the years, Gurule saw many of the youth placed with local businesses go on to be hired by the companies and get their first full time jobs.

“All they need is a chance.”

To do that kind of work, day after day, year after year, takes dedication, Gurule said, which isn’t going to make a person rich.

“You have to like this type of work, really enjoy it. It was an honor to help get our youth going in the right direction, to find opportunities for them to start a career and graduate,” he said. “To see them able to buy their own clothes. Buy their own cell phone or vehicle. You see that and it fires you up.”