PIERRE MIDDLETON-BAEZ: NEW FOUND GROWTH CORPORATION
Born at St. Lukes and raised in Hunters Point, Pierre Middleton-Baez, co-owner of and field foreman for New Found Growth Corporation( NFGC), credits his grandmother, Julia B. Middleton, for teaching him value of persistence, resilience and community.
Mrs. Middleton, affectionately known as“ Aunt Bea” within the Hunters Point community, directed the Hunter’ s Point Community Youth Park for nearly 30 years, where she provided space and developed a program for neighborhood children to play, take classes and study after school and over the summer. She also served as a surrogate mother figure to hundreds, gathering donations to feed them, providing love and guidance through challenges, and encouraging them to feel good about and better themselves.
Although his grandmother died when Pierre was 14, he took to heart her guidance to never let other people’ s insults or bad behavior make you stoop down to their level. This advice has served him well, particularly during his apprenticeship.
Pierre came into the trades by necessity, when he became a father at age 18. Having grown up without a father himself, he was committed to being there for his daughter.“ I knew I couldn’ t go the college route because I needed to find better-paying work immediately to support her,” he recalls. He’ d been making minimum wage working at a bookstore and as a temp for Muni, so when the bookstore closed and his temp job
Pierre’ s grandmother, Julia Middleton, shown here holding a cousin of Pierre’ s, was a deeply loved and respected community leader in Hunter’ s Point.
ended, he started looking for other options.“ I’ d heard people talking about unions and blue-collar work and figured that I needed to get into the trades, but didn’ t have a clear idea of what that meant.”
After deciding that he wanted to become a plumber, Pierre took and passed the test required for the UA Local 38 Plumbers, Steamfitters & HVAC, thinking that would gain him entry into a union serving his
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