In 1915, Fort Worth business legend William Madison McDonald stood before a packed congregation at the Greater St. James Baptist Church in Fort Worth and delivered what would become his most celebrated speech. A pioneering businessman and civic leader, McDonald addressed the Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization committed to the ideals of friendship, love, and truth. But his words reached far beyond his fellow members.<\/p>\n
With moral clarity and a unique poetic fire, he called on his audience to lift up the fallen, comfort the sick, and make a place for the outcast. Not in theory, but through daily action.<\/p>\n
McDonald, Texas\u2019 first Black millionaire, traced a symbolic lineage from Adam to Christ, naming them as the first Odd Fellows, not because they joined a lodge, but because they lived by divine principles. No church or institution, McDonald said, was too sacred to be transformed by compassion, and no soul too lost to be redeemed by dignity and work.<\/p>\n
A century later, that same spirit of redemptive brotherhood \u2014 the \u201cbeacons of light\u201d for the struggling and forgotten \u2014 lives on in unlikely places. Like, for example, the noisy job sites and quiet mentorship circles of a Fort Worth-based construction company \u2014 Post L Group Construction.<\/p>\n
Through its nonprofit arm, Building Pathways, the company and its partners offer apprenticeships in the trades to individuals society too often overlooks: formerly incarcerated men and women, youth aging out of foster care, and those teetering on the edge of poverty often through circumstances brought about by no fault of their own.<\/p>\n
The mission isn\u2019t just to construct buildings or build infrastructure. It\u2019s to rebuild lives. Participants not only go on to learn carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work, and other trades, but they also gain something less tangible: hope, along with purpose, structure, and a second chance. In some cases, a first chance. In others, their only chance. Like McDonald\u2019s Odd Fellows, Building Pathways believes that real change doesn\u2019t come from pity or punishment, but from trust and skill, as well as the courage to extend a hand.<\/p>\n
In McDonald\u2019s words, \u201cFriendship, Love and Truth will finally cover the world.\u201d For this crew, that promise isn\u2019t a relic of the past. It\u2019s the foundation they build on every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m handling more responsibility. I’m making some decent money I’m able to provide for my son. I have a place to stay, a car, and I don’t worry nearly as much as I did before,\u201d says Elizabeth Ingram, a graduate of Building Pathways\u2019 first cohort of seven last year. \u201cBuilding Pathways really showed me true, genuine love.\u201d<\/p>\n
This program is the brainchild of Jeff Postell, the founder and CEO of Post L Group Construction in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n
Postell\u2019s nonprofit organization provides comprehensive support and training to help individuals, including those with criminal backgrounds or other challenges, enter and succeed in construction careers.<\/p>\n
Before they get on a job site, however, the program first immerses the cohort in the requisite soft skills that influence how one interacts with others, manages work, and handles challenges in the workplace. There is financial literacy curriculum, as well as ongoing mentorship and support that continues through the apprenticeship. The nonprofit’s approach is highly personalized, with dedicated coaches and a focus on addressing individual barriers to employment.<\/p>\n
The second cohort graduated on Aug. 1. They started with eight but finished with seven, just like the first a year ago.<\/p>\n
Building Pathways is Postell\u2019s second attempt at this.<\/p>\n
Postell opened his company in 2015. After a few years, he says, he was confronted with members of the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would get this all the time,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople would say, \u2018Well, you\u2019re making your money\u2019 \u2014 and I wasn\u2019t making a damn dime at that time \u2014 \u2018what are you going to do for people in these communities, in these neighborhoods, Jeff?\u2019 That was coming from everywhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I just started giving people jobs. And this is the tough part of the conversation: These same people were stealing my tools, coming to work hungover, high, sleeping in closets. They didn\u2019t have the skill to do the work. They did not have the drive to show up every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The COVID pandemic forced Postell to reimagine everything about his business.<\/p>\n
Postell notes three major jobs that the company took a major loss on because of material escalation. Two were at the airport and another at UT Southwestern in Dallas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe finished every job,\u201d he says. \u201cI knew that we could not take a black eye, so, we did the work.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company, though, had to get leaner. And a figurative knife was taken to its community outreach.<\/p>\n
\u201cI stopped doing all \u2018those things,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cThere were nights where I said I wasn’t going do that type of stuff anymore. I was just going to make a very profitable company that was sustainable and not worry about those things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet, every morning, he woke up feeling more like William Madison McDonald\u2019s Odd Fellow.<\/p>\n
“Christ came from above,On a mission of love;Of mercy and kindness and peace\u2026And God who is love,Gave Him power from above,For He and His Father are One.”<\/p>\n
“Let Odd Fellows and RuthitesLabor to have men and womenPractice Friendship, Love and Truth.”<\/p>\n
\u201cI would always wake up and on my mind was, \u2018Hey, who can I help?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Out of this he developed the four-phase program that became Building Pathways.<\/p>\n
A social enterprise is \u201ca business that uses a market-driven approach to address unmet needs or solve social or environmental problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
Post L Group is projected to bring in $75 million in revenue this year and employs 145 people.<\/p>\n
But his mission is much grander. With every project, he is opening doors in the construction industry for people who might never have considered it \u2014 single mothers, veterans, young adults lacking opportunity, and African Americans seeking a path to upward mobility.<\/p>\n
Postell has created a network of organizations working together to meet two pressing needs: more skilled tradespeople and more access to sustainable, high-paying careers. This is a pipeline of skilled construction workers to address labor shortages.<\/p>\n
His ecosystem includes a general contracting firm, a drywall subcontracting business, and Building Pathways.<\/p>\n
The result is a social enterprise that\u2019s not only transforming individual lives, but strengthening the region\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n
This is ultimately major-league economic development work he is doing.<\/p>\n
And he has friends in the pursuit of love, friendship, and truth. To date, Postell says that foundations and corporations have contributed more than $2 million in less than two years. Givers include Lowe\u2019s, Home Depot, the Sid Richardson Foundation, the Rainwater Charitable Foundation, and United Way of Tarrant County. As I sat with him on this day, the nonprofit was awaiting a contribution from the board of the Crime Control and Prevention District \u2014 better known as the CCPD \u2014 in Fort Worth, which had committed funds for the cause.<\/p>\n
* * * * *<\/p>\n
Now, my friends, don’t forget that Adam, the first Odd Fellow, and Eve, the first Ruthite [the women\u2019s auxiliary of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows], were the pillars upon which mankind erected the mighty structure of Friendship, Love, and Truth.<\/p>\n
\u201cOK, so, the story is a little long,\u201d says Elizabeth Ingram. \u201cLong story short, I had my baby in the middle of 2022 \u2014 June 2022 to be exact. Basically, after that, I really didn’t have a job; couldn’t find anything. I was doing the best I could at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingram had a job, but she needed more. She wanted more. For her and her new baby. And she was willing to work for it.<\/p>\n
Through the Texas Workforce Commission and the WIOA Youth Program, designed to help young people ages 16-24 overcome barriers to employment, she was connected to Post L Group, which hired her for an internship.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring that time, Jeff Postell talked to me about the program,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Ingram graduated from Southwest High School in 2018 \u201chellbent on making her parents proud.\u201d Like just about any 18-year-old, she wasn\u2019t exactly sure how to do that or what path a potential career would take. She had taken accounting in high school and participated in UIL competitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I can do accounting,\u201d she thought, until she got to community college and decided that wasn\u2019t the path to happiness.<\/p>\n
Building Pathways is a 12-month program broken down into four phases.<\/p>\n
The first phase of the program focuses on building trust and accountability with each client, while also gaining a clear understanding of their background to assess the level of support they\u2019ll need.<\/p>\n
Phase 2 centers on future planning. Clients work with mentors to map out a path toward a career in their chosen trade, setting goals and identifying the steps needed to move forward.<\/p>\n
Phase 3 transitions clients into hands-on training. At this stage, they enter a formal career training program and begin working in a position aligned with their trade.<\/p>\n
Phase 4 marks the culmination of the 12-month journey. During this final stage, clients are placed in skilled apprentice roles and enrolled in on-the-job training \u2014 either through their employer or a third-party training partner. The program concludes with a graduation ceremony celebrating their progress and new career path.<\/p>\n
The program’s coaching and support system includes transportation assistance, which was crucial, Ingram says, to staying on track.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were times where I haven’t had a ride to work and somebody came and got me or somebody sent me an Uber to and from work,\u201d Ingram says.<\/p>\n
The program’s focus on budgeting, credit, and other financial literacy through a partnership with Frost Bank and partnerships with organizations like Pathfinders further equipped Ingram with life skills and resources.<\/p>\n
Each summer, Post L Group also operates a youth employment program in partnership with Workforce Solutions, which helps fund wages for participating students. Open to high school juniors and seniors, the program gives young people a paid, hands-on introduction to the construction industry. Students work 30 hours a week at $20 an hour \u2014 spending Monday through Thursday on jobsites, shadowing tradespeople, and performing general labor tasks. Fridays are reserved for educational field trips, including visits to partner construction sites for live demonstrations, blueprint reading, and deeper insights into specific areas of the industry.<\/p>\n
While the summer program isn\u2019t designed as a direct pipeline into the company\u2019s adult program, sometimes the path unfolds that way. One such young man \u2014 whose name I was given, but I\u2019m declining to use it \u2014 is one example.<\/p>\n
When he first entered the summer program, he was on juvenile probation and living in a difficult home environment. His mother\u2019s boyfriend was abusive, and the teen eventually moved in with his grandmother at a motel. One of the program coaches noticed inconsistencies in his pick-up and drop-off locations and began to ask questions. When the young man finally opened up, the full extent of his situation came to light.<\/p>\n
Rather than send him back to school under unstable circumstances, Post L Group made the decision to support Santana in pursuing his GED while continuing to work. He was brought into the adult program, where he\u2019s thrived \u2014 earning a promotion, nearing completion of his GED, and successfully finishing juvenile probation.<\/p>\n
He graduated from the adult program on Aug. 1. His isn\u2019t a typical story, but it\u2019s a powerful example of how Post L Group meets young people where they are. Post L also hosts work development seminars in conjunction with partners such as LTVRise. After a vetting process, they choose the most ambitious clients. Those who really want to.<\/p>\n
The curriculum is designed to fulfill the nonprofit\u2019s core values of empowerment, economic mobility, accountability, and retention.<\/p>\n
Ingram, now 25 years old, is the face of living up to all of those.<\/p>\n
A year after finishing the program, she has already promoted within the Post L Group organization to project engineer. During her internship and apprenticeship, Ingram had been coordinating and getting materials on-site. After graduating, she continued doing that until being promoted.<\/p>\n
She can now afford a car.<\/p>\n
She is confident and, more importantly, has hope for her future.<\/p>\n
\u201cHope \u2026 that is the perfect word,\u201d she says. \u201cI’m very hopeful now. I’m able to start thinking about my financial future. When you come from nothing \u2026 if I can get through this, I can do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
* * * * *<\/p>\n
“Christ was a Christian\u2026 He said, \u2018I did not come to destroy any laws but to do the will of my Father.\u2019 The will of His Father was to teach Friendship, Love and Truth \u2014 true Odd Fellowship.”<\/p>\n
The Building Pathway\u2019s coach plays a critical role, serving as the bridge between the client\u2019s job and the program. Their support goes beyond the workplace. They check in regularly to understand how things are going outside of work because a steady job doesn\u2019t mean everything else is stable. A client, like the young man living with his grandmother in a hotel, could be facing domestic violence, struggling with substance abuse, or other personal challenges The coach helps identify those needs and connects them with community partners who can provide professional, qualified support.<\/p>\n
\u201cThankfully we have some great trade partners and industry partners who love our program,\u201d says Louie McClain during a phone conversation.<\/p>\n
McClain is the executive director of Building Pathways. His job is to carry out Postell\u2019s vision: In five to 10 years, any person \u2014 green and unskilled, anyone \u2014 can see themselves making $60,000 to $100,000 in the construction industry.<\/p>\n
Building Pathways places them in that trajectory, and the clients are drilled with professional development, life coaching, and the technical skills. They are also all certified in blueprint reading, a schooling Post L Group pays for.<\/p>\n
McClain and Postell met about 10 years ago. McClain\u2019s background is in juvenile justice supervision and reentry services. He worked for the Florida Juvenile Justice and returned home to work in both Tarrant and Dallas counties\u2019 juvenile systems. He left that for 11 years to go work for American Airlines, a company he left only two years ago.<\/p>\n
McClain had started a personal development coaching brand when Postel called him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked me to come in for an interview to see what kind of services I could provide to Building Pathways,\u201d McClain says. \u201cAnd after the interview, he said, \u2018We need to make you the pathway coach.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
One characteristic about Postell that is easy to see: He is a master persuader, a no-isn\u2019t-an-option-type guy. And then that\u2019s just the start. He has more in mind for you.<\/p>\n
McClain served as the coach for about eight months of the first cohort. After promoting a gentleman from the first cohort to coach, McClain has been focused on the duties of program director. He was promoted to executive director in June.<\/p>\n
McClain was raised in Arlington with a wandering way. Wandering in the wrong direction, he says, a \u201ctroubled kid doing crazy stuff.\u201d He mother had a plan. She sent him to Pensacola Christian College. There, he had a Road-to-Damascus experience.<\/p>\n
McClain\u2019s conversion story began reluctantly during his first weeks at college. Although surrounded by peers who genuinely lived out their Christian faith, he initially shrugged off their attempts to engage him. But when Hurricane Ivan hit and most students left campus, McClain was stranded with few distractions. One day, while checking his mailbox in the commons, he bumped into a friend named JJ and followed him back to his dorm. There, JJ\u2019s roommate \u2014 a pastoral ministry major named Adam \u2014 asked McClain where he thought he would go if he died. McClain deflected, but Adam boldly called him a \u201cfool,\u201d sparking a heated exchange between the two that nearly escalated into fisticuffs.<\/p>\n
JJ stepped in, diffusing the situation and subtly reframing it as a conversation about the problem of sin, not personal judgment.<\/p>\n
That interaction broke something open in McClain. Moments later, he says he found himself on his knees, praying, a dramatic shift from nearly getting into a fight. It was very reminiscent of Paul\u2019s green light. Paul, too, fell to the ground.<\/p>\n
Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?<\/p>\n
In just a few minutes, McClain had become Exhibit No. 1 of God\u2019s mercy and the redemptive power of grace. From that day forward, McClain immersed himself in Scripture and Christian fellowship.<\/p>\n
His future was faith. His own studies in criminal justice helped him see how his troubled past connected with broader patterns of human behavior. And how the Gospel offered real transformation.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd at that time, I didn’t know what my talents were,\u201d McClain says.\u201d And so, I slowly realized that my spiritual gift and my talent is encouraging. It might not be working with my hands or doing something that’s very skilled, but it’s in lifting other people up. I thank God that that’s truly a gift that has blessed me.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery opportunity I get to impart any level encouragement into one of these clients, I mean, that’s what makes my day.\u201d<\/p>\n
McClain, 39, says he has the leeway to execute Postell\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve dreamt about this,\u201d McClain says of the program and his role in it. \u201cI believe in the law of attraction. I believe in praying to God, and I believe in all these great things. I don’t see any other employers trying to do it like this. Major companies, but here we have a small businessman who’s risking the reputation of his own for-profit company, risking the 10 years of multimillions because he has a true heart to make a difference, and he’s going to do whatever it takes. I mean, I’ve never seen it. I’ve never seen that anywhere. I’ve never seen it.\u201d<\/p>\n
* * * * *<\/p>\n
“Hence I say that while I live, I shall do what little I can to foster and perpetuate Odd Fellowship on this earth.”<\/p>\n
Postell\u2019s inspiration also lies in the adage of \u201cThere but by the grace of God go I.\u201d At age 19, he was hungry, albeit lost. It\u2019s not exactly a rare occurrence at that stage in life.<\/p>\n
He had graduated from Lancaster High School and went off to community college. He quit. He had no skills and no education beyond the three R\u2019s, which don\u2019t get you what they used to.<\/p>\n
Now what?<\/p>\n
He got a job at dry cleaner in DeSoto, without the slightly idea of which direction his life was heading. He jokes about staying up late watching \u201cJerry Springer\u201d and seeing the commercials for Lincoln Tech.<\/p>\n
One day at the cleaners, a nicely dressed man walked in. Postell asked him what he did for a living. He said, \u201cI\u2019m in construction.\u201d<\/p>\n
That moment planted a seed. Postell had always thought of construction as guys fixing sinks or framing houses, but this man looked successful. Soon after, Jeff noticed a large crane over the\u00a0VA hospital in southern Dallas County, walked onto the jobsite without safety gear, and asked,\u00a0\u201cAre y\u2019all hiring?\u201d\u00a0A worker pointed him to another smaller company, and surprisingly,\u00a0they hired him on the spot.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoom. They hired me. A minimum wage job,\u201d he says. \u201cMy job title was, \u2018Do what the superintendent tells you to do.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
His first jobsite was at Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas. His first task? Scrubbing grout lines with a toothbrush-sized wire brush.<\/p>\n
He became fascinated by the variety of personalities from different walks of life, the camaraderie, the process. Postell remembers driving an old Dodge Ram 50 with no air-conditioning. His boss had a nice trailer.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy question to my boss was, how do I get that trailer at some point in my life?\u201d Postell says. The answer, he was told, was to build skills, gain experience, and stay committed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was start of a great journey,\u201d he says. \u201cI fell in love with construction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Starting as a laborer, he eventually moved into project engineering and superintendent roles, finally landing at Yates Construction. He was introduced to Fort Worth while overseeing a project for Tarrant County for Yates \u2014 the construction of the Vandergriff Building.<\/p>\n
He caught the attention of David Phillips, Tarrant County\u2019s facilities manager, who urged him to consider going out on his own \u2014 start a construction company. That was the year of the Super Bowl in Arlington, which was mired in a visit from Old Man Winter. Despite being set back several months, Postell managed to keep the project in Tarrant County on schedule. That impressed Phillips.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe called me into his office in the old courthouse, and we\u2019re looking at the Tom Vandergriff Building and he says, \u2018Jeff, where are you headed?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Postell told him he was headed to Mobile, Alabama, to build a federal courthouse edition for the GSA.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says, \u2018Well, when are you going to do it? I said probably a couple of months. Need to get down there and find a place to stay. He says, \u2018No, when are you going to do it?\u2019 I said a couple of months. He says, \u2018No, I think there\u2019s an opportunity here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Phillips connected Postell with several industry contacts, including\u00a0Mike Freeman, who eventually became a mentor and partner. Postell sold his home, used $40,000 from the proceeds, and launched his drywall business, working solo from his kitchen table. He estimated 14 small jobs, won eight of them, and hired the\u00a0Robles brothers, who are still with him today.<\/p>\n
Operating as a one-man business, Postell handled estimating, HR, accounting, and labor logistics. He partnered with Freeman doing drywall projects on larger general contracting jobs, including work on local schools. Freeman helped with contracts that provided essential cash flow.<\/p>\n
Postell worked tirelessly \u2014 loading materials at dawn, changing into a suit by noon to attend networking events, and estimating jobs late into the night.<\/p>\n
Today, he has the dry wall side of the business and general contracting. As a general contractor, he uses his leverage with subcontractors to give opportunities to his clients in Building Pathways.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s his biggest passion \u2014 bringing people into the trades just like he did as a 19-year-old with a lot of energy and a lot of brain power, but no direction. He found his way up to a jobsite, and he now has a model that can be repeated.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a pathway.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s what an Odd Fellow would do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 1915, Fort Worth business legend William Madison McDonald stood before a packed congregation at the Greater St.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":174896,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,99509,79290,9886,16399,9604,7371,7372,99512,13814,11110,15418,99508,256,99507,63223,99511,358,7453,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,99510,10174,11108],"class_list":{"0":"post-174895","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-apprenticeships","10":"tag-building-pathways","11":"tag-construction","12":"tag-economic-mobility","13":"tag-entrepreneurs","14":"tag-fort-worth","15":"tag-fortworth","16":"tag-greater-st-james-baptist-church","17":"tag-john-henry","18":"tag-mentorship","19":"tag-nonprofits","20":"tag-odd-fellows","21":"tag-philanthropy","22":"tag-post-l-construction","23":"tag-skilled-trades","24":"tag-social-enterprise","25":"tag-texas","26":"tag-top-story","27":"tag-tx","28":"tag-united-states","29":"tag-united-states-of-america","30":"tag-unitedstates","31":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","32":"tag-us","33":"tag-usa","34":"tag-william-madison-mcdonald","35":"tag-workforce-development","36":"tag-youth"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174895\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}