At that special meeting a resolution of appreciation was presented to Gurecky and in a rare and distinguished tribute the lab inside the Industrial Technology Center was named the Joe M. Gurecky Machining Laboratory.

“I am overwhelmed and moved with emotion,” said Gurecky. “I never expected to have the lab named after me. It is a true honor.”

Gurecky was appointed as a TSTC Regent by Governor Rick Perry on June 9, 2006, and reappointed on September 1, 2011, serving more than a decade.

It was also some 15 years ago, as Mayor of Rosenberg and sitting on the Rosenberg City Council, that he worked diligently to bring TSTC to the community.

“It is impossible to state the importance Joe Gurecky has had on TSTC,” said TSTC Chancellor Mike Reeser. “And I want to note that without his contribution, TSTC in Fort Bend County may have never happened.”

TSTC Board of Regent Chairman John Hatchel shared Reeser’s sentiment.

“It’s going to be difficult to replace Joe,” said Hatchel. “He added stability and wisdom to our decisions.”

A product of technical education, Gurecky knows first-hand the impact it can have on a person’s life and calls it a privilege to provide the same opportunity to the community.

“The doors of opportunities that opened for me because of my technical education was remarkable,” said Gurecky. “And I, along with my wife Doris, want to give the same opportunities to the students of TSTC.”

Gurecky and his wife have donated more than $100,000 for scholarships and the Chancellor’s discretionary fund, which is used to facilitate the institution’s needs.

Gurecky always gives credit where credit is due; he said he could not have spent the last 12 years as a regent, or the last six decades pursuing his career, without the support from his wife and family.

“I couldn’t have done what I have done alone,” he said. “This is as much their accomplishment and honor as it is mine.”

Gurecky spent 27 years working for Baroid Corporation, a Houston-based oil and gas industry production company, before using his family’s life-savings in 1983 to open Gurecky Manufacturing, which operated out of his garage with only three machines.

Since then, the company has undergone significant growth and is now housed in a 40,000-square-foot-facility filled with state-of-art precision manufacturing machines.

And although Gurecky will no longer serve as regent, he said he will continue to work closely and share his experiences and advice with TSTC as a mentor for students, and assist with recruitment efforts.

“Joe and Doris are pillars of this community and to have Joe serve as a regent has been a distinct privilege for TSTC,” said TSTC Field Development Officer John Kennedy. “He has brought a unique perspective to the board and we will forever be grateful for his years of service to the college.”

Kennedy added, “Joe and Doris are financially vested in TSTC. As a result of their generosity more than 150 students have been able to attend classes at our Fort Bend County campus.”