Wretha Rawls Thomas rises from custodian to president

Every year during February, teachers assign students to write about a famous person for Black History Month. Students may not realize there is a hometown hero from Jasper who has been an activist with an impressive history in Houston.

Wretha Rawls Thomas has worked with community leaders such as Congresswoman Shelia Jackson-Lee and NAACP president Carol Mims-Galloway to get Houston Independent School District students into a clean environment, including getting Key Middle School closed because of mold.

She has helped with health benefits for employees and worked for fair pay for blue collar workers in HISD. She founded the Pillar of the Community Awards Black History Celebration, which is now 18 years old. She has been recognized by Who's Who in Executive Businesses and has worked closely with the former Secretary of Education.

She began her career as a custodian at HISD in 1988. She worked at Cullen Middle School and Brookline Elementary, where she helped found the HESP union (Houston Educational Support Personnel). Thomas now serves as full-time president of HESP.

Thomas' family of Willie Rawls, Billie Rawls, Rodessa Kinebrew and JoHelen O'Gilbert still live in Jasper.