Western Electrical Contractors Association, Inc.

Already Belong? Login

 

 
Will and Trisha Hughes, Then and Now!
Here at WECA, we take pride in being the “WECA Family.” However, some of our employees are actually family! Such is the case of William Hughes, Electrician Trainee and Journeymen Registrar II, and his wife, Trisha Hughes, Junior Client Services Specialist.

But lest you think this began as a workplace romance—Will and Trisha’s story actually began in high school. They dated for a time before heading their separate ways, but reconnected on Facebook years later. Eighteen months later, they got married. Today, they’re a close family—which consists of themselves, Will’s teenage son Ethan, and their two dogs, Lilu and Corbin.

Will, a Sacramento-area native, began working for WECA on January 7, 2019. He considers himself a “jack of all trades”, stating that he “mainly processes E-Commerce, final grades, cancellation letters, and prepares labels for mailing class materials”. However, he also provides tech support for GetWired! and self-paced courses, processes contractor payment requests, and serves as third-tier support on phones as needed.

“I love interacting with all of the people in my job—students and coworkers alike,” says Will. “And I really like the idea of helping people”.

This is evident when considering Will’s personal philosophy: “kindness, compassion, understanding, and empathy. I try my best to only put good energy out into the world.”

Meanwhile, Trisha—also a Sacramento-area native—began working for WECA on January 6, 2020--just one day shy of a year after Will began working at WECA! Prior to being hired on at WECA, she would listen to Will talk about his workdays at home—about how students would thank him for his help and how it made him feel good about himself—and knew that she wanted to make a difference, too.

Now at WECA, Trisha answers phones, signs students up for classes, takes care of the Student Referral Service (SRS) and connects Member Contractors with students looking for work, and as of late, has been contacting students enrolled in classroom-based courses to help them transfer to online alternatives.

“I love the people I work with,” says Trisha. “And I always feel like giving good customer service is very important to give people a better day, and helping students is great”.

And as for her personal philosophy, Trisha states that it is “treat all creatures with kindness. People think I am crazy when I stop and talk to the squirrels, but my husband calls me a Disney princess when they walk right up to me and chirp back!”

At the office, Will and Trisha both agree that it is simultaneously fun but weird to work together, stating that they have to remember to use their actual names—rather than pet names—with each other.

“It’s hard not to use our everyday terms for each other [in the office]”, says Will. “We always talk about how weird it is when we say our first names!”

And as of late, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Will and Trisha report that it is “great” but also “a struggle” to work together at home because they can help each other out, but also drive each other crazy.

Will adds that “there is no ‘me’ time! Because I am high-risk, I constantly have to stay at home. Trisha has to be equally as safe, so we’ve spent pretty much every moment together since the start of this.”

Outside of the office (and the at-home office), Will and Trisha partake in similar interests. Will enjoys spending time with Trisha, his son, and dogs, playing video games, watching movies, and reading. Trisha, meanwhile, delights in walking her dogs twice a day, playing video games, watching scary movies, and cleaning her house.