Mechanic of the Week p/b Abbey Bike Tools - Monday November 7th 2016 #mechanicmonday

PBMA is pleased to introduce our newest Mechanic of the Week, Fernando Martinez, of Bike Texas in Brownsville, TX!

For those of you just tuning into #mechanicmonday, this is where we feature one mechanic each week, chosen at random from nominations submitted the week before. It’s all about mechanics supporting fellow mechanics – even behind the scenes, where we are proud to say that our Mechanic of the Week is presented by none other than Abbey Bike Tools and the Friar himself!

Fernando was nominated by his colleagues and customers at Bike Texas for his incredible expertise and easygoing personality, but they were far too humble in their descriptions of his professional accomplishments! As one co-worker put it, “Fernando is THE man when it comes to anything bikes,” and that includes tireless advocacy for cyclists across Texas and across the country.

Fernando has been a mechanic for well over a decade (or as another co-worker said, “his whole life probably”) and he has spent the past 10 years working as the Program Manager for all of Bike Texas’ educational initiatives. Under his leadership, those educational programs have reached over two million children throughout the state! Also under Fernando’s leadership, and as a direct result of his dedication to all things cycling-related, the city of Brownsville was recently named a bronze-level “Bike Friendly Community” by the League of American Wheelmen.

As if those accolades weren’t enough all on their own, earlier this year, Fernando was named 2016’s Advocate of the Year by the Alliance for Biking and Walking. (Read the full story here.) We are so grateful to Fernando and to others like him who tirelessly give back to our community. Without all of you, PBMA’s founding principles of community, collegiality, and enrichment would not exist. Fernando, we are honored to award you Mechanic of the Week this week, and we hope that your certificate and custom Stu Stick will be the perfect complement to your Advocate of the Year trophy.

For everyone reading this at home, we encourage you to join the #MOTW conversation: Post a picture of YOUR favorite mechanic and tag us @probicyclemech, #probma, or #mechanicmonday, or nominate him or her to be featured in next week’s post!