Ranken Technical College

Alumni

Ronald Johnson

Carpentry, 1994

“Attending Ranken was a very pleasant experience. It definitely gave me a sense of accomplishment. I had been doing carpentry work for many years, but going through the formal training was a confirmation of my skills … that I was doing it right … and it made me more confident. My instructor, who we called ‘Mr. K’ (Mr. Konecnik) was excellent and inspiring … I like his no-nonsense approach.”

Ronald Johnson is a 1994 graduate of the carpentry program at Ranken. For years Ronald has used the skills he learned at Ranken to contribute to Saints Teresa and Bridget Church and the neighborhood surrounding the church.

Ronald began volunteering for the church after he was laid off from McDonald Douglas. At that time he helped renovate the church rectory and office space, as well as design and maintain the upkeep of the grounds. As his commitment to the people of the church and neighborhood grew, he turned down a much higher paying job in order to become the plant manager of the church.

Over the years, Ronald has organized and supervised a ministry to older church members who needed repair work done on their homes; taught basic home improvement classes; remodeled many areas in the church for use by neighborhood programs and various charities; and recently took on the project of organizing the senior citizens of the church to set up and run a St. Vincent DePaul food pantry which serves over 300 clients a month with food and utility assistance.

Ronald’s current project is the total rehab of the institutional kitchen in the church basement, which is a much needed upgrade for the members of the church and will enable the church to better serve the neighborhood.

Ronald grew up in the city of St. Louis and is a proud city resident. Over a period of about five years, Ronald gutted, redesigned and rehabbed a three-story house for his family to live in, fulfilling his dream for city living and helping to stabilize the neighborhood.

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