Border roots, West Texas heritage run strong with Frank Spencer III

EL PASO, Texas ( KTSM ) — Frank Spencer III credits his roots living in the Borderland region of West Texas and his family’s long heritage of settling this region for his success.

Spencer, age 46, is the president of Aztec Contractors, a general contractor based in El Paso that does work in Texas, New Mexico and parts of Arizona.

Spencer grew up in Pecos, Texas, which is about 200 miles east of El Paso. He bought the family business, Aztec Contractors, in 2006, moved it to El Paso and expanded its focus.

KTSM.com is profiling Hispanic business and community leaders during Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

Spencer credits his deep West Texas roots and ties to the border region for making him comfortable being able to work with people and companies on both sides of the border.

“Business is done not just on the border but you have suppliers, vendors, potential clients that are from Mexico that want to do business and invest in the U.S,” Spencer said. “Anytime you can communicate in that native language, again, there is a comfort level that comes with that.

“That is the beauty of being in cities like El Paso. There are so many opportunities for you, and again the importance of the language and understanding the culture,” he said.

Spencer’s family has deep roots in West Texas and in the Border region going back to the mid-19th century.

His great-great grandfather John William Spencer, also known as JW (1818-1898), became one of the first settlers and entrepreneurs in the Presidio Valley, Spencer said.

JW started Spencer Brothers General Store in 1860, which sold dry goods and provisions to the communities of the Presidio Valley and across the border in Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico.

JW also served as a notary public for El Paso County, getting an appointment from the governor. He also helped to establish the Presidio Mining Company which operated until the early 1900s, Spencer said.

His great-great grandfather married two Mexican women in his lifetime — Maria De Jesus Baeza Carrasco, and then later married Felicitas Molinar after the death of his first wife.

Spencer also has deep Mexican roots on his grandmother’s side of the family.

His grandmother’s father, Pedro Rohana, left Lebanon at the age of 16 and made his way by boat to Veracruz, Mexico, and then later Ciudad Chihuahua.

He would later settle in Ojinaga where he opened a mercantile store called Commerical Del Norte.

There, Pedro Rohana married Eleuteria Estrada. They had 12 kids, one of which was Spencer’s future grandmother, Olivia Spencer.

His grandfather, Frank Spencer Jr., was born and raised in Presidio. His grandfather served as a bombardier in World War II, where he was shot down over Germany and was a prisoner of war for 18 months, Spencer said.

After the U.S. liberated Germany from the Nazis, he made it back home to the United States, where he married Spencer’s future grandmother, Olivia Spencer Rohana.

They had four children, the oldest being Spencer’s father, Frank X. Spencer. Frank X. Spencer is a civil engineer and professional surveyor.

Frank X. Spencer started Aztec Contractors back in 1983 and incorporated the business 1989. Back then, the company predominantly served and did work in the Trans-Pecos region, where the family originated, serving communities like Pecos, Marfa, Alpine and Presidio, Spencer said.

Spencer said he was working in the mortgage industry in the early 2000s and didn’t like the direction the industry was going. He bought his father’s company in 2006 and expanded its focus.

“It’s our family lineage that’s based on the fundamentals of vision, bravery, self-reliance, innovations, and determination to make a difference,” Spencer said. “This is where I draw my inspiration as a leader, as a person with a purpose and vision to change the landscape in our region.

“There is so much to be drawn from our ancestors that make up a lot of whom my family members are today. So as a proud Mexican-American, Hispanic or Latino, whatever word they use nowadays, our culture and heritage is a huge part of who we are today and how our work influences both the United States and Mexico,” Spencer added.

Spencer said that buying the company from his father also served as another valuable life lesson of self-reliance.

“That is one of the important milestones. My family always taught us the value of hard work,” Spencer said. “Again, when you have to work for something, you have whole new appreciation for it. I think that is really embedded in that Mexican culture, that heritage, the hard work that comes from trying to build something.”

He said he tries to conduct business by leading with a set of “non-negotiable values, things that allow you to make decisions.”

“Ours are embedded in integrity, respect, honesty and professionalism,” Spencer said. “Do things right the first time. If not, don’t do them at all. Again, we are human. We make mistakes, but there’s the importance of coming to the table with solutions rather than problems.”

Spencer said he and his wife, Monica, are trying to instill those same values of hard work, respect and understanding the cultures on both sides of the border in their own family.

Spencer has a 9-year-old son, Frank Spencer IV, who goes by the nickname of “Panchito.”

“I think the importance of continuing of having that dual language is extremely important,” Spencer said. “As he grows and develops and hopefully goes out and explores and maybe attends a school outside of El Paso, that is something he carries on. It is important for us to be proud of our culture and where we come from.”

Spencer attended and graduated from New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell and earned his bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in sociology from Texas A&M.

Spencer said it was at NMMI where he truly became bilingual because of the need to communicate with his many classmates from Mexico.

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