Pathways to Promise: Fort Worth Construction Firm Turns Second Chances Into Careers

In 1915, Fort Worth business legend William Madison McDonald stood before a packed congregation at the Greater St. James Baptist Church in Fort Worth and delivered what would become his most celebrated speech. A pioneering businessman and civic leader, McDonald addressed the Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization committed to the ideals of friendship, love, and truth. But his words reached far beyond his fellow members.

With moral clarity and a unique poetic fire, he called on his audience to lift up the fallen, comfort the sick, and make a place for the outcast. Not in theory, but through daily action.

McDonald, Texas’ first Black millionaire, traced a symbolic lineage from Adam to Christ, naming them as the first Odd Fellows, not because they joined a lodge, but because they lived by divine principles. No church or institution, McDonald said, was too sacred to be transformed by compassion, and no soul too lost to be redeemed by dignity and work.

A century later, that same spirit of redemptive brotherhood — the “beacons of light” for the struggling and forgotten — lives on in unlikely places. Like, for example, the noisy job sites and quiet mentorship circles of a Fort Worth-based construction company — Post L Group Construction.

Through its nonprofit arm, Building Pathways, the company and its partners offer apprenticeships in the trades to individuals society too often overlooks: formerly incarcerated men and women, youth aging out of foster care, and those teetering on the edge of poverty often through circumstances brought about by no fault of their own.

The mission isn’t just to construct buildings or build infrastructure. It’s to rebuild lives. Participants not only go on to learn carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work, and other trades, but they also gain something less tangible: hope, along with purpose, structure, and a second chance. In some cases, a first chance. In others, their only chance. Like McDonald’s Odd Fellows, Building Pathways believes that real change doesn’t come from pity or punishment, but from trust and skill, as well as the courage to extend a hand.

In McDonald’s words, “Friendship, Love and Truth will finally cover the world.” For this crew, that promise isn’t a relic of the past. It’s the foundation they build on every day.

“I'm handling more responsibility. I'm making some decent money I'm able to provide for my son. I have a place to stay, a car, and I don't worry nearly as much as I did before,” says Elizabeth Ingram, a graduate of Building Pathways’ first cohort of seven last year. “Building Pathways really showed me true, genuine love.”

This program is the brainchild of Jeff Postell, the founder and CEO of Post L Group Construction in Fort Worth.

Postell’s nonprofit organization provides comprehensive support and training to help individuals, including those with criminal backgrounds or other challenges, enter and succeed in construction careers.

Before they get on a job site, however, the program first immerses the cohort in the requisite soft skills that influence how one interacts with others, manages work, and handles challenges in the workplace. There is financial literacy curriculum, as well as ongoing mentorship and support that continues through the apprenticeship. The nonprofit's approach is highly personalized, with dedicated coaches and a focus on addressing individual barriers to employment.

The second cohort graduated on Aug. 1. They started with eight but finished with seven, just like the first a year ago.

Building Pathways is Postell’s second attempt at this.

Postell opened his company in 2015. After a few years, he says, he was confronted with members of the community.

“I would get this all the time,” he says. “People would say, ‘Well, you’re making your money’ — and I wasn’t making a damn dime at that time — ‘what are you going to do for people in these communities, in these neighborhoods, Jeff?’ That was coming from everywhere.

“So, I just started giving people jobs. And this is the tough part of the conversation: These same people were stealing my tools, coming to work hungover, high, sleeping in closets. They didn’t have the skill to do the work. They did not have the drive to show up every day.”

The COVID pandemic forced Postell to reimagine everything about his business.

Postell notes three major jobs that the company took a major loss on because of material escalation. Two were at the airport and another at UT Southwestern in Dallas.

“We finished every job,” he says. “I knew that we could not take a black eye, so, we did the work.”

The company, though, had to get leaner. And a figurative knife was taken to its community outreach.

“I stopped doing all ‘those things,’” he says. “There were nights where I said I wasn't going do that type of stuff anymore. I was just going to make a very profitable company that was sustainable and not worry about those things.”

Yet, every morning, he woke up feeling more like William Madison McDonald’s Odd Fellow.

"Christ came from above,On a mission of love;Of mercy and kindness and peace…And God who is love,Gave Him power from above,For He and His Father are One."

"Let Odd Fellows and RuthitesLabor to have men and womenPractice Friendship, Love and Truth."

“I would always wake up and on my mind was, ‘Hey, who can I help?’”

Out of this he developed the four-phase program that became Building Pathways.

A social enterprise is “a business that uses a market-driven approach to address unmet needs or solve social or environmental problems.”

Post L Group is projected to bring in $75 million in revenue this year and employs 145 people.

But his mission is much grander. With every project, he is opening doors in the construction industry for people who might never have considered it — single mothers, veterans, young adults lacking opportunity, and African Americans seeking a path to upward mobility.

Postell has created a network of organizations working together to meet two pressing needs: more skilled tradespeople and more access to sustainable, high-paying careers. This is a pipeline of skilled construction workers to address labor shortages.

His ecosystem includes a general contracting firm, a drywall subcontracting business, and Building Pathways.

The result is a social enterprise that’s not only transforming individual lives, but strengthening the region’s economy.

This is ultimately major-league economic development work he is doing.

And he has friends in the pursuit of love, friendship, and truth. To date, Postell says that foundations and corporations have contributed more than $2 million in less than two years. Givers include Lowe’s, Home Depot, the Sid Richardson Foundation, the Rainwater Charitable Foundation, and United Way of Tarrant County. As I sat with him on this day, the nonprofit was awaiting a contribution from the board of the Crime Control and Prevention District — better known as the CCPD — in Fort Worth, which had committed funds for the cause.

* * * * *

Now, my friends, don't forget that Adam, the first Odd Fellow, and Eve, the first Ruthite [the women’s auxiliary of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows], were the pillars upon which mankind erected the mighty structure of Friendship, Love, and Truth.

“OK, so, the story is a little long,” says Elizabeth Ingram. “Long story short, I had my baby in the middle of 2022 — June 2022 to be exact. Basically, after that, I really didn't have a job; couldn't find anything. I was doing the best I could at the time.”

Ingram had a job, but she needed more. She wanted more. For her and her new baby. And she was willing to work for it.

Through the Texas Workforce Commission and the WIOA Youth Program, designed to help young people ages 16-24 overcome barriers to employment, she was connected to Post L Group, which hired her for an internship.

“During that time, Jeff Postell talked to me about the program,” she says.

Ingram graduated from Southwest High School in 2018 “hellbent on making her parents proud.” Like just about any 18-year-old, she wasn’t exactly sure how to do that or what path a potential career would take. She had taken accounting in high school and participated in UIL competitions.

“Oh, I can do accounting,” she thought, until she got to community college and decided that wasn’t the path to happiness.

Building Pathways is a 12-month program broken down into four phases.

The first phase of the program focuses on building trust and accountability with each client, while also gaining a clear understanding of their background to assess the level of support they’ll need.

Phase 2 centers on future planning. Clients work with mentors to map out a path toward a career in their chosen trade, setting goals and identifying the steps needed to move forward.

Phase 3 transitions clients into hands-on training. At this stage, they enter a formal career training program and begin working in a position aligned with their trade.

Phase 4 marks the culmination of the 12-month journey. During this final stage, clients are placed in skilled apprentice roles and enrolled in on-the-job training — either through their employer or a third-party training partner. The program concludes with a graduation ceremony celebrating their progress and new career path.

The program's coaching and support system includes transportation assistance, which was crucial, Ingram says, to staying on track.

“There were times where I haven't had a ride to work and somebody came and got me or somebody sent me an Uber to and from work,” Ingram says.

The program's focus on budgeting, credit, and other financial literacy through a partnership with Frost Bank and partnerships with organizations like Pathfinders further equipped Ingram with life skills and resources.

Each summer, Post L Group also operates a youth employment program in partnership with Workforce Solutions, which helps fund wages for participating students. Open to high school juniors and seniors, the program gives young people a paid, hands-on introduction to the construction industry. Students work 30 hours a week at $20 an hour — spending Monday through Thursday on jobsites, shadowing tradespeople, and performing general labor tasks. Fridays are reserved for educational field trips, including visits to partner construction sites for live demonstrations, blueprint reading, and deeper insights into specific areas of the industry.

While the summer program isn’t designed as a direct pipeline into the company’s adult program, sometimes the path unfolds that way. One such young man — whose name I was given, but I’m declining to use it — is one example.

When he first entered the summer program, he was on juvenile probation and living in a difficult home environment. His mother’s boyfriend was abusive, and the teen eventually moved in with his grandmother at a motel. One of the program coaches noticed inconsistencies in his pick-up and drop-off locations and began to ask questions. When the young man finally opened up, the full extent of his situation came to light.

Rather than send him back to school under unstable circumstances, Post L Group made the decision to support Santana in pursuing his GED while continuing to work. He was brought into the adult program, where he’s thrived — earning a promotion, nearing completion of his GED, and successfully finishing juvenile probation.

He graduated from the adult program on Aug. 1. His isn’t a typical story, but it’s a powerful example of how Post L Group meets young people where they are. Post L also hosts work development seminars in conjunction with partners such as LTVRise. After a vetting process, they choose the most ambitious clients. Those who really want to.

The curriculum is designed to fulfill the nonprofit’s core values of empowerment, economic mobility, accountability, and retention.

Ingram, now 25 years old, is the face of living up to all of those.

A year after finishing the program, she has already promoted within the Post L Group organization to project engineer. During her internship and apprenticeship, Ingram had been coordinating and getting materials on-site. After graduating, she continued doing that until being promoted.

She can now afford a car.

She is confident and, more importantly, has hope for her future.

“Hope … that is the perfect word,” she says. “I'm very hopeful now. I'm able to start thinking about my financial future. When you come from nothing … if I can get through this, I can do anything.”

* * * * *

"Christ was a Christian… He said, ‘I did not come to destroy any laws but to do the will of my Father.’ The will of His Father was to teach Friendship, Love and Truth — true Odd Fellowship."

The Building Pathway’s coach plays a critical role, serving as the bridge between the client’s job and the program. Their support goes beyond the workplace. They check in regularly to understand how things are going outside of work because a steady job doesn’t mean everything else is stable. A client, like the young man living with his grandmother in a hotel, could be facing domestic violence, struggling with substance abuse, or other personal challenges The coach helps identify those needs and connects them with community partners who can provide professional, qualified support.

“Thankfully we have some great trade partners and industry partners who love our program,” says Louie McClain during a phone conversation.

McClain is the executive director of Building Pathways. His job is to carry out Postell’s vision: In five to 10 years, any person — green and unskilled, anyone — can see themselves making $60,000 to $100,000 in the construction industry.

Building Pathways places them in that trajectory, and the clients are drilled with professional development, life coaching, and the technical skills. They are also all certified in blueprint reading, a schooling Post L Group pays for.

McClain and Postell met about 10 years ago. McClain’s background is in juvenile justice supervision and reentry services. He worked for the Florida Juvenile Justice and returned home to work in both Tarrant and Dallas counties’ juvenile systems. He left that for 11 years to go work for American Airlines, a company he left only two years ago.

McClain had started a personal development coaching brand when Postel called him.

“He asked me to come in for an interview to see what kind of services I could provide to Building Pathways,” McClain says. “And after the interview, he said, ‘We need to make you the pathway coach.’”

One characteristic about Postell that is easy to see: He is a master persuader, a no-isn’t-an-option-type guy. And then that’s just the start. He has more in mind for you.

McClain served as the coach for about eight months of the first cohort. After promoting a gentleman from the first cohort to coach, McClain has been focused on the duties of program director. He was promoted to executive director in June.

McClain was raised in Arlington with a wandering way. Wandering in the wrong direction, he says, a “troubled kid doing crazy stuff.” He mother had a plan. She sent him to Pensacola Christian College. There, he had a Road-to-Damascus experience.

McClain’s conversion story began reluctantly during his first weeks at college. Although surrounded by peers who genuinely lived out their Christian faith, he initially shrugged off their attempts to engage him. But when Hurricane Ivan hit and most students left campus, McClain was stranded with few distractions. One day, while checking his mailbox in the commons, he bumped into a friend named JJ and followed him back to his dorm. There, JJ’s roommate — a pastoral ministry major named Adam — asked McClain where he thought he would go if he died. McClain deflected, but Adam boldly called him a “fool,” sparking a heated exchange between the two that nearly escalated into fisticuffs.

JJ stepped in, diffusing the situation and subtly reframing it as a conversation about the problem of sin, not personal judgment.

That interaction broke something open in McClain. Moments later, he says he found himself on his knees, praying, a dramatic shift from nearly getting into a fight. It was very reminiscent of Paul’s green light. Paul, too, fell to the ground.

Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

In just a few minutes, McClain had become Exhibit No. 1 of God’s mercy and the redemptive power of grace. From that day forward, McClain immersed himself in Scripture and Christian fellowship.

His future was faith. His own studies in criminal justice helped him see how his troubled past connected with broader patterns of human behavior. And how the Gospel offered real transformation.

“And at that time, I didn't know what my talents were,” McClain says.” And so, I slowly realized that my spiritual gift and my talent is encouraging. It might not be working with my hands or doing something that's very skilled, but it's in lifting other people up. I thank God that that's truly a gift that has blessed me.

“Every opportunity I get to impart any level encouragement into one of these clients, I mean, that's what makes my day.”

McClain, 39, says he has the leeway to execute Postell’s vision.

“I’ve dreamt about this,” McClain says of the program and his role in it. “I believe in the law of attraction. I believe in praying to God, and I believe in all these great things. I don't see any other employers trying to do it like this. Major companies, but here we have a small businessman who's risking the reputation of his own for-profit company, risking the 10 years of multimillions because he has a true heart to make a difference, and he's going to do whatever it takes. I mean, I've never seen it. I've never seen that anywhere. I've never seen it.”

* * * * *

"Hence I say that while I live, I shall do what little I can to foster and perpetuate Odd Fellowship on this earth."

Postell’s inspiration also lies in the adage of “There but by the grace of God go I.” At age 19, he was hungry, albeit lost. It’s not exactly a rare occurrence at that stage in life.

He had graduated from Lancaster High School and went off to community college. He quit. He had no skills and no education beyond the three R’s, which don’t get you what they used to.

Now what?

He got a job at dry cleaner in DeSoto, without the slightly idea of which direction his life was heading. He jokes about staying up late watching “Jerry Springer” and seeing the commercials for Lincoln Tech.

One day at the cleaners, a nicely dressed man walked in. Postell asked him what he did for a living. He said, “I’m in construction.”

That moment planted a seed. Postell had always thought of construction as guys fixing sinks or framing houses, but this man looked successful. Soon after, Jeff noticed a large crane over the VA hospital in southern Dallas County, walked onto the jobsite without safety gear, and asked, “Are y’all hiring?” A worker pointed him to another smaller company, and surprisingly, they hired him on the spot.

“Boom. They hired me. A minimum wage job,” he says. “My job title was, ‘Do what the superintendent tells you to do.’”

His first jobsite was at Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas. His first task? Scrubbing grout lines with a toothbrush-sized wire brush.

He became fascinated by the variety of personalities from different walks of life, the camaraderie, the process. Postell remembers driving an old Dodge Ram 50 with no air-conditioning. His boss had a nice trailer.

“My question to my boss was, how do I get that trailer at some point in my life?” Postell says. The answer, he was told, was to build skills, gain experience, and stay committed.

“It was start of a great journey,” he says. “I fell in love with construction.”

Starting as a laborer, he eventually moved into project engineering and superintendent roles, finally landing at Yates Construction. He was introduced to Fort Worth while overseeing a project for Tarrant County for Yates — the construction of the Vandergriff Building.

He caught the attention of David Phillips, Tarrant County’s facilities manager, who urged him to consider going out on his own — start a construction company. That was the year of the Super Bowl in Arlington, which was mired in a visit from Old Man Winter. Despite being set back several months, Postell managed to keep the project in Tarrant County on schedule. That impressed Phillips.

“He called me into his office in the old courthouse, and we’re looking at the Tom Vandergriff Building and he says, ‘Jeff, where are you headed?’”

Postell told him he was headed to Mobile, Alabama, to build a federal courthouse edition for the GSA.

“He says, ‘Well, when are you going to do it? I said probably a couple of months. Need to get down there and find a place to stay. He says, ‘No, when are you going to do it?’ I said a couple of months. He says, ‘No, I think there’s an opportunity here.’”

Phillips connected Postell with several industry contacts, including Mike Freeman, who eventually became a mentor and partner. Postell sold his home, used $40,000 from the proceeds, and launched his drywall business, working solo from his kitchen table. He estimated 14 small jobs, won eight of them, and hired the Robles brothers, who are still with him today.

Operating as a one-man business, Postell handled estimating, HR, accounting, and labor logistics. He partnered with Freeman doing drywall projects on larger general contracting jobs, including work on local schools. Freeman helped with contracts that provided essential cash flow.

Postell worked tirelessly — loading materials at dawn, changing into a suit by noon to attend networking events, and estimating jobs late into the night.

Today, he has the dry wall side of the business and general contracting. As a general contractor, he uses his leverage with subcontractors to give opportunities to his clients in Building Pathways.

That’s his biggest passion — bringing people into the trades just like he did as a 19-year-old with a lot of energy and a lot of brain power, but no direction. He found his way up to a jobsite, and he now has a model that can be repeated.

It’s a pathway.

It’s what an Odd Fellow would do.