Ernie Palacios started with HOLT CAT on September 17, 2001 as an Undercarriage Technician. Twenty-five years later, he’s our Field Service Manager. In between, he has worked in welding, led technicians, run a shop, managed service in Laredo, and learned a lot about what it takes to lead people.
A path that wasn’t a straight line
Ernie’s career started in the shop. He moved from undercarriage into welding and worked his way up to Welder 2. He became a Lead Technician in 2007, and over the next few years he worked as an Undercarriage Technician 4 and Welder 3. In 2012, he got his first leadership role as a Shop Supervisor.
A year later, a promotion into Service Management meant moving his family to Laredo for two years. “That was a significant step for us both professionally and personally,” Ernie said. The family moved back to San Antonio in 2015, and he returned to shop operations as a Shop Supervisor. In December 2022, he was promoted to Field Service Manager.
“One thing I’ve appreciated about my career at HOLT CAT is that it hasn’t been a perfectly straight path,” he said. “Each experience taught me something that helped prepare me for the next opportunity.”
Leadership other people saw first
Ernie credits a long list of people for shaping his career, including Edward and Dan at HDSI, and Neal Olenick and Roy Klug from their time in Cat Support and Manufacturing. Roy said something to him years ago that he still thinks about today.
“At a point when I needed some direction, he told me that I was someone people respected and came to for advice, and that I shouldn’t take that for granted,” Ernie said. “He told me to embrace it and be the leader they needed me to be.”
That conversation changed how he thought about leadership. “Sometimes the people around you see leadership in you before you fully recognize it in yourself, and you have a responsibility to step up when they do.”
He said his move from Shop Supervisor to Field Service Manager has been his proudest moment so far. He spent years developing the people around him and working on himself as a leader, and the promotion told him that work was paying off.
Ernie is also open about the fact that he didn’t start out that way. “I was pretty rambunctious as a young man, and even early in my career, I wasn’t always focused on helping or developing the people around me,” he said. Over time, he learned to own his mistakes and shift his focus from his own job to the impact he could have on others. “I think those lessons are a big part of why I value leadership, development, and supporting others the way I do today.”
What’s kept him at HOLT CAT
For Ernie, the answer is the people. That includes his office team, the technicians out on the road, his leadership, and ownership.
“Looking back, HOLT CAT was investing in me long before I fully realized it,” he said. “Since then, I’ve tried to pay that back and pay it forward by doing the same for the people around me.”
Of the HOLT values, Excellence is the one he connects with most right now. Much of his focus is on improving efficiency and finding better ways for his team to operate. He also said the values only work together. “Excellence depends on things like integrity, commitment, teamwork, and doing what’s right.”
His advice for someone in their first year
“Learn the work first and foremost. Be available, be dependable, and whatever you’re asked to do, do it to the best of your ability,” Ernie said. He also tells new people to take on new challenges and to expect some mistakes along the way. What matters is learning from them and moving forward. “To me, it always comes down to competency and commitment.”
Family first
“My family is the one thing in my life that means more to me than my job,” Ernie said.
He and his wife, Joni, will have been together 30 years this December, and Joni graduates from ACU with her bachelor’s degree the same month. Their oldest daughter, Maddy, is marrying her fiancé, Nick, in January. Nathan, Samuel, Ava, and Charlee round out the family and keep things lively at home.
When he’s not working, Ernie is usually with his family, eating good food or heading to his favorite spot, the Frio River. “Spending time together, laughing, relaxing, and eating really good food is probably our biggest flex,” he said.
Congratulations on 25 years, Ernie. We’re glad you’re on the team!