Features

Everyone Shines at Amy’s All Star Dance Studio

By: Leslie Asher Blair

Amy Mucha, the owner of Amy’s All-Star Dance Studio says that she chose the name because “every dancer that has graced the doors of the studio is a star in their own right. They all shine different, but they all sparkle.” The true shining star is Amy herself—a sparkling inspiration to everyone who enters the studio doors.

Amy opened the studio in 2003. A native of San Antonio, she chose Schertz because of all of the new subdivisions that had cropped up, knowing that it meant growing families which would bring young dancers. “I got my small business loan from Schertz Bank and Trust with the guidance of Lewis Borgfeld and his assistant at the time, Jessie,” explains Amy. “They were the first Schertz representatives I met, but I knew I had made the right choice for my business. Every member of the bank team was helpful and friendly.” In June 2007, Amy was diagnosed with Stage IV Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Despite having chemotherapy, the cancer quickly moved to her brain and she has suffered a number of impairments through the years, even though she has been cancer-free for ten years. Her business has continued to thrive with the support of her mother Andi Thompson, her sister Amanda, her 11 employees, and the many families whose children have taken classes. Amy has always been fortified by her faith but acknowledges that cancer has made her an even stronger and more grateful person. “Many of my first dance students shared the journey and are still my prayer warriors today,” Amy says. “When I started losing my hair, we were at a competition in Branson, Missouri. After my mom cut my hair, my sister, who is 17 years younger than me, climbed in the chair and said, ‘cut mine too Mommy.’”

After that, most of the group asked Andi to cut their hair in the lobby of the hotel. Amy says, “My mom is not a hairstylist, but they did not care. They wanted to make me feel better about losing my long blonde hair!”

They are all winners in my book because it takes a lot of courage to present yourself on stage, knowing that all eyes are on you.

Later, at a huge “celebrate life” party, some of the dancers’ dads (who hauled props and took them on and off stage for the performances) revealed their shaved heads to show their love and support.

Before cancer struck, Amy taught all ages and nearly every style of dance and ran the competition team. Now, with a right-side deficit due to brain cancer, she does not have good balance and cannot demonstrate the dance moves. But Amy still teaches the youngest students, something that comes naturally to her since she began dancing at age 3. She also has a degree in early childhood development. She was a teacher prior to opening the dance studio and brought many of her teaching skills with her as a dance instructor.

In January, Amy’s studio began its 18th year in business. Some of Amy’s first students now bring their children to her studio. Her own daughter Addison, born in 2004, grew up in the studio and currently works in the office helping with the COVID-compliance operations and also assists in classes if needed. Three of the teachers on staff are sisters and were students at the studio at one time. Her sister Amanda, who as a toddler was Amy’s very first student, has been either assisting or teaching at the studio since age 11. “We pride ourselves in being a Christian, family-run studio,” says Amy. “We consider all our dancers, instructors, and staff part of our family.” Running a small business for 18 years has brought many joys to Amy. “I love the dance studio and I enjoy watching the dancers grow in grace and poise. The confidence it [dancing] has given me, I try to give back to them with knowledge and encouragement,” she says. She has stories of mishaps,

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Everyone Shines at Amy’s All Star Dance Studio

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inspiration, and determination too numerous to recount. They include one baby dancer who stood on stage and cried the whole time and Claudia, a tap dancer whose shoes were too large. One shoe flew off and nearly hit Amy in the face. No worries, though, Claudia is now Amy’s teaching assistant. “The funniest dancers at recital are the babies that get on stage and just stand here and wave at their parents and grandparents. Sometimes they blow kisses and then run off,” says Amy.

During a recital when Addison was three, she was in a “Martian” dance where the little dancers were taken on stage in a spaceship. When it came time for Addison to perform, she refused. She spent the entire dance inside the spaceship and was escorted back off stage still in the spaceship. One of Amy’s most inspirational dancers was a little dancer who could not hear. “I guess my heart went out to her,” says Amy, “because I can relate to disabilities. She could feel the beat of the music and she was a good little dancer. She even performed solo! She later had surgery and received a bone-anchored hearing aid. Sometimes in class, she would just take it off because she wanted to dance without it.”

Amy even has the grace to see the good side of the COVID pandemic, though it meant a decline in business and remaining flexible throughout the past year—from instructors and families learning how to use Zoom, holding some classes outdoors, and now limiting the number of dancers in classrooms to accommodate social distancing. “It sounds strange but there have been good things happen that otherwise would never have evolved,” she explains. This includes holding recitals via Zoom so relatives from anywhere in the country can attend virtually. “For some of our dancers, this was the first opportunity for grandparents to see their grandchildren performing.”

Since the studio lobby is closed due to COVID, parents can now watch their dancers in class via Zoom while waiting in their cars. And if students are sick or out of town, they can still attend class via Zoom. “We have had a few younger siblings half-dressed streak by the dancers or a pet stick its head in the camera and bark or meow,” laughs Amy.

Amy reminisces her 18 years in Schertz and the many students who have grown up in her studio, developing confidence and life skills far beyond dancing. “They keep me going,” she says. “They put so many long hard hours of practice in on a dance to be as good as they can be. They are all winners in my book because it takes a lot of courage to present yourself on stage, knowing that all eyes are on you.”

Scott McClelland Sees Bright Future for Public Works

By: Jaime Cline

The City of Schertz’s new Public Works Assistant Director Scott McClelland always had a passion for building things. “I always liked building and constructing things so civil engineering provided a broad base that I could explore many different career paths.”

McClelland graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado, Denver in 2012. After graduation, he went to work for a private civil engineering firm as an owner’s representative for five years.

Early in his career in the private sector, he was regularly assigned to manage projects for public clients. Getting to work in that environment gave him a firsthand look at what it was like to work in local government, and he found himself enjoying the experience. “The passion that most of the local government staff had towards their city and citizens was inspiring to see and made me want to find a city that I could become passionate about serving in the same way. From that point I knew I wanted to make the switch to the public sector,” he shared. He transitioned from the private sector to the City of Schertz in June of 2017 as a Project Manager in the Engineering Department. Working for the City of Schertz provided ample opportunity for a variety of learning experiences over his tenure in project management. “The City is an interesting place from an infrastructure standpoint—we have some older infrastructure that has to be maintained and replaced and we also have an explosion of growth in the City which requires expansion of our current system to serve new areas,” he says.

It was part of that expansion and ever-growing dynamic that intrigued him about the Assistant Director position in Public Works.

In his time with the Engineering Department, he partnered with Public Works on many projects in the city. He had a lot of hands-on knowledge about what Public Works did but also was interested in learning more about the operations side of the department. When the position came open, it also happened to be an extremely exciting time for Public Works—the Fleet and Facilities departments were being merged with Public Works.

There is always a lot of work to do, and I am excited to be a part of a team that can get that work done.

“I wanted to be a part of those exciting changes for the Public Works team. It seemed like a great opportunity to diversify my experience and help drive that change.” “Scott is an incredible leader who lifts those around him and who is passionate about serving Schertz. We are extremely fortunate to have his experience and talent join the superstars in Public Works!” says Charles Kelm, Assistant City Manager. “His efforts were critical during the recent winter event in keeping the water flowing for Schertz and one of the main reasons we were able to keep the water on and without a boil notice. Scott’s efforts will continue to be noticed in multiple city facility renovation projects; upcoming 16-inch water transmission line from Live Oak Tank to the Water Tank at Northcliffe; and street maintenance and repair projects.” Like any job transition, he’s had a learning curve to get used to—but thankfully, he had a good relationship with the team prior to officially joining them. They used to work down the hall from each other! “It has been busy, but incredibly fun. There has been a lot to learn about how Public Works operates especially when it comes to the fleet and facilities divisions, which I was less familiar with prior to my promotion. Also, as Executive Director of the Cibolo Valley Local Government Corporation, I have spent a lot of time learning about the corporation and pursuing a path forward for the future water needs for the City of Schertz. Public Works Director Suzanne Williams has been very helpful in mentoring me through the transition to make it as smooth as possible,” he shares. When asked what he’s most excited about his new role, his first answer is his team.

“I am most excited about the team that we have in Public Works right now. There is always a lot of work to do, and I am excited to be a part of a team that can get that work done. I look forward to learning a lot from the experienced staff that we have in each division of Public Works. As with any department, we have things to improve on, so I am excited to tackle those items as well as a team.”

McClelland has also set some goals for himself in the new role. He hopes to help to continue to improve the level of service in each division of Public Works. By nature, Public Works is a true service organization. Everything that they do directly impacts the citizens, customers, visitors, and employees of Schertz. Whether it is water/wastewater, streets, drainage, fleet, or facilities, each division plays a critical part in making the City of Schertz a great city to work and live in. “As Public Works elevates our level of service, we help to prop up the entire city,” he explains. One of the improvements he’s most excited about is the addition of two new trade positions on staff.

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In 2019, the City’s Facilities Department hired an HVAC technician and in early 2020 a master electrician was hired. These two positions were added to the city in an effort to increase efficiencies in these two highly important areas of work.

Because of the regular requests for both HVAC and electrical items, Public Works can now address the majority of issues with in-house staff—resulting in reductions in hourly costs and time spent waiting for repairs to be made. The staff hired in each of these two trades are highly skilled in their craft allowing them to perform preventative maintenance, repairs, replacements, and scope large contracted work.

Joining the team is Chad Lonsberry, who began working in the HVAC field in late 2006 where he began as an installation helper while simultaneously going to college. He quickly began assisting service techs in the field and made the decision to join the company’s apprentice program to become a service technician. Lonsberry continued with the same company for 13 years— becoming the lead technician while also learning about the dayto-day operations. Upon hearing that the City of Schertz was going to create an HVAC division, he jumped at the opportunity. He is excited to implement plans to upgrade older equipment in city buildings to more efficient HVAC equipment in efforts to facilitate more cost-saving measures.

Also joining the team is Master Electrician, Thomas Brooks. Brooks started his electrical career as an Apprentice Electrician in 1997 with Bexar Electric. He graduated from the Apprenticeship Program and went on to obtain his Journeyman Electrician and Master Electrician Licenses. In 2011, Thomas joined the Schertz team as a Code Enforcement Officer. Thomas then worked as an Environmental Law Enforcement Officer with the Schertz Police Department. He made one of the more difficult decisions of his life in January of 2020 when he transitioned from being a Law Enforcement Officer to working for the City of Schertz as a Master Electrician. He explains that although it’s been challenging, he’s looking forward to making a difference. “Some of our buildings were built before I was born. We’re ready to bring their electrical systems into the modern age,” Brooks shares.

Having Brooks and Lonsberry on staff provides the availability to perform preventive maintenance, a quicker response time, and ultimately cost savings to the City.

Previously, the City had to rely on contracts with outside service companies to perform these regular maintenance activities. Having staff who is invested in the systems, well versed in the properties, and routinely taking care of maintenance results in a tighter and more complete maintenance schedule.

McClelland is also looking forward to implementing the software program Manager+ this year. This software is an asset management software that allows city staff and management to leverage all kinds of data which can be used for budgeting, long-range planning, maintenance schedules, work orders, and cost tracking. Public Works Director Suzanne Williams says, “Scott has quickly become an invaluable member of Public Works through his dedication to the success of the teams he leads, the energy he gives to every project, and the analytic expertise he provides; in addition to his ability to enhance the workday with his sense of humor.”

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