Tera Plummer:  

Life I've moved a number of times since graduation. I've lived in Tennessee, Florida and Kentucky in addition to my home state, New York. I now live in southeast Florida where I plan to stay. I found my true love a little about 9 years ago. We married on November 11, 2000. We don't have any children together and none are planned. However, I am a stepmother to his 2 children from a previous marriage, ages 18 & 16. They do not live with us full-time. In addition to being active in our ministry as Jehovah's Witnesses, we love to hang out w/friends & family. We also enjoy the beach, cruising, camping, fishing, boating & vacationing. We're very happy together! School After graduation I didn't attend college, however, I have attended vocational school & completed correspondence courses. In addition to my NY State Regents Diploma, I hold a certificate in heavy equipment operation (to be able to assist in volunteer construction projects), auto mechanics (for my personal edification), as well as an IT certificate (just to see what level aptitude I have). I'm also NATE certified HVAC, Service & Installation along w/the necessary Universal EPA certification. I've always liked hands on kind of work. I like to know practical skills. I'm currently enrolled as a college student working towards an Associates Degree in Telecommunications. My primary goal is to mainly provide a reasonably comfortable income to support my ministry. Workplace A few years ago I changed career paths going from inside behind a desk to outside in more technically challenging fields of employment. As my work history shows, I spent many years doing office or clerical type jobs ranging from data entry, receptionist to banking & legal secretary. I got very good at it, but not having any college degrees hindered me from competitively seeking jobs I was best suited for in that field, i.e. Executive Secretary/Assistant, Office Manager, etc. The closest I came was being a personal secretary of a successful real estate attorney. I've done a few brief stints in restaurant, retail & sales. I started to shift gears in 1996 when I acquired my CDL Class B in NY back in 1996 & drove school bus for a children's center for 2.5 years. Always desiring to get into more technical & physical type work I went to BOCES & got certified in Heavy Equipment Operating, i.e. bulldozer, backhoe hoping to get into the construction field, but also to help in volunteer construction projects through my congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. When I moved to Florida in 1998 I slipped back into secretarial work, although it was predominantly within the construction industry. After going through two layoffs in a row, however, I decided it was time to get out of the office for good. That's when I went to vocational training for HVAC. I excelled in my class & was the first to be hired out fo that class by a reputable HVAC company. However, I had entered a male dominated industry. I'd always got along great w/guys growing up. I'm a bit of a Tomboy. I love sports & the outdoors, etc. But this was a different world altogether. I've never experienced total acceptance in my field & suffered harrassment & discrimination, twice leading to unexpected job loss. It's been an education in & of itself. My fairly recent work history includes having been let go from my HVAC/Facility Maintenance position, despite the fact that I was their top technician year to date at the time. I then went into other maintenance contract jobs that didn't want to pay me according to my skill level. One position I had was at a posh highrise condo on the beach doing condo maintenence & HVAC. The initial building superintendent offered me a full-time position at a good pay rate w/benefits once my contract period was up. Unfortunately, during the interim he got replaced with a different manager that went out of his way to belittle me. The maintenance supervisor, who had some say in hiri...Expand for more