The Jerry Enos Painting Crew: Meet Rafael

Rafael Perello, our company foreman, started at Jerry Enos Painting 14 years ago when he finally got fed up with something most of us can relate to – namely, the commute into Boston. He was working in the city during the height of the Big Dig and the traffic was a killer.

“I used to have to leave the house at 5 in the morning and then I wasn’t getting home until after dark,” he said. “I didn’t like it.”

So Rafael started looking for something local, calling around and asking about work. One of those calls was to Jerry. Rafael had plenty of experience under his belt to recommend him. His father is a general contractor, and so Rafael had what you might call an unofficial apprenticeship starting from a young age.

“Back when I was at Salem High School, it would be a weekend thing – it was a learning experience. I would watch people working, grab tools, and just help out however I could.”

Sometimes it was painting. Sometimes it was construction. Maybe the tile guy needed help and then Rafael was laying tile for the day. It was there that he got a feel for what he liked and didn’t like, and what he liked was painting. He stuck with it, amassing the kind of experience that got his cold call to Jerry noticed.

Today, you might meet Rafael as he oversees our crew at your job site, making sure that your project is done right, on time.

But that’s probably not all he’ll be doing. As he put it, he likes to stay busy, so he’s still doing a little bit of everything and helping out however he can. When asked what he likes best about working at Jerry Enos Painting, this is what he had to say:

“I love always working in a different location, seeing different houses and towns. It keeps things interesting. I get to find out, hey, there’s this beach I’ve never been to or some other spot to visit. I’m always finding out something new about the areas we’re working in – and that includes towns I’ve been to before.”

Rafael is married to Jerica, has a daughter Jerilee (Jerry’s goddaughter), and has another daughter due to arrive any day now.

This story originally appeared in our monthly newsletter, Prime Time by Jerry Enos Painting – to subscribe, contact us!

Categorised in: About Us