During the week, Ricardo Quinteros, “Riq” to his friends, works as facilities maintenance coordinator for SEK-CAP Inc.
“SEK-CAP has over 50 rentals, around 16 Head Starts, the homeless shelter, main office, transportation annex and four family service centers,” Quinteros said. “If something needs to be repaired, I see that it gets fixed or fix it myself.”
As busy as that keeps him, he’s nearly as busy after work with all his volunteer activities.
On many weekends, Quinteros, Pittsburg, steps back into the 19th century, taking part in living history demonstrations at the Fort Scott National Historic Site.
“I’ve been volunteering at the old fort for the past 14 years,” Quinteros said. “I bake bread and fire the cannon. When the cannon goes off, I can feel it in my chest. It takes the breath out of you.”
He’s a single father of Hannah, 12, who also volunteers at the fort. Both of them appeared in a film that will serve as an introduction to the historic site.
“I played Benjamin Rice, who was arrested for murder in December of 1858 and was imprisoned in the Fort Scott Hotel,” Quinteros said. “I got rescued by James Montgomery, who was a leader of free state forces.”
He almost needed rescuing in real life.
“I was wearing these authentic 1850 shackles, and they didn’t know how to turn the key to get them off me,” Quinteros said. “I was afraid they were going to have to cut the shackles off me, but they finally figured it out.”
Nevertheless, making the film was a great experience for Quinteros and his daughter.
“Hannah and I worked three hours and made $100 each,” he said.
Quinteros also formerly built sets for Pittsburg Community Theatre.
“I miss building all those sets,” he said. “My favorite was for ‘Into the Woods,’ when I built a 27-foot-high tower for Rapunzel to let down her hair. I was also in two shows. In ‘Oliver’ I was the guy who shot Bill Sikes.”
He also used skills for several years with Habitat for Humanity of Crawford County, helping install heating and air conditioning systems in houses being built by the organization.
He became politically active during the 2008 presidential campaign.
“Hannah wanted us to go to the Democrat party caucus at the Franklin Community Center,” Quinteros said. “We stood outside in the rain for 20 or 30 minutes, and I became a Second District delegate for Barack Obama.”
He and Hannah founded Gardens of Compassion, which sponsored the planting of gardens and growing fresh produce for those in need.
“A neighbor brought us some tomatoes, and Hannah said, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have a garden big enough to feed the world?’’ Quinteros said. “We did Gardens of Compassion for three years, and this year I helped with the community garden behind the First Christian Church.”
He’s on the Friends of the Pittsburg Public Library board, and served a year as president. Quinteros is also active in PTO at the Pittsburg Community Middle School.
He coached YMCA soccer and softball, and coached one year for the Pittsburg Fast Pitch League.
Quinteros was born in San Francisco, but has Kansas roots.
“My father was from El Salvador, and my mother’s side of the family came from western Kansas,” he said. “They were in Kansas before it was Kansas.”
He grew up in Richmond, Calif., and later lived in Denver, Colo., Beloit and Fort Scott before coming to Pittsburg.
When he’s not volunteering, Quinteros enjoys photography, and recently displayed his work during the Fall Art Walk. He’s also a member of the Sports Car Club of America.
“I’ve got a ton of friends,” Quinteros said. “It’s good being Riq.”
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During the week, Ricardo Quinteros, “Riq” to his friends, works as facilities maintenance coordinator for SEK-CAP Inc.
“SEK-CAP has over 50 rentals, around 16 Head Starts, the homeless shelter, main office, transportation annex and four family service centers,” Quinteros said. “If something needs to be repaired, I see that it gets fixed or fix it myself.”
As busy as that keeps him, he’s nearly as busy after work with all his volunteer activities.
On many weekends, Quinteros, Pittsburg, steps back into the 19th century, taking part in living history demonstrations at the Fort Scott National Historic Site.
“I’ve been volunteering at the old fort for the past 14 years,” Quinteros said. “I bake bread and fire the cannon. When the cannon goes off, I can feel it in my chest. It takes the breath out of you.”
He’s a single father of Hannah, 12, who also volunteers at the fort. Both of them appeared in a film that will serve as an introduction to the historic site.
“I played Benjamin Rice, who was arrested for murder in December of 1858 and was imprisoned in the Fort Scott Hotel,” Quinteros said. “I got rescued by James Montgomery, who was a leader of free state forces.”
He almost needed rescuing in real life.
“I was wearing these authentic 1850 shackles, and they didn’t know how to turn the key to get them off me,” Quinteros said. “I was afraid they were going to have to cut the shackles off me, but they finally figured it out.”
Nevertheless, making the film was a great experience for Quinteros and his daughter.
“Hannah and I worked three hours and made $100 each,” he said.
Quinteros also formerly built sets for Pittsburg Community Theatre.
“I miss building all those sets,” he said. “My favorite was for ‘Into the Woods,’ when I built a 27-foot-high tower for Rapunzel to let down her hair. I was also in two shows. In ‘Oliver’ I was the guy who shot Bill Sikes.”
He also used skills for several years with Habitat for Humanity of Crawford County, helping install heating and air conditioning systems in houses being built by the organization.
He became politically active during the 2008 presidential campaign.
“Hannah wanted us to go to the Democrat party caucus at the Franklin Community Center,” Quinteros said. “We stood outside in the rain for 20 or 30 minutes, and I became a Second District delegate for Barack Obama.”
He and Hannah founded Gardens of Compassion, which sponsored the planting of gardens and growing fresh produce for those in need.
“A neighbor brought us some tomatoes, and Hannah said, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have a garden big enough to feed the world?’’ Quinteros said. “We did Gardens of Compassion for three years, and this year I helped with the community garden behind the First Christian Church.”
He’s on the Friends of the Pittsburg Public Library board, and served a year as president. Quinteros is also active in PTO at the Pittsburg Community Middle School.
He coached YMCA soccer and softball, and coached one year for the Pittsburg Fast Pitch League.
Quinteros was born in San Francisco, but has Kansas roots.
“My father was from El Salvador, and my mother’s side of the family came from western Kansas,” he said. “They were in Kansas before it was Kansas.”
He grew up in Richmond, Calif., and later lived in Denver, Colo., Beloit and Fort Scott before coming to Pittsburg.
When he’s not volunteering, Quinteros enjoys photography, and recently displayed his work during the Fall Art Walk. He’s also a member of the Sports Car Club of America.
“I’ve got a ton of friends,” Quinteros said. “It’s good being Riq.”
