Work often kept Maurice Bogard Jr., on the road during the early part of his two sons' lives. They eventually reminded him of that.

"I'd call them, and they would say things like: 'Daddy, we're watching our show. We want to go back and watch it,'" said Bogard, a Cleveland native who still lives in the city.

"That's normal when you think about it," he added. "They were used to me not being there."

That didn't make it any less painful for a hard-working father desperate for another option. It arrived in the fall of 2024, first with the help of an innovative nonprofit, Cleveland Builds, and later with Cleveland Local 38.

Bogard is now a Local 38 apprentice, earning a family-supporting wage and home every night. He's employed by Einheit Electric Construction and working at Progressive Field, home of Major League Baseball's Guardians, on a crew that's renovating the locker rooms and other parts of the stadium before the 2025 season.

And on Nov. 13, Bogard was joined by those two sons — 9-year-old Aiden and 6-year-old Jaxson — on the podium at the White House while being recognized by President Joe Biden.

It was part of the Biden administration's "Classroom to Career" summit, which celebrated the strengthening of the U.S. workforce through the American Rescue Plan, particularly through jobs that do not require a college degree.

Before the ceremony, Bogard, his two sons and his sister, Natasha Johnson, met with the president and first lady. Biden gave Jaxson a cupcake to celebrate his birthday, which was two days earlier.

"It was surreal," Bogard said. "I really don't have words to explain it. They were very down to earth. I didn't expect them to be so normal, I guess. They were very nice."

Bogard's path to the White House had its shares of obstacles before he found his way to Cleveland Builds, a joint effort of the Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council and its signatory contractors.

Nearly 10 years earlier, he was working on a computer information systems degree at the University of Akron when he learned that his girlfriend was pregnant. He left school and eventually settled in with a company that specialized in sending workers to employers around the country who needed to add them quickly.

It paid the bills, but the hours were long and Bogard remembers work conditions weren't always safe — not to mention all the time away from his family.

"A lot of the people I worked with had similar life experiences," he said. "We were away from our kids. We were making money to support them, but we were not there physically to support them."

But in September 2023, he got a message from his sister, who is employed by Cleveland's municipal government.

She sent a link about Cleveland Builds, a pre-apprenticeship program that provides residents, particularly women and people of color, with a career path into the unionized trades. Cleveland Local 38 Business Manager Dan Gallagher sits on its board of directors.

Bogard applied, went through the interview process and was selected.

"When I found the program, it was like a light at the end of the tunnel, and I grabbed it," he said. "I was excited to go to class, excited to learn about the trades and excited to be around people who had turned their lives around."

Bogard remembered most enjoying his college classes that involved electronics. He was exposed to several trades while taking part in the Cleveland Builds curriculum, but his heart was set on being an electrician.

He went through another interview early the following spring, this one with Local 38's apprenticeship committee, and soon found himself a member of the Brotherhood. Gallagher said members of the committee told him it was a "no-brainer" to select him.

"I like the fact that he's humble," Gallagher said. "He takes things in, but he asks a lot of questions when he doesn't know something."

Bogard said he's made a point through the years of sharing daily affirmations with his two sons. In the days before his interview with Local 38 officials, he stood before a mirror, repeating many of those affirmations to himself.

"I know it sounds corny," he said. "But I think it's important to say to yourself what you want to be. I told myself, 'I am an electrician.'"

Fellow Local 38 member Brendan Lynch, Bogard's foreman at the stadium, gives him high marks on a job that needs to be done quickly. The Guardians play their home opener April 8.

"It's definitely a unique one to start on," Lynch said. "The speed aspect is a little different than a normal job. You're finding ways to teach and also for the apprentices to learn. He's always asking questions, and he shows up on time, which is a good start."

As wonderful as all these experiences are, the White House visit topped them all.

Bogard met former Labor Secretary Tom Perez, who worked as a senior adviser to Biden, at a Cleveland Builds event earlier in 2024. Gallagher also was there, and he remembers Perez joking about how Biden — who touted his appreciation for the IBEW throughout his public career — "has a soft spot for you guys."

Cleveland Builds has received funding as part of the American Rescue Plan, and not long afterward, Bogard learned that the White House reached out to officials there for more information about him and wanted to promote his story. He thought he might get a mention during the November event but had no plans to attend.

He found out otherwise the afternoon before. Bogard was told to be at the Cleveland airport with his two boys and sister the following morning. Cleveland Builds and the city's Workforce Development Board paid for their trip.

They flew to Washington, went to the White House, spent time with the Bidens and were back in Cleveland by early in the evening.

Biden recounted Bogard's story, and those in attendance responded with a warm ovation. Bogard himself was by Biden's side on the podium, with his oldest son standing beside him and his youngest in his arms.

"He now has a good-paying job, with good hours, good benefits, a lifelong career, and a sense of dignity and pride to be the father he always wanted to be," the president said. "It's not just him. Millions of workers and families have more opportunities today than they did four years ago in an economy that is growing from the middle out and bottom up."

The microphones twice caught Bogard saying "Yes sir" during the president's remarks.

Gallagher said business in the electrical construction industry remains brisk in Cuyahoga County, where Cleveland is. Many project labor agreements now include benchmarks for the number of workers from underrepresented groups and from the city itself.

That's why the success of Cleveland Builds, and participants like Bogard, is so important.

"His story is incredible," Gallagher said. "The fact that it has worked out so smoothly for him, when it sometimes takes years for people with his background to get this kind of an opportunity, is so important going forward. I'm thrilled he's taken advantage of it."

For Bogard, 33, it all comes back to the two boys. He's now spending more time with them and is hoping he's leaving a legacy, too.

"I truly feel like everyone's parents mean the best, but if they don't have the information, they're not able to pass things on to their children," he said. "Now, I'm able to teach my children a skill, and they're hopefully going to be able to provide for their families way earlier in life.

"I'm working with a great group of guys who love to teach, and I love to learn," added Bogard, who thanked his mother and other family members for their help when he was spending all that time on the road. "I really feel blessed to come to work every day."