Operation Bootstrap key for Lynn’s McGough

LYNN – “This is the sexy part,” says Paul McGough as he shows off the section in a half-finished home where he will build a custom shower stall roughly the size of a large pickup truck.The oceanfront home does not belong to McGough, but by any measure – most importantly, his own – McGough is a success story. He and his wife, Kathleen, have three daughters, Kayla, Kristina and Kiley, and a son, Maxwell, and they recently added an in-ground swimming pool next to their home.Not bad for a guy who was expelled from English High School in 1982.McGough blames “self destructive behavior” for his expulsion, but he credits his mother with steering him onto the right path.”I was freaking out. I didn’t know what to do with my life.”Patricia McGough knew what he should do: She told her son to enroll in Operation Bootstrap’s general equivalency diploma program.McGough attended classes at the YMCA and completed the program before most of his buddies finished school. He couldn’t find work so he decided to enroll in North Shore Community College where he quickly tired of the computer and marketing classes.”Sitting down wasn’t for me,” he said.He decided to follow his father and namesake into plumbing and quickly discovered that his Bootstrap diploma was the key to earning a plumbing license.McGough started an emergency drain cleaning business and a family, balancing jobs with youth sports coaching duties and studies required to earn his journeyman and master plumber licenses.He founded his plumbing company five years ago. He employs nine people with his brother, David, and runs four trucks. Jobs like the one they are doing in the Nahant seaside mansion give McGough and his crew a chance to demonstrate their skills.They will outfit the home’s custom shower room with several spray heads and controls and install bathrooms and two Jacuzzis in other parts of the house.Twenty-one years after Bootstrap started him on the right path, McGough renewed his ties with the organization. He was working on a plumbing job in Lynn Economic Opportunities’ Broad Street building when he spotted a wall plaque listing Bootstrap graduates. His name was on the list.He called Bootstrap Director Don Edwards who urged McGough to join Bootstrap’s board of directors. In 2006, he found the time to take up the offer.”Don’s a passionate guy and I liked the fact that people from all walks of life are on the board.”Business obligations limited his tenure to a year, but McGough continued to be an advocate for the educational opportunities offered by Bootstrap and the second chances the program gave people like him.The Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce recognized his Bootstrap commitment at its Feb. 28 Porthole Pub breakfast meeting.McGough downplayed the honor, drawing applause and laughter, when he observed: “I knew I was in trouble when I came around the corner and saw all the cars.”