Legacy Is a Verb: Teaching Stewardship to the Next Generation
- Marcie Rodriguez
- 13 hours ago
- 4 min read
There are moments in business that remind you what really matters.
For me, this month was one of those moments.
Since 1969, Comal Iron & Metals has recycled millions of pounds of metal right here in New Braunfels. As a family-owned recycling business serving our community for
57 years, we’ve weathered market swings, industry changes, hard seasons, growth seasons, leadership transitions, and everything in between.
And while I’m incredibly grateful for the longevity, I’ve realized something:
Legacy isn’t built by simply lasting a long time.
Legacy is built by what you and I choose to pass forward.
That’s why partnering with Grace Preparatory Academy’s Environmental Club meant so much to me this month.
Stewardship Becomes Real When Kids Can See It
It’s one thing to teach kids about environmental stewardship in a classroom.
It’s another thing for them to walk through a live metal recycling yard, see our team at work, ask questions, and realize the things we throw away still hold value.
After their field trip to our yard, these students held an aluminum can recycling drive, watched the impact add up in real time, donated the proceeds to Pink Warrior Advocates, and learned they had a direct hand in creating environmental impact now — not someday.
That is stewardship in action.
Watching these students engage in such a hands-on way reinforced something important:
Education matters.
Not because every child will grow up and work in scrap metal recycling. (Although I would love it if they did. 😉)
But because learning responsibility early changes how people see the world.
They now understand that the things we throw away — or can’t put in the blue bin — like washers, dryers, water heaters, cars, and even aluminum cans still have value, and that places like ours help protect the planet through responsible recycling.
Small Actions Create Bigger Impact
The can drive may have started as a simple school project, but it became something much bigger.
Grace Prep students brought cans onto their campus. The Environmental Club worked together to weigh them using a mobile scale we provided so each class received proper credit. Teachers encouraged participation. Families got involved. Mrs. Barber packed up her SUV several times a week and brought the cans to Comal Iron & Metals.
Then came the fun part — getting to return to Grace Prep for a presentation, celebrate the winning class with pizza, hand out Comal Iron & Metals swag, and share why what they did matters.
Because when kids can connect their actions to real-world impact, responsibility stops feeling abstract. It becomes personal.
And the impact they made in just about one month was incredible.
The Results:
♻️ Recycling one aluminum can saves about 95% of the energy needed to make a new can from raw materials.
One recycled aluminum can saves approximately
💧 About 3 gallons of water.
Think about that for a second. This was done within a month’s time.
If those cans had ended up in a landfill, some could take up to 500 years to decompose. Instead, these students helped conserve natural resources, reduce landfill waste, and save energy.
That’s the kind of thing that gives me hope for the future.
The Conversation That Started It All
And honestly, this story started years ago with one conversation.
At an Earth Day event at Headwaters at the Comal, I spoke with Mrs. Barber about metal recycling and how most people don’t realize the positive environmental impact we have as an industry. She asked about blue bins, and I explained that when it comes to metal recycling, they’re limited to aluminum cans and food cans.
But places like Comal Iron & Metals do so much more.
I remember that conversation vividly.
When she walked away, I had no idea whether that conversation would stick.
Little did I know, she would take that conversation and run with it. She brought it back to the Environmental Club and inspired students to take action — not only by recycling their cans, but by using the money created to help women they may never meet.
I have hundreds of conversations at community events through our New Braunfels recycling efforts.
Most of the time, I never know if they take root.
Until one day, I do.
And here’s what I’m learning more and more:
Stewardship isn’t built through one giant moment.
It’s built through small conversations, small choices, and small acts of responsibility repeated consistently over time.
Honestly, those are the same principles that have sustained Comal Iron & Metals since 1969.
Legacy Lives Forward
Sometimes people hear the word “legacy” and immediately think about the past.
I don’t. To me, its more than that.
Legacy is about honoring the past while taking responsibility for the future.
It’s about asking:
What are we teaching?
What are we modeling?
What will continue because we were here?
I believe businesses also have a responsibility beyond operations and profit. We have the opportunity to help shape culture, invest in people, and teach the next generation that stewardship matters — not just for the environment, but for our communities and for each other.
This partnership with Grace Prep reminded me that the future of sustainability and stewardship in New Braunfels looks pretty bright. All it takes is one person willing to care enough to do something — and in this case, that person was Mrs. Barber. To all the teachers and educators pouring into the next generation every day — thank you. What you do matters more than you know.
Looking to Partner With Comal Iron & Metals?
Whether you’re a school, nonprofit, church, environmental club, or community organization, we’d love to help create meaningful recycling partnerships that educate, give back, and make a real impact right here in New Braunfels.
Interested in partnering with us for a future project, fundraiser, or educational presentation?
Send us a message on Facebook or Instagram, or connect with us on LinkedIn — we’d love to hear from you.
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