The Foundation of West Tampa
 (Continued from page 4) What has kept Busto Smtmsh' o mr
didn't live long enough to see Plumbing flush with business forS1BBI hiss&~1~r~~ lf~l~ "ownte goo,"sas o Bsato
 tht" nn ~st. Ut Iwould've for over four decades includ- [ } with a smile.


really blew his mind."
 Busto's father, who grew
up during the Great Depres-
sion, was hesitant when
Busto built his own business
off St. Louis Street in West
Tampa, fearing his son might
meet financial trouble and be
in debt. But Busto would ask
him, "How do you expect to
get anywhere if you don't try?"
L---

 -Ow


ing the recent recession is
its willingness to do service
work, maintaining previously
installed plumbing.
 "People seem to want to do
all the new, clean stuff, but
service is always in demand,"
says Busto. "A lot of times
new construction is not there,
people still have to repair the


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 Authentic Family
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Manuel Busto second from theleft,.
 Manuel Busto, second from the left


toilets. A lot of plumbers don't
like to get dirty."
 Throughout his years pre-
siding over the business,
Busto has mentored former
employees who have gone on
to start successful plumbing
companies in the area such
as Dyser Plumbing, Always
Plumbing and Buccaneer
Plumbing. Many of the indus-
try leaders Busto took under
his wing have since thanked
him for his guidance because
without Busto, they wouldn't
be where they are today.
 "I always tried to express
the importance of quality and
taking pride in what they do
because today most people
don't care about pride and
quality of work," says Busto.
"They're just in there to get in
and get out and get paid as
much as they can for doing as
little as possible."
 Busto is the exact oppo-
site. "If I screwed up or made
a mistake, I'd go back there
and fix it on my own time and
I'd be embarrassed for any-
body to know about it. Guys
today, you send them out
there, they expect to get paid
for their own screw-up. I've
always tried to be more than
fair. Sometimes it's hurt me,
but you can't just give up on
people in general because one
person left a bad taste."
 Even outside of his busi-
ness life, Busto has served
as a mentor. At one point, a
young man used to come to
Busto's-house who had never
seen his father; his parents
were divorced.
 "You could tell he was lone-
ly for his dad," says Busto,
who served as a father-figure
and even called the boy's dad.
"You don't know me," he said
to him. "Your son is a great
kid and I just want to let you
know he really thinks a lot of
you, and it would be nice if
you could at least call him or
go and see him."
 The situation didn't heal


right away but years later
when Busto arrived on the
property of a spec home for
a job, he met the landscaper.
"Turns out it's this kid! The
guy has done phenomenal."
 As for his own family, Bus-
to has one biological son, Ja-
son, who is currently Busto
Plumbing's COO.



 V i
 ^-nma


 Jason has two biologi-
cal siblings, Mark and Te-
resa, from his mother's pre-
vious relationship. Mark's
son works at the front desk.
Jason's mother passed away
from cancer and Busto has
been married to his current
wife, Kelly, since 1992. He
and Kelly have one daughter,
Gigi, a four-year-old German
shepherd with eyes like Greta
Garbo's, hence her namesake.
 After undergoing a quadru-
ple bypass, Busto, 70, says
he has a new outlook on life.
"The other day I was driving
to work, I had a lot of stress
I was under," he says. "I'm
thinking 'I don't know why I
let any of this worry me. Hell,
I could be gone right now."'
Busto is learning to live for
the present moment like Gigi
does, riding in the backseat of
her father's truck on the way
to work every day, smiling
her doggy smile as neighbors
wave to her on the streets of
West Tampa.


 Pete Busto's family
Lws Ims~sum ric %-r %-.. 'W", 4,1 *QW:


.' a'wmml


Manuel Busto, far right, in front of Tampa water truck


 B o rhe iitdhbrirough
 education foundation
 i proud o contiMnue Sci
S-hbil(arjr C-cnir Upnhal

 of o tummuniti ,cr'ice.



 LMill6ermagh
 [dvL4tion
 u ndatiaU


 LA GACETA/Friday, May 6, 2011/Page 5 Section B


+I


IIP
Pete Busto


U- - - I~-


U.S. Coast Guard Pete Busto


Housewife

Bake Shop & Deli


6821 N. Armenia Corer of Sligh & Armenia

 Ph: 813-835-5106 Fax: 813-935-3740

 Catering to Tampa Since 1959


 813.872.0209
MONTAUROTAMPA@GMAIL.COM