Lolita Balambao Pinuela embodies the good things about San
Benito County.
Hollister – Lolita Balambao Pinuela embodies the good things about San Benito County.
During the early 1940s, she rode a bus everyday from San Juan Bautista to San Benito High School in Hollister. As a student there, she was athletic – captain of the softball team – and she sold the most war bonds.
Today, at 80 years old Pinuela still lives in San Juan Bautista, spreading her time between American Legion Post 69, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary, the San Juan Bautista City Library and the League of United Latin American Citizens, for which she is the chaplain.
Pinuela is one of eight people who will be inducted into the Baler Hall of Fame during the first ever Red and White Baler Fame Fest this month. The Baler Education Foundation created the hall of fame to honor former students, teachers and administrators who have had a positive impact on the school and in their communities, said Kathleen Wright, secretary of the Baler Education Foundation.
“I feel very proud,” Pinuela said, who graduated in 1943. “I always was proud to be an alumni of SBHS. This is a real honor, I will cherish it the rest of my life.”
Inductees for the hall of fame were nominated by community members and chosen by the education foundation, said Ray Rodriguez, president of the foundation.
“I think it’s a wonderful honor,” said Pacific Grove resident Michael Ottmar, who graduated in 1963 when the school was called Hollister High. Ottmar was influenced by the coaches he had in high school, and he became a coach.
The fame fest, which will be on April 30, is also a fundraiser. The proceeds from the $25 admission to the event will go toward growing a $1 million endowment, part of which will be handed out to teachers as $5,000 mini grants, according to Wright.
Already 125 tickets have been purchased for the induction ceremony, she said, and the foundation hopes to sell a total of 300.
The event will feature a silent auction, where attendees can bid on gift certificates for golf, restaurants and salons. There also will be wine tasting and food provided by local restaurants.
“I was very surprised and very honored to be part of this,” said Judith Rider, who is being recognized for her 15 years as a school board member. “It is more than I ever expected.
Also being inducted into the Baler hall of fame is the late Andy Hardin, who was a football coach at the school from the 1920s until the 50s; John L. O’Donnell, a SBHS graduate and long time Hollister resident who played for Hardin in 1928; Ben Parks, a 1953 graduate; Mike Sanchez, who graduated in 1971 and is principal of San Andreas High School; and Gregory Hearn, who was superintendent of the district in the 1980s and 90s.
Inductees will be honored with plaques, which will be hung at the high school with their pictures. The plaques will hang at the school for a year, until the next group of hall of famers is chosen, after which they will be given to the recipients.
The event will be from 2-5pm on April 30 at the jack Tyler Home on 1400 Santa Ana Valley Road in Hollister. For tickets or information call Kathleen Wright at 638-1692.
