2008 Hall of Fame Inductees
Louie D. Carleo - Class of 1970. Louie began his efforts to redevelop downtown Pueblo by purchasing properties and redesigning them to meet 21st century standards. Starting in 1987 with one building, his holdings now encompass over 50 properties; including the Thatcher Building, Midtown Shopping Center, The Colorado Building and the Andrews Produce Building - which he rebuilt into a state of the art office building along the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk that houses AT&T Wireless and employs more than 500 people. Louie is the President and CEO of LDC Properties, CEO of Commercial Builders, Vice President of Sound Venture Realty, Vice President and CFO of Tri-County Auto Dealerships, Community Director and Bank Director of Southern Colorado Community Banks and Trustee of Colorado Technical University. He has received numerous awards for his leadership and commitment to the betterment of Pueblo which include; The Pueblo Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year, National Sam Walton Business Leader Award and the Charles W. Crews Business Leader Award.
Patricia Erjavec - Class of 1975. As President and CEO of El Pueblo Boys & Girls Ranch, the second largest residential childcare facility in the state, Patty more than doubled its service capacity and increased its asset base by more than $18 million. She implemented high performance teams and directed the development of a cognitive behavioral model for residential treatment that was copy written in 2002 and in use nationwide. Her community involvement includes service on countless nonprofit, educational, youth and children's agency boards and commissions. She chaired the State Board of Community College and Occupational Education and served as the interim President of the Community College System. She has been recognized professionally as Administrator of the Year by the Colorado Child & Adolescent Mental Health Coalition, Pueblo Public Library's Outstanding Woman Award, the YWCA's Anna Taussig Tribute to Women Award, the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce's Business Person of the Year and CSU-Pueblo Outstanding Alumnus Award.
Keith R. Swerdfeger - Class of 1965. Keith built his family owned construction company, K.R. Swerdfeger Construction Company, from a one person operation with a rented backhoe to a multi-state construction enterprise that employs 500 people. Keith served as CEO of the Pueblo Economic Development Corporation (PEDCO) and has been instrumental in drawing many new businesses to the area. Keith has worked tirelessly with Fort Carson officials to make Pueblo an attractive home to base personnel. Over the years, Keith has served in leadership positions both statewide and nationally in the construction industry. He has served on the PCC Foundation Board and the CSU-Pueblo Hasan School of Business Advisory Board, among many others. Keith has donated time and money to a variety of local concerns including work for the PCC Mall area, Rawlings Field at CSU-Pueblo, the Pueblo Convention Center, a football field at El Pueblo Boys & Girls Ranch, a visiting room at the animal shelter and a child care playroom at the new YMCA. Keith donates a continuing scholarship at PCC and his quiet philanthropy to many Pueblo concerns, while usually unpublished, has had a great positive effect on the Pueblo community.
Jerry Traylor - Class of 1973. Jerry is a nationally recognized motivational speaker who has delivered his message to over one million people at 4,000 audiences in 49 states and abroad. He has addressed Fortune 500 corporate functions and professional athletic teams. Jerry has been featured in the national media, including Paul Harvey's 'The Rest of the Story' and The Larry King Show. Jerry was born with Cerebral Palsy and underwent 14 corrective surgeries, spending nearly a year in the hospital when he was 6-years-old. Jerry has finished 28 marathons on his crutches, climbed 14,110 foot Pikes Peak, jogged 3,528 miles across america and parachuted from 12,500 feet. The late Dr. Norman Peale summed up Jerry's influence this way - "Building a career as a motivational speaker, Jerry Traylor has prepared himself by becoming a motivational doer. That way he is more convincing when he tells people what it takes to achieve difficult goals, for they know he has achieved many." Jerry is living proof that you can do anything, if your desire is great enough.
2007 Hall of Fame Inductees
Ryan N. Coffee - Class of 1994. Served as Student Body President. PhD in Physics, University of Connecticut. Now a researcher at Stanford University, Coffee is preparing an experiment for the free-election X-Ray laser called the Linac Coherent Light Source, which he said will enable scientists to directly observe incredibly fast chemical reactions. The laser is scheduled to be completed in 2009.
John R. Costanza - Class of 1966. Founder of JCIT in 1984. Inventor of Demand Flow Technology which revolutionized the manufacturing process world wide. John is known as the Father of Flow Manufacturing, a concept that stood traditional manufacturing on its ear, and is one of the Heroes of U.S. Manufacturing for his help in returning U.S. manufacturing to the world pre-eminence. Author of the best selling book 'A Quantum Leap...In Speed to Market'. Nominated for a Nobel Prize in Economics.
Jeffrey W. Coyne - Class of 1982. Class Valedictorian. Lockheed Martin, Littleton, Colorado. Currently working as the Power Subsystem Lead Engineer for the Phoenix Mars Lander Spacecraft. Responsible for design, manufacture, test, integration, launch support, and flight performance of Power Subsystem, including avionics, batteries, and solar arrays. Previous position was Mission Operations Engineer for the Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, Stardust, Genesis, and Spitzer Space Telescope Programs.
Diane (Frazzin) Porter - Class of 1965. Executive Director of Pueblo Community College Foundation and former Executive Director of the Pueblo YWCA. Through her leadership, vision, and dedication - Diane saved the YWCA from failure due to a variety of issues. In her 9 years as Executive Director, she brought the organization back from the brink. When she left the YWCA to assume a position at PCC, the YWCA was on firm financial footing and was a model program for women's shelters nationwide.
L. Louise Romero - Class of 1964. Passed away November 5th, 2005. Bachelor's degree in Education from the University of Southern Colorado in 1968 and a Master's degree in Education from Ohio State University in 1970. Received Juris Doctorate from CU School of Law in 1980. Louise was employed by the University of Colorado in the law department as the Managing Senior Associate University Counsel. Prior to taking a position at CU Boulder in 1994, Louise was a shareholder and senior associate attorney at Brownstein Hyatt Farber & Strickland Law Firm. In 1993, Louis was one of 5 individuals, and the only woman, honored by the CU School of Law for contributions to the legal profession and the community in commemoration of the law school's 100th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of the school's minority program. In 1992, Louis served on the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association's Board of Directors and was the association secretary in 1994. Louis was also a member of the American Bar Association, Colorado Bar Association, Colorado Women's Bar Association, and the Denver and Boulder Bar Associates.
James E. Wessely. Retired South High School Administrator. Served as a Guidance Counselor and then as Principal of South High School, retiring in 2007 after 20 plus years of tireless leadership. Jim's leadership and administrative style put and kept SHS at the top of the high school education tier, not only in academics, but in athletics and community service.
SHSAF Hall Of Fame Nomination Form Instructions
Deadline: July 15th
- Complete all requested information on the form below and submit by July 15th for induction in the fall of the current year.
- You may also download the form in Microsoft Word Format at the bottom of this web page. Nominations should be sent to South High School Alumni Foundation, PO Box 1065, Pueblo, CO 81002.
- Nominations should include at least one letter of recommendation, limited to one page each. The letter should stress achievement, leadership, citizenship, and character to meet the criteria of the SHSAF.
- The forms and letters will be retained by the South High School Alumni Foundation.
- Factors of race, religion, creed, or sex will not be considered while evaluating candidates for nomination.
- The criteria are as follows:
- Recipients must have attended at least one year at and have graduated from South High School.
- Recipients must have been out of high school for at least 5 years.
- South High School faculty, administration, staff, parents, and volunteers may be considered even though they have not graduated from South High School. In this case, the candidate must have sound credentials as significant contributors to South High School and the community at large.
- Solicitation of Candidates for the SHSAF Hall Of Fame will be made to the community at large, South High School Alumni, and the current South High School student body, etc.
- Inductees must be of strong moral character and standing in Pueblo and the communities in which they have resided. Inductees must continue to exhibit good citizenship after induction or face removal from the SHSAF Hall Of Fame.
- Inductees must have achieved significant standing in academics, business, healthcare, education, non-profit, government, the arts, music, entertainment, or other legitimate area of endeavors as recognized on a city-wide, state-wide, nation-wide, or world-wide basis. Athletic achievement can be considered only after having left South High School. The South High School Hall Of Champions will continue to recognize athletes for achievements while at South High School.
- Recipients should represent the diversity of South High School and the Pueblo community.
- Recipients must want to receive the award and attend the event, unless unable to do so because of unforeseen circumstances.
- Recipients must be willing to pay for their own travel expenses to and from the event, unless approved by the SHSAF Board. Event proceedings are complimentary to inductees and their immediate family. Attempts will be made to mitigate expenses through sponsorship regarding travel, hotels, etc.
- Recipients must be willing to share their story and achievements with the press, the current SHS student body, and speak briefly at the event.
- Recipients may receive the award posthumously.
- There is no limit on the number of awards, but the length of the event may limit the number of Inductees each year.
- Sitting SHSAF Board Members may not be considered for the SHSAF Hall Of Fame Award while they are serving on the board.
- The SHSAF Board of Directors are solely responsible for the selection of the SHSAF Hall Of Fame Recipients and their decisions are final.
Click here to download the SHSAF Hall Of Fame Nomination Form
Send your completed form and attachments to:
South High School Alumni Foundation
PO Box 1065, Pueblo, CO 81002