Perez to be honored by PC
When asked if Earl Campbell was the best running back in the National Football League, his coach Bum Phillips said, “I don’t know if he’s at the head of the class, but it sure doesn’t take long to call the roll.”
Maybe Bob Perez hasn’t done more than anyone else when it comes to community service to Porterville over the past several decades. But it sure doesn’t take long to call the roll.
Perez will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award during Porterville College Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet to be held March 9 at River Island Country Club. Also during the ceremony, Kristi Lansford and Jennifer (Borror) Gilliam will be inducted into the PC Hall of Fame.
Perez is a 1969 PC graduate and earned a bachelor’s in history and a master’s in educational administration from Cal State Bakersfield. He also earned an administrative services credential in 1983 and a standard secondary credential in 1977.
Perez has had a diverse career in education from the elementary to community college levels. He now serves a a liaison between the Porterville Unified School District and the Porterville Police Department, working on anti-gang efforts.
Among the organizations Perez has served on are the Sierra View District Hospital Board, the CCFCC Board, Porterville Senior Day Care Center Board, Porterville Rotary Club, Mariachi Foundation, Cinco de Mayo Committee, Porterville Chamber of Commerce Board, Leadership Porterville Steering Committee, Crime Prevention Committee, Burton School Board and Sister City Committee.
Among the awards he has earned are the Burton Elementary School Outstanding Teacher of the Year, Porterville Jaycees Outstanding Young Man of the Year, Leigh Robinson Vocational Education Award for the state of California, California Career Conference Innovator of the Year and Porterville High School Man of the Year.
He was also founder of the Cinco de Mayo Parade and served as the parade’s grand marshal, was chosen as the Porterville Chamber of Commerce’s Man of the Year and received the Roy Flemate Mexican-American Community Award. In 1992, the Porterville High yearbook was dedicated to him. He was the Adult School Administrator of the Year for the Tulare County Region XI ACSA in 2004 and received a place on the PHS Wall of Fame in 2005. He has also been named as a Daughter of American Revolution Citizen of the Year.
Borror, a 2003 PHS graduate, was an All-American basketball player at Porterville College who led the Pirates to the Central Valley Conference title in 2005. She went on to start for a Chico State team that made the Final Four in 2006. Lansford, a 1983 Strathmore High graduate, was a three-sport star in volleyball, basketball and softball at PC. She’s now the head softball coach at Denver’s Metro State.
Keynote speaker for the banquet will be former Fresno State and NFL Football star Lorenzo Neal. Social hour for the event will begin at 5:30 p.m., and dinner will be served at 6:30. Tickets are $50 each, $275 for a table of six and $350 for a table of eight. Seating is limited and the event is expected to sell out. For tickets, call the Porterville College Foundation Office, 791-2319 or 784-5300.
