After watching men and women receive the Santa Maria Elks Citizen of the Year through the years, a longtime educator became emotional upon hearing his own biography read Wednesday night.
Gerald “Jerry” Walsh was surprised to hear the familiar birthdate and other details as he was named the Elks Citizen of the Year during an event at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge.
Walsh typically has attended the May dinner each year where the Elks name the top citizen and recognize several top students since he has served as scholarship committee chairman.
This year, minutes after finishing up what he figured were 40 years handling scholarship committee duties, Walsh was surprised to hear his own name called for the night’s biggest award.
“This isn’t supposed to happen,” Walsh said, recalling how many Citizen of the Year presentations he has watched be awarded to “incredible people” through the years. “It’s just overwhelming right now. It’s like, ‘I’m in the that group?’ I’m just a little ol’ teacher who made it to scholarship chairman …
“I love this city. I love this club, and I’m overwhelmed. Thank you for the honor and recognition. You’ve put me into a class of people that I’ve admired all my life. I can’t believe I’m part of that.”
In announcing the award, Steve McGehee, a past exalted ruler, noted this year’s recipient has been involved in education for several decades.
“Along the way he impacted many students’ lives and helped them to develop life skills that would carry them through life,” McGehee said. “I can honestly say I’m one of those students he taught along the way.”
Teachers spend unselfish hours teaching students to be vital citizens, McGehee said.
“Our Citizen of the Year has made this possible by showing a real passion for teaching and working with students. It’s that passion that makes our citizen of the year one of the best,” McGehee said.
Walsh, 72, grew up in Chicago and Michigan as one of seven children. He earned his bachelor’s degree and high school teaching credential from UC Berkeley and later earned master’s degree in counseling and his administrative credential from Cal Poly. In 1981, he received a doctorate of education from Lawrence University.
He began his teaching career in 1966 at Righetti High School and later became athletic director, vice principal and eventually served as principal for 12 years. In 1996, he became director of student support services at the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District office.
Retirement in 2004 didn’t end his involvement in local education matters. Walsh served a pair of four-year terms on the high school district board of trustees.
He is a past president and board member of VTC Enterprises and has been active in the Santa Maria Breakfast Rotary Club. He still advises Righetti’s Interact Club. He also is active in St. Louis de Montfort Catholic Church.
He and his wife of 45 years, Ann, have a daughter, Colleen Gerke, and two grandchildren. Gerke surprised her father by traveling from Kansas City to see her dad receive the award at Wednesday’s dinner.
Before the spotlight shined on Walsh, he helped the Elks recognized several local high school students selected to receive Elks National Foundation Scholarships.
“These are incredible kids,” Walsh said.
First-place scholarships, or $1,750 each, went to Joshua Mendez and Brigid Rigali, both of St. Joseph High. Second-place, or $1,500 scholarships, went to Lashton Panworth and Madalynn Cross of Orcutt Academy High. Third-place awards, or $1,250, went to Tanner Villarete of Orcutt Academy High and Alexis Caballero-Austria of Pioneer Valley High.
Also Wednesday night, Cross and Lauren Reade of Righetti High School were recipients of the Elks Student of the Year Award.
Monthly student honorees were:
» Hannah Hurd and Daniel Black, both from Righetti High School
» Jose Covarrubias and Evelyn Alvarez, both from Santa Maria High School
» Karina Lopez and Tanner Villarete, both from Orcutt Academy High School
» Judith Lee of Righetti High and Kaitlyn Domingues of St. Joseph High School
» Jorge Gonzalez of Pioneer Valley High School
» Jonah Mau of Pioneer Valley High
» Elizabeth Smith of Righetti High
» Chanel Diaz of Orcutt Academy High
The Students of the Year each were awarded $1,750 while monthly winners received $500.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.