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Hall of Fame Inductees (Desert Expressions Photography)
The 1966 Class A State Runner-Up Basketball Team. (Desert Expressions Photography)
The Superior High School Hall of Fame hosted the eighth annual induction ceremony on Saturday. The Hall of Fame has inducted 63 distinguished alumni and staff along with six athletic teams who have been inducted. This year the inductees were: Michael Cartwright class of 1969, Mary Guzman class of of 1949, Camerino Lopez, class of 1962, Gonzalo Gomez Class of 1941, John Hight, Class of 1954, William Padilla, Class of 1958 and the 1966 Class A State Runner-Up Basketball Team.
Michael Cartwright had a long and distinguished career with the Federal Government. He held a number of important assignments working as a spy, linguist, intelligence analyst, and watch operations chief as a member of the U.S. Air Force and later as a civilian with National Security Agency (NSA) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Cartwright retired from government service in 2007 after his service to the U.S. Air Force and the Navy Reserve. His career helped him to become fluent in the Russian language, in his acceptance speech Cartwright shared some of his linguistic skills and spoke Russian during his speech.
Gonzalo Gomez a member of the class of 1941 was inducted posthumously. He was nominated for his strong work ethic while serving his country, family, and community. He was also well known as an outstanding athlete while attending New Mexico State University Gomez was also a businessman/contractor who ventured in the construction of the Copper Valley Tavern, which is now the Los Hermanos Restaurant, Lounge and Tortilla Factory. He was also actively involved in the community as the President of the Rotary Club, member of the VFW, former fire chief and member of the Superior Volunteer Fire Department and also coached Little League for many years. “We have all been successful in our own lives and we attribute this to the strong work ethic that our father passed onto us, which we believe is his greatest accomplishment,” explained his children.
Long time resident and community servant Mary Guzman was inducted into the Class of 2016 Hall of Fame posthumously. She was a graduate of the class of 1949. Mary was a model volunteer in the community and her service was long term. For forty years she served on the ARC Board and Training Center of the Northeast Pinal County. She was a dispatcher for the Superior Volunteer Fire Department and was one of the founders of Project Happy Face which eventually became the Superior Food Bank. In 1982 she was selected as Superior’s Woman of the Year and she was also actively involved in the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. “Her volunteer dedication was a life of giving her time, her talents, and her treasures” explained Hall of Fame board member Manny Ruiz who nominated Guzman. Mary’s grandson, Manny Guzman V, accepted her award.
John Hight was a graduate of the class of 1954 and also taught for the Superior Unified School District. Hight put Superior Athletics on the map when he scored 67 points in one high school basketball game. Hight attended Northern Arizona University on a basketball scholarship and earned his teaching degree. He began his career in Bisbee and then returned to Superior where he taught for 26 years before he retired from the district. Hight was nominated by Hector Lopez and David Lira who stated, “He was always seen as a model for all young men, with his aura and statue serving in the most positive way, which commanded the utmost respect.”
Camerino Lopez is a graduate from the class of 1962. He attended Arizona State University where he earned his BA in Elementary Education with a minor in Social Studies. He continued his education and earned a MA in Educational Counseling and Education Administration. Lopez began his career in education in Guadalupe. Camerino’s influential years from 1982-1994 began as a Principal at Garfield school, an inner-city school in Phoenix, where student achievement was boosted by parent involvement, keeping the influence of gangs out of the school, and bilingual program that eventually became nationally famous. Under the Reagan Administration, U.S. Secretary of State William Bennett came to visit Garfield school to observe Camerino’s bilingual program. This program impressed Bennett so much that he allowed bilingual programs to remain federally funded. Lopez was invited to the White House by First Lady Nancy Reagan for the inauguration of her campaign against drugs in schools. Senator John McCain also paid tribute to his programs in the U.S. Congressional Record. In 1987 the program was featured in a book published by the U.S. Department of Education titled “Schools That Work”.
William (Bill) Padilla graduated from SHS in 1958. Bill began working for his parents as a clerk in “Padilla’s Grocery Store” and he also held positions at Magma Copper Company and the Kachina Lumber Mill in Flagstaff before attending college. He earned a BA in Secondary Education from Northern Arizona University and his Masters from Arizona State University. He taught at Fontana High School in California and Underdone Jr. High in Cashion, Arizona. Following his teaching career he worked for the Arizona Department of Education as an Education Specialist within the Migrant Child Education Department. Bill also is an avid musician he played with the local band “Lonely Ones” who sang on Chanel 5-KPHO Lew King Ranger Show. He also played in the bands “Los Plebeyos Elegantes” and “Los Adventurers Band”, while playing at a political party function their band played a song that was requested b Senator Ted Kennedy. Bill also served on many boards and served as a member and President of the Pendergast Elementary School District in West Phoenix from 1992-2000.
The 1966 Class A State Runner-Up Basketball Team. The team has 22 wins and two losses that season. Members of the team were Frank Campos, Nolbert Casillas, Richard Chaidez, Michael Ells, Jesse Garcia, Ramon Garcia, Raul Garcia, Leo Gonzales, Don Ketron, Michael Santa Cruz, Robert Yniguez, Manager, William Crowder and Coach Leo Argel. Several members of the team along with Coach Argel attended the banquet and shared stories of the team experiences from that season.
Mila Besich is a resident of Superior with two children. She volunteers for many local organizations. She is an experienced fundraiser and event planner for Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition. She covers some of the area town councils and schools.
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