Sollie Raso, Neta & Dr. Eddie DeRose to be Inducted into Pueblo Hall of Fame

PUEBLO – Three long-time Puebloans whose lives have been guided by a passion for making their community a better place will be inducted into the Pueblo Hall of Fame at a dinner/banquet that will take place Friday, March 6, in Pueblo Community College’s Fortino Ballroom. To be honored at the 25^th annual event will be Neta & Dr. Eddie DeRose along with Sollie Raso.

The banquet will begin with a social hour and silent auction at 5:30 p.m. The dinner hour will start at 7 o’clock and will be followed by the induction program. Reservations can be made and more information obtained by phone at 549-3302 or online at http://puebloccfoundation.org. The RSVP deadline is Friday, Feb. 27.

The honorees have extensive backgrounds of extraordinary community-minded efforts that have helped make Pueblo a better place to live.

Sollie Raso was raised in poverty in Denver and, after enlisting in the Army Air Force five months after Pearl Harbor, logged 30 combat missions as a nose gunner on a B-17 bomber in World War II. He brought with him a solid work ethic when he came to Pueblo in 1947 to become a high school educator and coach at Central High School, eventually becoming Director of Activities for Pueblo School District 60. He was known for being a no-nonsense guy who earned the respect of students, coaches and teachers for being fair, treating everyone with respect, and instilling confidence in people.

Sollie served as the President of the Colorado High School Activities Association in 1970-71 and received numerous honors from local, state and national professional organizations. He also served two terms as a Pueblo County Commissioner beginning in 1984. Along the way, Sollie and his wife, Betty Lou, raised four children and were married for 62 years before she passed away in 2010.

Neta and Dr. Eddie DeRose’s passion for Pueblo was substantial in the spirit they showed for their community, gained through having such deep roots here. Both were raised in Pueblo, Eddie being born here and Neta having moved here at a very young age from her native Oklahoma. Both attended and graduated from Centennial High School and Pueblo Junior College.

After they married in 1956, Eddie served two years in the U.S. Army overseas before returning and earning his D.D.S. degree from Creighton University in 1961 and joining his father Bruno’s dental office. He practiced dentistry for 43 years and was part of the revolutionary Small Smiles dental centers that grew to have dozens of offices throughout the country.

Neta and Eddie became huge supporters of sporting events in Pueblo through their children – they have 3 boys (Michael, Mark and Danny) and 2 girls (Paula and Lisa). That support has continued as they have followed the athletic exploits of some of their 15 grandchildren. That passion led them to be among the founding members of Friends of Football, a group of local supporters who helped raise money to reinstate football, wrestling and women’s track and field at CSU-Pueblo. Appropriately, the football stadium at CSU-Pueblo is named the Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl.

Through the years, they have served as members of numerous organization boards, from the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce to PEDCO to the Junior League of Pueblo, the East High Booster Club and many others in between. Neta was a founding member of the adult board of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and served as its treasurer for 18 years.  Eddie was honored as Pueblo’s Citizen of the Year in 2008, was named Italian Citizen of the Year, and was inducted into the Greater Pueblo Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

The couple’s philanthropy has aided CSU-Pueblo, the local YMCA where they funded a new day care center, Pueblo Community College as well as numerous youth groups and sports teams.

“The Pueblo Community College Foundation is most honored to be associated with this latest class of inductees into the Pueblo Hall of Fame. Eddie and Neta DeRose and Sollie Raso truly serve as testaments to the foundational values for which the Pueblo Hall of Fame was established,” said Martha Simmons, the foundation’s Executive Director.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of the PCC Foundation, we join with countless others within our community to celebrate these outstanding citizens who have played a part in shaping the landscape of our community,” she added. “And we would like to thank each and every person, business and organization who will be supporting this year’s Pueblo Hall of Fame. This is an event that benefits the PCC Foundation and efforts to support PCC student scholars and programs of academic excellence at Pueblo Community College.”

The Pueblo Hall of Fame was established in 1990 to recognize individuals – both living and deceased – who have made significant contributions to the betterment of Pueblo. Any member of the Pueblo community may nominate an individual for selection to the Hall.  To date, 69 Puebloans have been inducted.

The Hall of Fame banquet is one of the approved fundraising activities of the PCC Foundation, whose mission is to fund student scholarships or the college’s special needs that are not available through its general fund. For more information, call Bianca Flores at 549-3314.

Founded in 1933, Pueblo Community College is a premier teaching institution focused on providing academic and service excellence, without discrimination, to help its students acquire the 21^st Century skills needed to better their lives. An educational and technological leader, PCC fosters economic development and utilizes strong partnerships in the communities it serves through its Pueblo, Fremont and Southwest campuses.