Three to be inducted into Pueblo Hall of Fame on February 18

The Pueblo Community College Foundation is announcing the return of the Pueblo Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony which will take place on Saturday, February 18 at the Pueblo Community College Student Center in the Fortino Ballroom.  Festivities will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception, followed by dinner and then the formal induction ceremony at 8:00 p.m.

St. Mary Corwin Chief Executive Officer Mike Cafasso, former PCC Center for New Media Director Scott Richards and Pueblo Insurance Leader Ralph Williams will be recognized as the 2023 inductees into the Pueblo Hall of Fame.  They will join 90 other influential citizens who have been recognized since the Pueblo Hall of Fame was established in 1991.

Mike Cafasso is being recognized for his years of service to Pueblo, his second home.

A Boston-area native who came to Pueblo for college and has since become a top business and civic leader, Cafasso came to Pueblo in 1977 to attend college, received his bachelor’s degree in mass communications from the then-University of Southern Colorado in 1982 and officially set out on what would be two successful careers.

“Mike has made a significant impact in many areas of our community,” explains PCC Foundation President Sharon Swerdfeger.  “Since graduating from CSU-Pueblo and beginning his professional career here, he continues to demonstrate his commitment to his adopted home town!”

Cafasso began his career as a banker in Pueblo and rose through the ranks to become State Market President of ABC Banks and then President of Pueblo Bank & Trust

Cafasso serves as the CEO of St. Mary Corwin Medical Center.  Prior to this he has served as  the hospital’s vice president of operations.

During his tenure at SMC, he has had to make some tough decisions for both the hospital and the community.  Thanks to his vision, the St. Mary Corwin campus will provide outstanding health care to Pueblo and surrounding areas and, as of last month, will provide the space for outstanding health education for the students of southern Colorado.  Under his direction, a portion of the SMC campus has been leased to Pueblo Community College for the expansion of the college’s Nursing and Allied Health Programs.

“This partnership started many years ago, allowing one PCC medical program the opportunity to utilize space within the hospital and today, thanks to a shared vision for the future of health education, the College is utilizing the entire East Tower to house eight medical programs,” explained Swerdfeger.  “It has been wonderful working with Mike on this project that is now enhancing healthcare education throughout southern Colorado!”

Cafasso’s extensive community involvement includes currently serving as an elected member of the Pueblo Board of Water Works, an appointed member of the Colorado State Fair Commission, a Southeast Regional Council member of the El Pomar Foundation and an Action 22 Board Member.

In addition, he has served his community with positions on the CSU-Pueblo Presidential Leadership Program, the Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention Department of Health, the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation, Catholic Diocese of Pueblo Foundation, Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce, Southern Colorado Board Member Girl Scouts of America, St Mary Corwin Medical Center, Centura Health Systems,  Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce Center for Regional Advancement, and Colorado State University – Pueblo Foundation.

Cafasso has been awarded the Charles W. Crews Business Leader of the Year award in 2012 and the Citizen of the Year award in 2018 from the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce.  During both award ceremonies, former Chamber President Rod Slyhoff stated that “Cafasso is at the top of the list of influential people within our community.”

A lifelong hockey fan and player, Mike has been one of the leading forces behind sports development in Pueblo. He helped organize the semipro Pueblo Ravens team in the 1980s and early 1990s and served as an early coach of Pueblo County’s combined high school hockey team.

Mike and his wife, Becky, are the parents of three children.

Scott Richards is being posthumously recognized for his 30 years of service to higher education and the biproducts thereof in Pueblo

While we are quick to remember those who make history, we tend to ignore, or at least take for granite, those behind the scenes who chronicle history. Scott Richards will be remembered as a person who shared with us the lives and times of Puebloans for nearly 30 years.

Although Scott was originally from Texas, he was as proud of Pueblo as any native. He moved to Colorado in 1993 and began a nearly 30-year run as Coordinator of Media Production at Pueblo Community College.

During his time at PCC, Scott was a teacher, mentor, friend, writer, producer, director, and purveyor of all things visual. Scott Richards’ productions combined skill, talent, chaos, and, yes, luck, to create magic. He used that formula to share sporting events, graduations, city council meetings, political debates, parades, rodeos, and anything else deemed worthy for public consumption.

The Richards’ family home was near Dutch Clark Stadium, which proved beneficial as the latter was his residence on Friday nights in the fall. From live broadcasts of the Bell Game to CHSAA state championships, Scott was one of the first who took preps from the sports pages to the screen. He viewed our little piece of the world through a wide lens.

Scott was a kind man with a gentle soul, and he taught his students to understand what he was looking for while encouraging them to find their own vision.

Scott had the eye of an artist, the talent of a mad genius, and the patience of an educator. He combined those to create lasting memories and helping preserve Pueblo’s history on screen. Scott captured the sights and sounds of a generation of Puebloans. His legacy will live on through those moving pictures, and through the many of his former students who have followed in his footsteps.

Scott died of cancer in June 2022. He was preceded in death by his son, Colin. He is survived by his wife, Meg; grown children Ian, Kate, Nate, Duncan, Tyler, and Courtney; and grandchildren Theodore, Adaline, and John Paul; as well as other family members.

Ralph Williams is Pueblo’s native son who is known as an ardent supporter of Pueblo’s social and educational causes, but reluctant to seek out recognition.

“Williams has had a tremendous impact in many areas of our community,” states friend and business associate Louie Carleo. “His career has spanned decades within the insurance brokerage and consulting industries.  He was with Steel City Agencies, Inc., for 43 years — 29 of which he spent as the president and chief executive — before transitioning into the position of chief executive and vice president of HUB International Services Inc.”

Williams has served on the advisory board of directors of the CSU-Pueblo Hasan School of Business and on the advisory board of directors of Vectra Bank Colorado.  He has served on the board of directors of the YMCA of Pueblo, the CSU-Pueblo Foundation and the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo (HARP) Foundation. He has also served as a member of the Pueblo Economic Development Corporation (PEDCO), past president of Pueblo Rotary No. 43 and is currently a member of the Pueblo Urban Renewal Authority.

Williams has received many special recognitions including Business Leader of the Year from the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce in 2004, the American Red Cross Humanitarian Award in 2013, and the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year in 2014.

The Pueblo Hall of Fame was established in 1991 to honor individuals who, by their extraordinary effort, have contributed to the betterment or enhancement of Pueblo.  Nominees are considered on the basis of contributions in the areas of arts and humanities, business and labor, education government, health and human services, law, philanthropy, and science and technology.  Persons selected for the Hall of Fame do not have to be Pueblo natives nor do they have to be current residents.  Posthumous nominations are accepted but date of death should not exceed five years prior to nomination.  Selections are made without regard to gender, race, religion, or national origin.

The Pueblo Hall of Fame was forced to take a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 Pandemic.  The last PHOF was held in 2020.  “We are thrilled to be back up and running and able to physically honor those individuals within Pueblo who have played a major part to make our community great,” explains PCC Foundation President and PHOF Inductee Sharon Swerdfeger.  “We hope that many will join with us on February 18 to pay homage to these amazing individuals and lend support to the PCC Foundation and its efforts to support student success at Pueblo Community College.”

Proceeds from the annual Pueblo Hall of Fame benefit the Pueblo Community College Foundation.

For information on tickets to this year’s event ($150/person) or sponsorship opportunities ranging from $500 to $5,000 contact the PCC Foundation office at 719.544.0677 or email to Martha.simmons@pueblocc.edu.

Pueblo Hall of Fame Inductees

1991 Inductees

O.H.P. Baxter

Frank S. Hoag, Jr.

David Packard

Fred E. Weisbrod

Mahlon T. White

1992 Inductees

Bishop Charles A. Buswell

Dr. Richard Corwin

Simon F. Elliot

Dr. Melvin H. Takaki

1993 Inductees

Damian P. Ducy

Bob A. Jackson

Joanna S. Sperry

John A. Thatcher

Mahlon D. Thatcher

Richard W. Trefz

1994 Inductees

Mary M. Farley

William H. Hutchinson

Samuel T. Jones

Ray H. Talbot

1995 Inductees

Patricia Ducy Kelly

Bret Kelly

Timothy G. McCarthy

Michael Occhiato

1996 Inductees

Walter L. Bassett

Melvin L. Harmon

1997 Inductees

Alva C. Jones

Dr. Robert C. Shirley

1998 Inductees

Dr. Malik M. Hasan

Bob Leon Kirscht

1999 Inductees

Charles Autobee

Robert H. Rawlings

2000 Inductees

Helen Lindberg

Jerome L. Lindberg

Vincent D. Massari

2001 Inductees

Dr. John B. Farley

Thomas V. Healy

Marvin N. Stein

Sandy M. Stein

2002 Inductees

Joseph A. (Tony) Fortino

2003 Inductees

Margaret G. (Maggie) Divelbiss

William J. (Bill) Hybl

John Francis Keating

2004 Inductees

Robert L. Hawkins

Henry G. Reyes

2005 Inductees

Tom Farley

Kathy Farley

James Arthur Grady

Bishop Arthur Tafoya

2006 Inductees

Dr. Jarvis D. Ryals

Mary Jo Ryals

2007 Inductees

Dr. M. Edmund Vallejo

Senator Abel Tapia

2008 inductees

Dave Cardinal

Jim Driscoll

2009 Inductees

Raymond P. Kogovsek

Harry H. Simmons

2010 Inductees

Patty Erjavec

Keith Swerdfeger

Sharon Swerdfeger

2011 Inductees

Jim Poole

Doris Kester

2012 Inductees

Art Stawski

Ed Sajbel

2013 Inductees

Louie Carleo

Dick Cline

2014 Inductees

Art Gonzales

Lorraine Gonzales

James Stuart

Paulette Stuart

2015 Inductees

Eddie DeRose

Neta DeRose

Sollie Raso

2016 Inductees

Gerry Montgomery

Dian Montgomery

Joe Welte

Tom Welte

2017 Inductees

Jack Quinn

Jane Rawlings

Michael Salardino

Hank Williams

Ernamarie Williams

2018 Inductees

Dee Brown

Dan DeRose

Dennis Maes

2019 Inductees

Carl Bartecchi

Renee Carson

Andrew Trainor

2020 Inductees

Jacob Chi

Jerry Robbe

Barbara Vidmar

2023 Inductees

Mike Cafasso

Scott Richards

Ralph Williams