Pueblo East to induct 4 into Golden Eagle Hall of Fame
Four Pueblo East High School alumni will be inducted into the East Golden Eagle Hall of Fame during a ceremony on Thursday, April 20.
Bob Caligaris, Fred Caligaris, Dr. Neva Fuentes and Kathy Kyffin Schleifer are the inductees for this year's hall of fame class.
The ceremony will be held in the East High School Auditorium at 10:13 a.m. Inductees also will be celebrated during a 5:45 p.m. cocktail hour and 6:30 p.m. dinner at the Pueblo Country Club on Thursday night.
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Bob Caligaris, Class of 1972 and Fred Caligris, Class of 1973
Brothers Bob and Fred Caligaris will be recognized with the Service to School award for decades of positive contributions to the school. While individuals are not required to be graduates of East to receive the Service to School award, both brothers are alumni. Bob graduated in 1972, and Fred graduated in 1973. Their younger brother John, a 1977 graduate, was inducted into the East Golden Eagle Hall of Fame in 2012.
The brothers, known for their involvement in the family business, Domenic & Sons Paint & Body, have been active supporters of the East High Alumni Foundation since it began in 2003. They were involved in the repainting of trailers used to showcase student achievement, the prepping and trimming of class tiles in the school's Heritage Hall and the painting of championship picture frames inside the Mel Spence Gymnasium.
In the years when the Eagles win back the cannon from the Pueblo South Colts in the annual Cannon Game, the Caligaris brothers are the ones to paint it gold.
Dr. Neva Fuentes, Class of 1994
Neva Fuentes is a U.S. Navy Nurse Corps Officer with over 26 years of health care experience. She graduated from East in 1994 and has degrees from Colorado State University Pueblo, Gonzaga University, the U.S. Naval War College, the University of Rhode Island and Boise State University. Through her work with the Navy Nurse Corps, she has worked to educate, train and develop nurses.
She is certified in Nursing Professional Development and currently resides in San Antonio. Prior to starting her 20-year career with the Navy Nurse Corps, Fuentes was a registered nurse at Parkview Medical Center.
Kathy Kyffin Schleifer, Class of 1971
Schleifer has worked in occupational therapy since 1976. In 2009, she launched the Pueblo Pediatric Therapy Center— a clinic providing self-care, motor and other skill development for children with a wide range of needs. Schleifer was previously the occupational therapy department director at National Jewish Hospital in Denver from 1982 to 1984. She opened her first private practice in 1991.
In addition to being an accomplished occupational therapist, she has provided training for occupational therapy students from schools throughout the U.S. and for local physicians to better care for children with special needs.
Tickets to attend the East Golden Eagle Hall of Fame dinner at the Pueblo Country Club are $55 per person. Cash and checks must be made the East Alumni Foundation by April 13. For more information, contact East principal's secretary Yolanda Gallo at 719-549-7224.
Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo East High School Hall of Fame to induct 4 alumni
