A monumental time in my life was when I was the founding principal of Clovis East High School. It was an all-consuming project that was great, awful, prideful, painful, etc., all at the same time. What made me proud, though, was how quickly our students and staff embraced our culture and built a sense of pride in our community. We had our share of challenges, but enjoyed some big successes along the way that mobilized Timberwolf Nation. None were bigger than our championship football team that was considered one of the valley, state, and nation's elite programs.
Lately, that proud group fell on hard times and has had a series of coaches and teams who have struggled. They brought in a new coach who was part of that original staff and he is trying to
restore the glory; has even added some of those early players to his coaching staff. Organizations succeed over time by celebrating the past and keeping the old stories alive. Sadly, nobody did that at Clovis East and it is having to start again. I was proud, though, to spend a half hour with this group and re-live some of the glory days. I reminded them that they are winners and they come from a long line of winners.
