Mountain Home is celebrating a legacy of leadership and mentorship. Senior Chief Ray Gonzalez, a retired educator, has been named the recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Award for his decades of service to students and the community.
Gonzalez helped establish Mountain Home High School’s Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, or NJROTC, back in 1993. For more than three decades, he’s been remembered not just for teaching skills, but for the care and compassion he showed as a leader. Several former students personally nominated Gonzalez for the award, citing the positive impact he had on their lives.
KTLO News spoke with Gonzalez who says being named to the Hall of Honor is not something he was expecting, and talks about how much his former students mean to him.
Listen:
Gonzalez shares how he ended up in Mountain Home and the difficulty of starting the NJROTC.
Listen:
Though he may not remember all of the names, Gonzalez says there were many people who helped him reach his goals.
Listen:
While Gonzales counts the NJROTC program as his greatest educational accomplishment, he says one of his proudest moments was bringing the Bomber plane to the Mountain Home campus.
Listen:
These days Gonzalez looks forward to time with his wife, taking care of his rose garden and enjoying retirement.
The Mountain Home Education Foundation will formally honor Gonzalez during the 2025 Night of Honors, set for Oct. 9 at Big Creek Country Club. The Foundation, a local nonprofit, supports student scholarships and special teacher projects throughout the Mountain Home area.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI