Jamiah Hargins
Business & Industry
Hargins is a graduate of CHS from 2002 and went on to financial, entrepreneurial, and philanthropic pursuits, now helping to feed the world through his “Crop Swap” in Los Angeles. From his expansive education, including the University of Chicago, to La Universidad de Sevilla in Spain, to Columbia University in New York, and the African American Board Leadership Institute of Los Angeles, Hargins has been an options trader, worked in Brazil, served in education in Los Angeles and has founded and run business and non-profit entities. The mission of his “Crop Swap LA” is to create sustainable jobs and local, nutrient-rich food in communities affected by food insecurity. Hargins has been a lecturer for Workshops on Urban Farming for Survival and served as a consultant for the New Green Deal for Mayor Garcetti of Los Angeles. Hargins has received many awards from the city of Los Angeles and has served as a Lemann Fellow. Hargins is married to Ginnia, and they have two children, Triana and Zia.
Chet Pharies
Business & Industry
Chet Pharies, a Clovis High School graduate of 1996, maintains: “Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out” and lives out these words. Striving to be the best he can be, Pharies leads by example. A Clovis native, Chet attended Texas Tech University after graduating from CHS and played college football. Pharies is well-known as the owner of Carpet Tech, a Lubbock-based regional floorcare and restoration company. Still, some might not be aware that Chet’s older brother, Chad, started Carpet Tech while also attending Texas Tech to work his way through college. Upon Chad’s tragic death at 23 years old, Chet left the football team at TTU and dropped out of school to honor his brother’s memory by building Carpet Tech. Starting out with a single van Chet has expanded Carpet Tech into a household brand with six locations and over 200 employees. Phares also expanded into other areas, forming the CT Land & Cattle Co. and ClearTech Aviation. Pharies, his wife Melinda, and their four children are also well-known for generosity and donations, namely, the Covenant Children’s Pediatric team.
Heather Waller
Business & Industry
Heather Leal Waller is a 1992 graduate of Clovis High School, was born in Muleshoe, Texas, and is married to Jeremy Waller, and they have two children. Waller grew up in the restaurant industry and has always been passionate about hospitality and service. Growing up working in the family business (Leal’s), she and her husband continued as adults. They have owned and operated Leal’s Mexican Restaurant in Plainview for more than 20 years, in addition to their later acquisition of Fieldhouse Sandwich Shop, also in Plainview. Striving always to support and give back to the community, they opened Picoso’s Mexican Kitchen, which gives back all profits, 100%, to the community and their employees. Serving more than food, Picoso’s offers help through their PMK University program for help in daily lives, such as parenting, marriage, personal finance classes, and many more. Waller also implemented their “Community Spotlight, where a portion of proceeds go to a local non-profit. Waller also not only owns Sprinkles Cupcake Bakery but is also a realtor for Keller-Williams.
John Ortiz
Sports & Entertainment
Ortiz, a CHS graduate of 1988, is a Clovis native and attended Eastern New Mexico University after graduation. He and his wife, Rosamond, have two children. With music as a passion, Ortiz helped establish Warner Discos with Warner Bros. Music Nashville, based out of Norman Petty Studios in Clovis. After the success of the Texas Tornados, with hits in both the Country and Latin music markets, Ortiz’ career in music promotion and marketing was established. Ortiz went on to join EMI Music as the Director of Promotions and was label manager for Selena, resulting in numerous Grammy nominations and wins. As the Latin music market continued to grow, Ortiz continued as Vice President of Promotion and Marketing for the Southwest and Midwest Regions of the U.S. Ortiz became part of the management of Univision Music Group and continued to promote many other well-known artists. His next stop was Universal Music, also becoming involved with philanthropic organizations. Eventually, Ortiz joined St. Jude’s as their Director of Artist & Industry Engagement overseeing all music endeavors, all genres, working with over 400 radio stations across the US and Puerto Rico, engaging top artists to St. Jude’s mission, such as Sting, Doug E. Fresh, Bobby Pulido, Wynonna Judd, Jon Secada, Sugar Ray, Chris Isaak, and many more.
Vanoy Welch
Government & Service
Vanoy Welch grew up in eastern New Mexico and graduated from Clovis High School in 1981, graduating at the top of his class. Awarded the President’s Associates Scholarship from NM State University, Welch majored in Electrical Engineering. While at university, Welch was a Crimson Scholar, belonging to Eta Kappa Nu, Electrical Engineering Honor Society, Tau Beta Pi, and Engineering Honor Society. Welch began his career with the National Security Agency (NSA) at Fort Meade in Maryland. He attended Johns Hopkins University’s Whiting School of Engineering, earning his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering. Early in his career, Welch was a member of a small team that designed speech coding algorithms for STU-III, used for classified communications. He authored and co-authored numerous technical papers, presented at technical conferences around the world, and contributed to the first-generation digital cellular standards. Welch has enjoyed a 40-year career with the NSA as a technical expert working across departments, including the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, and with U.S. Allies.
Jan Cox
Top Cat
Clovis native and veteran educator Jan Toliver Cox has served the community and the Clovis Municipal Schools (CMS) for decades. A teacher and administrator for 36 years, Cox served on the library board and was a founding member of the Clovis MainStreet Revitalization Board. At CMS, Cox assisted in developing the first comprehensive teacher evaluation system and training all Clovis instructors. Cox (and then principal Shelly Norris) wrote and received the first large grants to fund a comprehensive elementary arts program for the district. Cox taught and later served as principal at Lockwood Elementary. In 1991, she became the first principal of Mesa Elementary for many years, leading the school to achieve numerous awards for excellence, including the first National Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence given to a Clovis school, one of only 243 schools nationwide. After retirement from CMS, Cox continued to support the schools as Executive Director of the CMS Education Foundation and continues to serve on the foundation’s Board of Directors.
The Clovis Municipal Schools Education Foundation accepts nominations for the annual Hall of Honors Banquet each year. For questions or more information, please contact Cindy Kleyn-Kennedy, executive director of the Foundation.