2019 Spirit winners show just how great New Mexico can be
After Jerrick Maldonado saw video footage of his photofinish at the Class 5A state cross country championship, he knew he had been edged out. Although declared the winner, the Clovis High School junior didn’t feel right, so he insisted on forfeiting his first-place medal to Piedra Vista senior Triston Charles.
Maldonado’s extraordinary sportsmanship embodies the spirit of New Mexico, and he joins nine other individuals named as Albuquerque Journal’s 2019 Spirit of New Mexico award recipients.
The awards started as a way to celebrate “good news” stories in New Mexico; they are a reminder that amid the troubling, often grim, headlines, there are plenty of bright stars who shine and make New Mexico a better place.
These individuals deserve our support. We invite you to join us in celebrating them at the 2019 Spirit of New Mexico luncheon and awards ceremony Jan. 27 at Sandia Golf Event Center.
Reporters who wrote the “good news” stories about these individuals will introduce the recipients, while Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will help present the awards.
This year’s other Spirit award recipients are:
Albuquerque Academy freshman Aalisha Bhatt, who started a nonprofit project, “Share My Fortune,” for children in need. Adopted from an orphanage in India by parents who immigrated to Albuquerque, she hopes to raise $100,000 by June to give orphans a second chance. So far, the charity has raised $45,000.
Farmington High School student Chevel Shepherd, who in December 2018 won NBC’s vocal competition, “The Voice.” Since then, the 17-year-old country singer has traveled the nation, opening for other artists and headlining a few shows of her own, all while staying on top of her schoolwork.
Peter Trevisani and Devon Sandoval of New Mexico United. Trevisani is president of the United Soccer League expansion team, which began playing in Albuquerque’s Isotopes Park in 2019, immediately drawing huge crowds. Sandoval, an Albuquerque native, is a former Eldorado High and New Mexico Lobo star who became the first player signed to New Mexico United. Off the pitch, both are ambassadors for the team and New Mexico.
Paul Roth, the chancellor of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, has spent more than four decades as a physician and trailblazer in emergency medicine. Among the first to coin the term “urgent care,” Roth, also the dean of the UNM School of Medicine and chief executive officer of the UNM Health System, has announced his retirement this year.
Katharine Winograd (better known as Kathie) is stepping down as president of Central New Mexico Community College after nearly 13 years, the longest-serving president in the college’s 54-year history. Under her tenure, CNM expanded its number of students and employees, as well as its role as both a vocational school and junior college.
Amy Neal, hospice and palliative care social worker at the Veterans Administration hospital; Joel Craig, operations manager of Albuquerque’s Animal Welfare Department; and Robert Candelaria, a volunteer with the Animal Welfare Department. Together, they made sure one veteran’s last days were a bit brighter. When retired Marine and Vietnam War veteran John Vincent was in hospice care at the VA hospital in Albuquerque, he had one last wish — to have a final visit with his beloved 5-year-old Yorkie, Patch, who had been put up for adoption at the West Side animal shelter. Neal coordinated Vincent’s request with the Animal Welfare Department, and Craig made arrangements to have Patch taken to the hospital for what would be Vincent’s final reunion with his faithful dog. Candelaria, himself a retired Marine and Vietnam War veteran, adopted Patch. Vincent passed away about a week after his final visit with Patch.
Read more about our Spirit winners in a special section to be published in the Sunday Journal on Jan. 26, the day before the awards event. We hope to see many of you next Monday to help honor this deserving group of New Mexicans.