A group of past citizens of the year met at the Lemoore Chamber of Commerce Monday afternoon and unanimously selected Wahl as the 2016 Citizen of the Year. The group also selected the popular Best Western Inn as the Business of the Year and the longtime award-winning Lemoore Future Farmers of America as the Organization of the Year.
The newest Citizen of the Year as well as Organization and Business will be honored at the Chamber of Commerce Installation Dinner and Awards Banquet on Friday, January 22 at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino. For tickets contact the chamber at 559-924-6401.
It was a complete shock to Wahl who was informed Tuesday morning by Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jenny McMurdo.
“I had to laugh,” said Wahl when he got the news. “My initial reaction is that I’m proud of the honor because of some of the names that are listed as past citizens of the year. It’s a long list of accomplished leaders. I never really looked at myself as community leader. I always liked to stay in the background.”
Wahl arrived in Lemoore in 1971 from Ventura and took a teaching job at Central Union Elementary School where he served until his retirement after 37 years in 2007. He taught sixth through eighth grade social science and was a longtime coach for boys’ and girls’ basketball, flag football and track.
Wahl was the guiding force in organizing the Lemoore Area Elementary Basketball Tournament which involved most of the local elementary schools.
Wahl is also a longtime member of the Lemoore Kiwanis Club and volunteered every year for the annual Kiwanis Track Meet that brought hundreds of the Valley’s top athletes to Lemoore. He was the head finish judge for 30 years.
Wahl was also Kiwanis president and has been the club’s secretary for 15 years. He’s been instrumental in the Chamber’s annual Christmas Parade and assisted in numerous fundraising events that provided scholarships for Lemoore High School and West Hills College students.
He also volunteered for the West Coast Relays which were once held at Lemoore High School. The Relays were a two-day event that also included elementary and high school kids. Wahl always made sure there were Lemoore participants.
On Friday nights during football season he was always seen on the sidelines as a member of the high school’s chain crew. He has done that for 28 years through rain, sleet, and of course the Valley fog.