LHS friends and alums turn out to honor Foundation Hall of Fame inductees

The new inductees and guests dined on tri-tip and barbecue pork served up by the school's Future Farmers of America and polished it off with cheesecake. They enjoyed music from the LHS choir and LHS boardmember Lupe Solis who whipped out his saxophone and entertained the crowd before and during dinner.

Also inducted into the Hall of Fame was John Giovannetti who was honored as a Friend of the Tiger, a special award for those who didn't graduate from Lemoore High School, but were a big part of the school's success. Giovannetti's son, Adam, also an athletic hall of fame member inducted his father into the Hall of Fame.

The former Tigers who were inducted were a pair of business persons, a highly sought after chef, and a longtime farmer and civic leader.

From the Class of 1962, longtime farmer and civic leader Ceil W. Howe Jr.  earned entrance thanks to his many years of farming in the Central Valley. The innovative farmer also has been extremely active in local school boards as well as a number of local and Valley organizations.

Stephen A. Gramps, from the Class of 1966, left Lemoore in the Sixties to venture into the world of business where he managed to lead big companies at home and all around the world.

Roberta Stephens, from the Class of 1974, after a career serving young people and teaching them about nutrition, embarked on a new venture that has erupted into a big business employing many people as well as providing much-needed funding to local schools.

Class of 1986 graduate, Rodelio Aglibot, left Lemoore High School with nothing much more than the shirt on his back, parlaying that into a highly successful career as a chef and builder of high-quality restaurants all over the world. They were all on hand Saturday night and all remarked on their families and the positive experience that Lemoore High School meant to them.

On the athletic side, former LHS, Fresno State star and NFL player Mike Withycombe (1983) earned his way into the Athletic Hall of Fame, as did former running back extraordinaire Nick Sula, who in 2004 earned a spot on the Central Section Football Team. Josh Kloster (1991) now a football coach at Hanford High and the owner of a business in the Valley, was inducted for his exploits in track and field, having been crowned the shot put champion his senior year in high school.

Finally, Mercedes Splettstoesser, 2004, was named to the All Valley Soccer Team but she was the only one who couldn't make the dinner, since she's currently living in Florence, Italy. She did send a letter to athletic director Ryan Toss, which he read during the ceremony.

Stephen A. Gramps (Class of 1966)

Following undergraduate studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara, a young Stephen Gramps made the decision to attend the Thunderbird School of Global Management. It turned out to be a pretty smart move. Ultimately he was hired by Benton & Bowles, a well-regarded advertising agency in New York.

He would spend the next 28 years at the agency, through various mergers, acquisitions and dramatic expansion. The time span alone is noteworthy in an industry noted for frequently moving from agency to agency. For most of his career he managed various Procter and Gamble brands for the agency, including Dawn, Pampers, Tide, Always and others. Other notable steps along the way:

1. In 1982, he was asked to move to Frankfurt, Germany to manage the agency’s Proctor & Gamble businesses in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It was his first international experience, but not his last.

2. He returned to the U.S. in 1985, resumed working on P&G business and was named a senior vice president of the agency.

3. In 1989, a unique opportunity arose. He was asked to lead a team competing to win the Burger King account, a business billing over $100 million, and won the account. It was the largest win in its 60 year history.

4. In 1991 he was named COO of a newly acquired agency in Dusseldorf, Germany, overseeing P&G business in Germany and Easter Europe. He was now full committed to the international side of his agency’s business.

5. In 1993 he was named Group Director of the relatively small P&G business in Latin America, just 7 assignments in two countries, with the charge to expand the company’s presence throughout the region. Three years later he was overseeing over 50 assignments in 10 countries.

6. He was named an executive vice president and global director in 1994, traveling approximately 150 days a year to all parts of the world. He would remain in this position until 2002, when the agency was acquired by Publicis, a French holding company. He took advantage of this unexpected development to retire at 55 and plan for phase two.

In his retirement he has been focused on volunteer activities and participation with non-profit organizations in the community. In 2003 he became a volunteer Guardian ad Litem (GAL) in the state of Connecticut. A GAL is appointed by the court to represent the best interests of a child who has been removed from the home due to cases of abuse or neglect.

When the state reduced funding to the parent organization, it reduced staffing for the courts in the area. In response Gramps joined a group of people to create a new organization, Child Advocates of CT, which was approved by the state to once again provide child advocacy resources to the local courts. He has served on the Vestry and as lay leader of his local church and done outreach work at an orphanage in Honduras. Finally, for the last seven years he has served on the board and part of the Executive Committee of the Child Guidance Center of Southern Connecticut, a professionally staff organization that provides therapy for children and families.

Rodelio Aglibot (Class of 1986)

Born in the Philippines and raised in Hawaii, Rodelio Aglibot had his first inkling that his professional calling in life would be cooking at a very early age, crediting his parents as his early culinary mentors while attending Lemoore High School in the heart of California’s San Joaquin Valley.

After watching his father cook at home as a child, Aglibot tried his own hand at the technique in a tree house with a hibachi girl and a can of Spam. Luckily, he didn’t burn his backyard to the ground, but it did set him off on a culinary path that he is following today, combining a lively and experimental energy with unique ingredients, modern touches and a touch of surprise.

Known the world over by media outlets as “The Food Buddha,” because of his dedication to his heritage and his approach to menu development, Aglibot has been featured on many national television programs for his new Asian cuisine, as well as Italian and American cooking. In the summer of 2011, his show “Food Buddha” premiered on the Learning Channel “TLC.” He has also been featured on the “Today Show,” “CBS Morning Show,” local morning shows in Chicago, LA, NYC, Minneapolis and Miami. Guest appearances on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Food Network’s “The Best of,” “Your LA TV,” the “Steve Harvey Show,” Style Network’s “It’s my Party,” Fox’s “Live Like a Star” and “Entertainment Tonight,”  “Good Day LA” and “Extra.”

He’s earned glowing reviews from a variety of newspapers and magazines including USA Today, Chicago Magazine, just to name a few. He earned glowing 3-Star reviews from the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune. He’s earned many “Best Restaurant” and “Best New Dish” honors from many critics and publications.

At age 14, Aglibot and family settled in Lemoore. He later attended UCLA where he studied geography, before relocating to San Francisco to pursue his culinary aspirations at the City College’s Hotel and Restaurant Program, one of America’s longest running culinary school programs. He was later accepted into the prestigious Chef’s Apprenticeship Program at the Five-Star and Five Diamond Greenbrier Resort, located in West Virginia. It was the most important and influential experience of his career and where he was introduced to authentic cooking and classical techniques. “I was surrounded by some of the most talented and career-driven chefs I’d ever met and refer to my practice at Greenbrier as culinary boot camp,” he said. He did 1,500 covers a night and cooked decadent 12-course meals at Greenbrier which turned into an education of a lifetime.

He returned to San Francisco and would be involved in five restaurant openings over a span of three years, most notably the E&O Trading Company, and later became the opening executive chef and consultant of ZaZen, a beach-like Asian Bistro in Venice, California. He also founded a specialty seafood company in San Francisco called Ahi Brothers, distributing tuna to the finest dining destinations in the Bay Area such as Aqua San Francisco, Gary Danko and The French Laundry.

His ascent into celebrity chefdom began when he became the opening executive chef of the celebrity studded juggernaut Koi Restaurant, in Los Angeles, where he earned his stars for creating an innovative menu of Asian dishes, blending bright flavors with an array of textures and temperatures. Garnering the Hollywood spotlight, Aglibot also established himself as a respected and personable chef, focusing on traditional Japanese ingredients with an essence of French techniques and California style. Within two years of being at the helo fo Koi, Rodelio was presented with an opportunity to develop his own concept leading to the creation of the restaurant Yi Cuisine, which went on to be named one of the Best New Asian Restaurants by Food & Wine magazine. As memorable as the experience at learning business and restaurant management was, Aglibot somehow knew there were other things for him to learn and he moved on, continuing his education through cooking and travel.

The talented chef and businessman has continued to assist, build, or consult in the development of many fine restaurants throughout the world.

Today, Rodelio’s main focus as VP of Culinary Operations for Intrestco, LLC, a lifestyle hospitality company that creates and operates restaurant concepts such as E+O Food and Drink, located just outside downtown Chicago. E+O is Rodelio’s flagship restaurant in Illinois. Intrestco was founded with partners Aeron Lancero and Paul lee. A downtown Cincinnati venue is slated for fall 2013.

Aglibot continues his passion for knowledge and enlightenment. His unpretentious food style, knowledge of ingredients and exciting food traditions are trademarks to his personality. He lives his life by his own philosophy.

“A tragedy in life is not to find oneself and one’s passion…an event greater tragedy is to know one’s passion and deny oneself of its treasures.”

Roberta Stephens (Class of 1974)

Roberta Kelly Stephens attended the Lemoore school system from Kindergarten through high school, graduating in 1974.  Roberta’s parents were Lemoore residents for more than 40 years.  Lucille Kelly was an active leader in PTA and cub scouts, Bob was always available to transport kids to sporting events as well as coached little league and was a volunteer fireman for 20 years.

After graduating high school in Lemoore, Roberta attended California State University Fresno where she studied science.  Her high school biology and chemistry classes captured her interest more than any other subject and ultimately directing her to major in Nutrition.    Roberta always had a passion for helping others and a degree in Nutrition would allow her to teach a science based subject that helped people live healthier lives.

Roberta’s first job after graduating from California State University Fresno was with Tulare County Head Start program.  This position allowed her to teach both parents of the pre-school students and Head Start staff on how to make good nutritional choices.  She was also responsible for writing all the menus and purchasing all the food for the 13 pre-school sites throughout Tulare County.  She on occasion had the opportunity to fill-in for some of the pre-school site cooks, as well as work side by side with the children in the pre-school program.

During Roberta’s time at Head Start she also was teaching a Nutrition class at COS.  The purpose of this class was to certify home day-care providers.  The class was once a week for one semester.  The topic was early childhood nutrition and food preparation.

Next, her career took a bit of a turn and she was offered a position with U.C. Cooperative Extension Program (Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program) to oversee a research project on teaching nutrition to low-income residents in Tulare and Kings Counties.   The project was to measure the effectiveness of nutrition education that was taught on a 1:1 basis in residence homes vs. on Spanish speaking television station.    She designed the television programs each week and actually assisted on a few of the weekly programs.  She also oversaw the staff that was teaching the 1:1 classes throughout the two counties.  Obviously, the results of the 1:1 classes were more effective than televised classes.

Women Infant and Children (WIC) Nutritionist was Roberta’s next stop.  Roberta’s responsibilities at WIC included counseling women throughout Tulare County on good nutrition during pregnancy and proper breast feeding techniques.  She also worked to teach nutrition for new born babies through childhood.

During these years she taught many cooking classes at Tin Pan Alley a Visalia based culinary store.

In 1982 Roberta’s career took a major shift and she was hired by Southern California Gas Company, as a Consumer Information Representative.  This career path led her into the schools offering energy education module’s for 2nd, 5th and 7th grade teachers.  At this point, she learned a lot about corporate American and the business world outside of Tulare County. While working for the Gas Co. she was responsible for public speaking engagements on a variety of energy conservation topics.  She worked collaboratively with representatives from other major utility companies throughout California in many educational efforts for teachers of all grades.

In 1992 after a 10 year stint with the Gas Co. Roberta chose to leave.   Her job was being transferred to Southern California and Roberta’s family was settled and enjoying life in Visalia.

After leaving the Gas Co. Roberta could not sit idle for very long, she was writing grants for various organizations throughout the Visalia area.  In 1994 she was hired by Visalia Unified School District to write a Healthy Start Grant.  During the process of writing, one of the final forms that had to be signed by the superintendent was that if their district was awarded the grant they would be responsible for billing Medi-Cal for special education health services.   Roberta was very curious about the process and inquired with several friends who were school administrators, and no one appeared to be familiar with the program.

 Being the curious person that Roberta is, she decided to further investigate the topic of Medi-Cal in California Schools.  After a month of research Roberta decided it was an opportunity she wanted to pursue.  She then purchased a computer and software that would allow her to submit Medi-Cal claims.  Wrote her first training manual and hired an attorney to write a contract and went out and called on a few schools.  She named her business Medical Billing Technologies, Inc. (MBT)

The program was introduced in California in January of 1994, and Roberta was on the cutting edge and started to work with Dinuba Unified.  By January of 1995, Dinuba Unified was receiving Medi-Cal reimbursement checks and Roberta realized she had an opportunity for a legitimate business working side by side with schools to help them recoup Medi-Cal funds for special education student services. 

As soon as she realized that this program would work in all schools in California, she put on her sales hat and started calling on other schools in Kings and Tulare Counties.  She quickly was serving seven school districts at the end of her first year of business.

Her business was based in a bedroom of the Stephen’s home and grew to a point that they had to remodel their home and convert their garage into an office to house the six employees.

The number of schools kept increasing, therefore, the number of employees it required to service the schools increase.  In 2002, MBT left the Stephens home office and they rented their first office space in Visalia.   That lasted 6 years, until they needed more space and parking and in 2008, MBT purchased their own office building, and in 2012, due to a growing staff, MBT purchased even a larger building, with more parking. 

Today, MBT serves more than 200 school districts and community colleges throughout the state of California and employs 82 people.

Roberta has always had a strong passion; since her first years after college as a Nutritionist to work for the good of children and families.  Both of these programs fill her desire to be a part of the solution of helping students find healthy lives.

Three years ago Roberta joined a Vistage group based in central California. Her Vistage group is comprised of business leaders from Visalia to Stockton.  The group meets monthly; they typically have an awesome speaker, which has authored a leadership book.  The monthly meetings allows the group’s members to step back and think, bounce ideas off peers and to get wise counsel from an experienced mentor.

Her work in developing herself into a valued leader has been a long road including working with a professional business coach for 8 years, taking leadership classes and spending hours studying the art of Crucial Conversations. 

In 2009 Roberta was recognized as 34th Assembly District’s Woman of the Year by Connie Conway.  She attended an awards conference in Sacramento that was totally amazing!  In 2006 Roberta was recognized with the Entrepreneur of the year by the Tulare County Economic Development Corporation.

Medical Billing Technologies (MBT) has filled a market that there are only three substantial competitors across the state.  MBT is now looking at moving into new markets outside of California.  MBT has invested a tremendous amount of time, energy and dollars to developing software that will allow MBT to service out of state clients with staff living and working in Visalia. One of MBT’s missions is to build software that cuts down on the number of steps and manpower to generate reimbursements for school districts.

On Roberta’s personal side, she has had a very rewarding and fun filled family life.

In 1982 Roberta married Gig Stephens, who at the time was teaching at Lemoore High School.  Gig retired in 2007 after serving 31 years as both a teacher and school administrator. 

Roberta and Gig have two adult children Kelly and Reid, that both work at MBT.

Ceil W. Howe Jr. (Class of 1962)

Ceil Howe’s reputation, as a father, grandparent, farmer, coach, or board members are that “he gets things done.”  Whether it’s making the right decisions about when or what to plant, crafting innovative solutions on water management, insisting on educational goals, encouraging young athletes, or entertaining his grandchildren, he is admired for his ever frank and helping nature.

Ceil was introduced to farming at an early age by living and growing up on the family farm. In those early days, when anyone hollered “Ceil” four heads would turn, so as a youngster he was nicked named “Butch”. That worked fine until some of the field hands could not pronounce “Butch” and would call him “Boosh”.  It is rumored that when Ceil was a just a tyke, he loved spending time exploring and being part of the activities in the farm shop. Oblivious to any danger he might encounter, his mother continually worried about his safety. To curb those early desires to be a chief engineer as well as ease her mind, the only course was to routinely latch the doors to keep him inside.

Ceil’s grandfather began what was to become West Lake Farms 85 years ago by farming wheat in the Tulare Lake Basin. In those early years they partnered with a large grain processing business in Fresno and set out to produce grain where there once was a lake. In 1954 West Lake Farms was incorporated and the following year the large diversified farming operation became a sole family entity.

Like his brother Dave and sister Penny, Ceil’s first eight years of education started at Stratford Elementary. Those early years of “learning by doing” on the farm had paid off and fueled his goal of becoming an engineer. Upon entering Lemoore High School, Ceil made sure he was on the right academic path for an engineering degree. He also happened to enjoy music and took what spare time he had from academics and work to play trumpet in Lemoore High School band.

Upon graduation in 1962, Ceil was off to California Berkeley to pursue a degree in engineering. He recalls the shock of leaving a small valley High School and entering a large university. It was just right the time to experience the changing political landscape of the ‘60s.  During a home visit he met a vivacious young girl named Jerri Fagundes. It was obvious the flame was lit because they have been married forty-seven years.

A few days after the wedding the young couple was off to Colorado State University in Fort Collins.  After receiving his bachelor’s degree from CSU the next trip was to Stanford for a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering. They then moved to Seattle to take a job in the city’s engineering department for the next two years. Jeri and Ceil enjoyed their time in Seattle and it was while in Washington that Kristine, their first child, blessed their lives. Ceil also accomplished his goal, by passing the EIT and becoming a licensed Civil engineer.

Upon returning to the ranch Ceil jumped right in and assisting in managing the West Lake farming operations. Over the years, Ceil has worked closely with his grandfather, father and uncle. When cotton was king in the Valley Ceil has been heard to say “A die hard cotton farmer will always plant something else – until he has enough money to plant cotton again.” Since 1993, Ceil Howe is the president of Westlake Farms where he produces cotton, processing tomatoes, small grains, alfalfa hay, almonds, pistachios, pomegranates, and beef cattle.

Ceil has never shied away from serving his community and furthering the field of Farming. Ceil gave back to the community of Stratford by serving on the Central Union Elementary District Board of Trustees for 32 years. During that time he helped shepherd the expansion of the Board to accommodate families from Lemoore Naval Air Station. Ceil served as the Board’s president, assisted in the hiring of 4 superintendents, and mentored the district with changes in curriculum, school expansion and remodeling projects.

Ceil was seated on the King River Conservation District Board in 1993 representing Division 6, which includes the Tulare Lake Basin area. Howe serves on KRCD's Labor and Personnel, Power and Flood Maintenance committees and served as President of the Board from 2002-06. KRCD is a leading resource management agency for the Kings River region serving agriculture, business and residential communities within 1.2 million acres spanning portions of Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties.

Howe has extensive experience in resource management issues. In addition to his role as KRCD Director, Howe has held leadership positions on numerous other boards including the Tulare Lake Basin Storage District and Empire Westside Irrigation District.

Ceil put on his coaching hat to work with son Ceil III in both baseball and soccer. Ceil and Mike Graham teamed to coach soccer at Lemoore High, and for a time he coached youngsters on the west side of the valley. His love of horsemanship was transferred to his daughters, Kristen and Jamie as he supported them in riding competitively. Now, he is coaching his granddaughter Emma’s soccer team as well as helping her master horsemanship right along with his grandson – you guessed it Ceil IV.

Ceil Howe III is a graduate of California State Polytechnic University, SLO and along with his sister Jaime, who is a graduate of Phoenix University are actively involved in the management of West Lake Farms.  Daughter Kristine is licensed to practice law in California and Jerri is an active supporter, works on civic endeavors and, advocates for California Farming Industry.

After 85 years, there still are three Ceils on the Ranch, along with two Jamies, lots of hard work, and many gratifying accomplishments.