Pueblo Hall of Fame 2020

Every year, the Pueblo Community College Foundation honors community members who have shown an exemplary pattern of community involvement and betterment. Proceeds from the annual PHOF benefit the PCC Foundation and its efforts to support students scholarships and programs of academic excellence at Pueblo Community College. This year’s Pueblo Hall of Fame inductees are:

Dr. Jacob Chi was nominated for his contributions to enriching the arts and education communities for nearly 30 years. Chi has served as music director and conductor of the Pueblo Symphony since he moved to Pueblo in 1991. In that role, he has made the Symphony more accessible to a larger audience through many public events.  At age 17, he became the youngest concertmaster of the Beijing (China) Opera Company and its conductor and composer at age 23. He is a talented violinist who has performed at numerous benefits in our community and is a tenured music professor at CSU-Pueblo.

For nearly 40 years, Barbara Vidmar has made her mark as a pioneer in the automotive industry and a champion for our community both from the board room to the gardens of Pueblo’s public spaces. She served on Pueblo City Council from 2006-2009. Her service and leadership on community boards has spanned from the PEDCO Board to Parkview Medical Center as well as the YMCA, HARP Foundation, Pueblo Urban Renewal, St. John Neumann Catholic School, CSU-Pueblo, United Way and the Wednesday Morning Club.

Pueblo native Gerald “Jerry” Robbe (to be inducted posthumously) brought his expertise in the agricultural industry as a cattle breeder and rancher first to the Colorado State Fair Commission Board and later to the Colorado State Fair itself as general manager. He was involved in numerous projects such as the National Little Britches Rodeo and the Junior Livestock Sale, bringing awareness and unprecedented support for 4-H and FFA programs.In 1988, he championed a $2.3 million construction project for the fairgrounds, funded by a revenue-bond issue. The funding covered building renovations and other improvements, which enabled the Fair to become one of the best in the nation at the time. For these efforts among others, he was named Citizen of the Year by the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce in 1988. Jerry’s award was accepted by his family and a speech given by his daughter Debi.