Nine Nixon High School alumni will be inducted into the Mustang Legends on Friday, March 23, at the Richard Barton Gym. The event will begin at 9 a.m.
The 2018 Legends are Wanda Garner Cash (1967); Joe Jackson Jr. (1974); Carmen Ramirez Rathmell (1975); Linda López Howland (1977); Greg Groogan (1980); Sandra Mendiola Alaniz (1984); Alma Esquinca Narvaez (1986); Javier Montemayor (1987); and David Lozano (1989).
As evidenced by biographical data below, the 2018 inductees come from diverse professional backgrounds and experiences.
WANDA GARNER CASH
CLASS OF 1967
While at J. W. Nixon High School, Wanda Garner was a member of the girl’s track team, National Honor Society, Art Club, Golden Spurs, Student Council, Future Homemakers of America, and University Interscholastic League One Act Play.
In her senior year, she served as the news editor of the school’s newspaper, The Pony Express, and won numerous awards for news and editorial writing. She portrayed the lead actress in the play Noah, for which she was named Best Actress.
She is well-remembered for morning greetings and daily announcements over the school’s PA system.
Garner Cash graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of Texas-Austin.
An eminent, award-winning journalist, she served as editor and publisher for The Baytown Sun, The Brazosport Facts, The Galveston County Daily News, and The Kerrville Daily Times. She and her husband, Richard Cash, owned the weekly Ingram News.
After many years as a journalist, Garner became the first Fellow of the S. Griffin Singer Professorship at UT and served as chair of the executive committee of Texas Student Media.
She has served as president of the Freedom of Information Foundation, the Texas Press Association, and the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors Association. She is a much-respected advocate of open government and for giving formidable resistance to attempts to limit the public’s right to know.
Garner Cash was named to the Texas Intercollegiate Press Hall of Fame in 2012.
She said that “in a galaxy far, far away and long ago,” that she had once been a high school journalism teacher.
JOE JACKSON JR.
CLASS OF 1974
Joe Jackson Jr. came to Nixon with a love of tennis and received numerous awards as part of the team and individually for his tennis prowess.
He said he vividly remembers the school’s strong Mustang traditions and the crosstown rivalry with Martin High School. He recalled the excitement that surrounded sporting events, including the annual bonfire, which was held in front of the school.
He said he was inspired by excellent Nixon faculty members who prepared him to pursue a university degree.
He began studies at Laredo Junior College (now Laredo Community College) and then at Texas A & I, and Texas A & M University at College Station.
He graduated from the Commonwealth College of Mortuary Science in Houston in 1978 and received his Funeral Director’s license in 1979. He has since been a part of his family’s business, the Joe Jackson Funeral Chapels.
CARMEN RAMIREZ RATHMELL
CLASS OF 1975
Carmen Ramirez Rathmell was an active member of the Nixon student body.
She served as parliamentarian of the Senior Class and was a member of the Brass Buttons, National Honor Society, and Student Council.
She served on the Student Advisory Council to Superintendent Vidal M. Treviño.
Ramirez Rathmell attended Laredo Junior College and later graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. She received a Doctorate of Dental Surgery from the University of Texas Dental Branch in Houston.
She received the Texas Dental Association Service Recognition Award and has been inducted into the Laredo Commission for Women Hall of Fame. She was named Cattlewoman of the Year in 2001 and has received the Mercy Ministries Milagro Award and the Laredo Noon Optimist Club Award.
LINDA LOPEZ HOWLAND
CLASS OF 1977
Linda López Howland is the daughter of lifetime LISD educators Elmo and Consuelo López.
She recalled her years at Nixon as filled with exceptional learning experiences and fun filled memories of club meetings, pep rallies, football games, poster parties, and forging lifelong friendships.
She said her education included learning social and organizational skills by participating in school clubs. She was a member of the Nixon band her freshman and sophomore years.
López Howland was the 1977 LIFE Queen, was presented in the 1977 Princess Pocahontas Court, and was the 1975 Band Carnival Queen.
She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BBA in finance and is an active real estate broker.
She is involved in numerous professional and civic organizations, including the Children’s Advocacy Center, Laredo Chamber of Commerce, and the Laredo Theater Guild International. She portrayed Martha Washington in the annual Washington’s Birthday Celebration.
DAVE GROOGAN
CLASS OF 1980
Dave Groogan is a special projects reporter for FOX 26 News in Houston.
With his classmate Oscar Kazen he won the 1980 4-A U.I.L. State Debate Championship, the first state championship in the school’s history.
He was a member of the Mustang Varsity football team, receiving All-District and All-City honors as a running back.
Groogan was a cast member for the Nixon District Champion UIL One Act Play. He was voted Most Studious by his classmates.
He graduated with honors from the University of Texas at Austin and worked in broadcasting in Laredo before relocating to Anchorage, Alaska.
He returned to Texas as a reporter for the Houston Business Journal and FOX 26 news. In 2017 he was named Television Journalist of the Year by the Houston Press Club and was awarded first prize for beat reporting in 2010 by the National Education Writers Association. He is a seven-time regional winner of the Edward R. Murrow award and is an Emmy award winner.
Groogan continues to write stories dealing with social causes and was awarded the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism and the Barbara Jordan Award for excellence in coverage of Texas.
SANDRA MENDIOLA ALANIZ
CLASS OF 1984
Sandra Mendiola Alaniz recalled her years at NHS as memorable for the famous Martin-Nixon Bonfire, the pep parade, homecoming, and graduation.
She was president of the freshman Student Council and was elected freshman class favorite. As a sophomore and junior, she was a member of the Youth Advisory Council, Presidential Classroom, Student Council, and Hachar Fashion Board. In her senior year, she was selected Homecoming Queen, Most Beautiful, Most Likely to Succeed, FFA Favorite, LIFE Queen, and the Nixon representative to the Princess Pocahontas Court.
She attended Laredo Community College and graduated from Laredo State University, now TAMIU, with a BBA.
She and her husband own the RE/MAX franchise and have grown their business to 20 agents.
ALMA LETICIA ESQUINCA-NARVAEZ
CLASS OF 1986
Alma Leticia Esquinca-Narvaez was born in Laredo and raised in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas.
She was a member of the Golden Spurs, Vocational Office Education Program, and the Pan American Student Forum.
She attended Laredo Community College and began her professional career at South Texas National Bank, employed there for five years.
Narvaez currently serves as first vice-president of the loan department at Falcon National Bank.
She is the owner of ALEN Embroidery and is a licensed real estate agent.
Esquinca-Narvaez serves as treasurer of the Women’s City Club and has been a member of Leadership Laredo, the Laredo Chamber of Commerce, United Way, and the Laredo Board of Realtors. In 2017, she was recognized by the Laredo Area Community Foundation as the Jefferson Acorn Volunteer of the Year.
She volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, Junior Achievement, the March of Dimes, and the United Booster Club.
JAVIER MONTEMAYOR JR.
CLASS OF 1987
Javier Montemayor was an active member of the Debate Team and the Future Homemakers of America. He was selected for the Who’s Who list of accomplished students.
He attended Laredo Junior College and graduated from Southwest Texas State University with a Bachelor’s degree in political science. He earned a doctorate of juris prudence law from Texas Southern University. He is a licensed practicing attorney and has taught at Texas A & M International University and Laredo Community College.
His past professional experience includes working as a prosecutor for Webb and Zapata counties, serving as the Rio Bravo City Attorney, and practicing law as an associate attorney with the Law Office of David García. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Laredo-Webb County Bar Association, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
He is a trustee of the United Independent School District.
Montemayor has been affiliated with the Texas Association of Sports Officials, the Boys and Girls Club of Laredo, Border Olympics, Leadership Laredo, and the Laredo Center for the Arts.
He is the son of the late Javier and Catalina Montemayor and is the father of Alexandra Isabel Montemayor.
DAVID LOZANO, M. D.
CLASS OF 1989
Dr. David Lozano is a Pediatric Pulmonary and Pediatric Sleep Specialist in Dothan, Alabama.
At NHS, Lozano was a three-year letterman and starter on the varsity basketball team that won district championships in 1987 and 1989. He was named all-district in 1989.
He played on the varsity tennis team, was selected to attend American Legion’s Boy’s State, and was a recipient of a KGNS academic scholarship. He was selected Best All Around Boy his senior year, and runner-up for Most Likely to Succeed.
Lozano was awarded a scholarship to Incarnate Word College in San Antonio, from which he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1999 with a major in chemistry. He received a doctorate of medicine from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
Lozano completed his pediatric residency at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Florida, followed by a fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
