The Yolo County Board of Supervisors recognized longtime Woodland educator and community leader Ben Flores on Sept. 8 for his decades of service to youth, families and the broader Yolo County community. Photo courtesy of Yolo County

WOODLAND, CA (MPG) - The Yolo County Board of Supervisors recognized longtime Woodland educator and community leader Ben Flores on Sept. 8 for his decades of service to youth, families and the broader Yolo County community. The recognition came as part of the Board's annual proclamation recognizing Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 as Chicano/Latino Heritage Month. Supervisor Angel Barajas, who represents District 5, presented the recognition and introduced Flores to the Board. 

“Every year, Chicano/Latino Heritage Month gives us a chance to name the people whose lives and work have carried our community’s story forward,” Barajas told the board. “This year's national theme calls for Latino leaders who are ‘Pioneers of Change,’ and Ben Flores is just that.”

Barajas traced Flores's career from his days as a standout baseball pitcher, noting Flores as one of the top arms on a 36-win, state championship team at Merced College in 1974. The success continued at the University of Hawaii, where Flores won season-opening games for the Rainbows in both 1975 and 1976, earning a place among the university's All-Time Baseball Letterwinners. From there, Barajas shifted to cover more than three decades of Flores's contribution to Yolo County education.

After earning a degree in Spanish Language Teaching from Sacramento State, Flores returned home to Woodland, where he became principal of Beamer Elementary School just as it was launching one of the district's first Spanish dual-immersion programs. He went on to serve seven years as principal of Woodland High School, followed by a term as Woodland Joint Unified School District’s Director of Curriculum and Instruction. Flores later served as principal of Inderkum High School in Natomas and spent six years as assistant superintendent for the Colusa County Office of Education, with additional work over his career in West Sacramento, Winters and Esparto.

Following his formal retirement from education, Flores returned to Woodland once more to become the City of Woodland’s first coordinator for its Youth Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention Initiative (YGRIP), helping lead a citywide effort to keep young people safe and connected to their community.

The board also recognized Flores’s wife, Christina, and Dr. Jorge Ayala, who served as Yolo County Office of Education’s first Latino Superintendent of Schools from 1998 to 2014, for their own contributions alongside Flores over the years.

In accepting the recognition, Flores reflected on the many people across Yolo County who have worked to uplift the Latino community.

“To be recognized during Chicano/Latino Heritage Month means a great deal to me, because so many individuals in our county have worked tirelessly to promote the culture, heritage and contributions of the Latino community,” Flores said. “I can think of several others in our county who are equally, if not more, deserving. However, I accept this honor humbly and with deep gratitude to the Board of Supervisors.”

Flores also credited his wife of more than 45 years, Christina, along with colleagues such as Dr. Ayala, for their support throughout his career. “All this work in my career was made easier due to the support of my wife, Christina, and friends like Jorge Ayala,” he said.

Flores and his wife, Christina, are the parents of two sons, Miguel and Martin, both standout basketball players and Woodland High School graduates who went on to play collegiately.

The Yolo County Board of Supervisors’ Chicano/Latino Heritage Month proclamation recognizes individuals whose lives and careers reflect the culture, heritage and contributions of the Latino community in Yolo County.