Carlsbad had a lot of fun participating in the Steve Stucker Thank You tour on Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning. The longtime KOB weatherman visited our new miniature golf course in the evening, and then he had breakfast at the Trinity the next morning.
We had a great group of students join Stucker in the evening, including the CHS softball state champions, the Loving softball state champions, the CHS cheerleaders, the golf team, the CHS BPA students, the Early College High School BPA students and the top members of this year’s graduating class. We were also joined by Eddy County Sheriff Mark Cage, City Councilor Karla Niemeier and Carmen Chapin, who is the superintendent of Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
While we invited a number of guests to attend, and to play miniature golf, there were also many members of the community who turned out just because they’ve been Steve Stucker fans for many years. Steve visited with all of his fans, signed autographs and posed for photos.
We enjoyed the opportunity to make Steve an honorary resident of Carlsbad. The CHS Cheerleaders even went out on a boat and did a cheer for Steve while he was chatting with golfers. Thank you to the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce for supporting this positive community event.
Steve did a live broadcast from the Trinity Hotel on Wednesday morning, where he also thanked the Balzano family for their hospitality. He worked closely with Toni Balzano and Johnny Chandler during their time in broadcasting, and remains close friends.
Last October, Steve was the keynote speaker at our annual energy summit, and he did an outstanding job there. He also answered questions from students interested in broadcast journalism about the industry. After his presentation, Steve and his wife toured Carlsbad Caverns National Park, where they had a great time. We believe that the photos he posted resulted in a surge in attendance at Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
Stucker’s stop in Carlsbad was part of his Thank You New Mexico Tour, and it’s impressive that he manages to bring so many different parts of the state together. While he’s known and liked for being a weatherman, he’s also a very dedicated volunteer who supports numerous charitable causes across the state. He serves as the Compassion Ministry Pastor at the New Covenant Church of Albuquerque and is the founder and director of Beds4Kidz, a charity that has served more than 14,000.
New Mexico is very lucky to have Steve Stucker, and Carlsbad was honored to host him this week.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway