Inducted in 2015
Leslie (Les) W. Clark, Jr. - class of 1961
Les was born in Fresno, and his family moved to North Belridge in 1951. He attended McKittrick Elementary School and graduated in 1957. Les went on to Taft Union High School and was involved in Block T, Football, Baseball, Advisory Board, and Senior Representative. He graduated in 1961. He went on to Taft College and played football, and upon graduating from Taft College in 1964, went to Fresno State where he played baseball. His parents could not afford to pay for dorm and meals at Fresno State, so he lived with his grandmother in Fresno. Les' grandmother offered to mortgage her home for him to finish college but Les refused. He received a B.A. degree in Education and a minor in Industrial Technology from California State University, Fresno in 1970.
While attending college, Les was employed part time by Atlantic Richfield, Petro Therm, Excel Mineral, and Westside Recreation and Park District. At the "Rec" Les was the supervisor in charge of the summer ball programs.
Les worked for Belridge Oil Company in McKittrick in 1980, and he was the manager in charge of environmental affairs. His home and his heart were in Kern County, and by 1981, the Independent Oil Producers' Agency (IOPA) was looking to establish an office and a presence in Kern County. From Sacramento to the nation's capital, he had been running with the bigwigs of the major oil companies. The agency did not have to look far for its man. In 1981, the Independent Oil Producers' Agency named Les Clark Jr. as it's Vice President, and he held that position until 1999. During these years, Les was actively involved with the Westside Little League and the Kern County Officials Association, working high school football games. Special awards received during these years included Bureau of Land Management's Annual State Director's Award - Oil and Gas Program in 1991, the Westside Little League Hall of Fame in 1991, the Kern County Officials Association Hall of Fame in 1993, Desk & Derrick "Oil Man of the Year" in 1994, and Kern County Fire Fighters "Businessman of the Year" in 1996.
Other awards that he has received since 1999 include American Petroleum Industry (API) "Oil Baron of the Year in 2000", the Association of California School Administrators "Golden Apple Award" in 2003, and honors from the Independent Oil Producers' Agency (IOPA) recieving the Ray Bradley / Tom Woodward Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.
Les' achievements include Governor appointments to Education Subcommittees, Air & Water Subcommittees, Cal-EPA committees, interstate Oil & Gas Commission, and a plethora of different technical advisory boards. In Kern County he was appointed to the Groundwater Quality Committee, Valley Fever Task Force, and Medical Center Blue Ribbon Task Force, just to name a few.
Les' community services have included Taft City School of Board of Trustees, Taft Union High School Board of Trustees, Westside Regional Occupational Board, Taft Chamber of Commerce, The Fort Preservation Society Board of Directors, West Side District Hospital Foundation Board, West Kern Oil Museum Board, Workforce Investment Board, Westside Little League Board and Westside Recreation Council for joint use of High School and Westside Recreation facilities.
Gerald (Jerry) P. Dragoo - Class of 1964
Gerald P. Dragoo (Jerry) was born in Imperial, Nebraska, and lived in several locations before moving to Taft, California, from Wyoming, in August of 1960. He started his high school career at Taft High, and during the next four years represented his classmates as a class officer, the student body as student body president his senior year, and was the class valedictorian of the class of 1964.
Jerry participated in football, basketball, and track at Taft High earning team letters and honors in these sports. He was honored as the team captain, most valuable player, and his team and coaches honored him as an all-league player in the South Yosemite League. His academic excellence and his skill as a quarterback landed him a full ride scholarship to Stanford University. Unfortunately, his athletic career ended in his eight varsity football game his senior year when Jerry's arm was severely broken. He lost the athletic scholarship because he could no longer play football, but he retained his academic scholarship, which still took him to Stanford after high school.
Jerry continued to participate in student activities while at Stanford. Jerry worked at Camp Condor as a Maintenance I Worker and Head Lifeguard during his summer months and did so until his participation in Stanford's overseas campus program which took him to Austria, to study German and other subjects. Upon returning to Stanford's California campus, he received his Bachelor's degree in German and Mathematics.
Jerry started his teaching career at Corcoran High School in 1968, and while there was drafted by the U.S. Army. Jerry, instead, chose to enlist, take the opportunity to attend Officer's Candidate School. After becoming an officer, Jerry and his bride, Leslie Hall (also a member of the class of 1964), moved to Neu Ulm, Germany, where Jerry was placed in command of a Pershing Missile Unit.
After his service, Jerry and his family moved back to Taft, and he began working part time at Taft High as a custodian and a teacher's aide. He enrolled in graduate school at California State University Bakersfield where he completed his teaching credential. He accepted a teaching position at Taft High in mathematics, and he also coached football and track and field. He was the class advisor for the class of 1977, and upon getting a Master's in Computer Science, he also taught computer science and programming classes. Jerry, while teaching computer science classes, developed a student administration system that was used at Taft High and Taft College.
He completed a Master's in School Administreation and was named Taft High's Business Administrator in 1986, and Taft High's Superintendent in January of 1995. While leading the Taft High District, he encouraged the administration, staff, and teachers to cooperate in the development of the leadership and guidance program which they called "Excellence by Design".
Nicholas Kaufman - Class of 1958
Nicholas (Nick) was born in Taft, and lived for a while in Lebec on the Ridge route. While Taft High, he was active in sports as a member of the track and the football teams. He was involved in music and student government and served as Student Body President his senior year.
After graduating from Taft High, Nick attended Stanford University and received a Bachelor's of Science degree in Physics in 1962, and a Master's in Engineering Science in 1963. Upon graduation, he went to Idaho Falls, Idaho, and was employed by the Phillips Petroleum Company as a research scientist at the National Nuclear Reactor Testing Station. That testing station was where all nuclear reactor types were first built and tested. He worked on component tests for the possible use of nuclear power in nuclear powered airplanes, nuclear rockets, and material testing for nuclear submarines. By 1975 he was managing an engineering division for Aerojet Idaho, responsible for seven nuclear reactors. He was project leader which built and operated reactors using Plutonium as it came from the disammbly of nuclear warheads.
In late 1975, Kaufman became director of the world's largest nuclear reactor safety project, Loss of Fluid Test (LOFT). EG&G Idaho built a large power reactor whose cooling lines were intentionally breached in order to verify safety calculations, test safety system performances, and to resolve questions on reactor safety. This project involved a lot of interaction with nuclear regulators, the press, and international partners. IN 1978, he was part of a small group assembled at the Three Mile Island Nuclear accident to determine the cause of the accident and to develop a recovery strategy and contingency plans.
In 1983, Nick went to Richland, Washington, to become President of a company (UNC Nuclear Industries) oeprating 40% of the Hanford nuclear site under contract to the US government and responsible for the world's largest reactor. While at Hanford, he also created and spun out three separate companies associated with atomic weaponry, safety and nuclear cleanup: UNC Geotech, UNC Remediation, and UNC Analytical Services.
In 1986, at the request of UNC Corproate, Nick went to Connecticut to manage UNC Naval Products, a firm engaged in the manufacturing of power plants for nuclear submarines. In 1989, Nick went to corporate headquarters in Annapolis, Maryland, to become Group President for UNC incorporated.
In 1991, Kaufman and a partner left UNC, borrowed money, purchased and merged several companies into a firm known as Scientech Inc. In 2002, he retired as Chairman and CEO of Scientech. He and his partner continue to own and manage California's Gamma Scientific, manufacturing instruments measuring color, light and light radiation, and the other measuring weather and climate.