Members sworn in, officers elected by Del Mar College Board of Regents
Article by: Michael Bratten
Two members of the Del Mar College Board of Regents were sworn in and new officers were elected at the Board’s regular meeting Dec. 11.
Those sworn in are Hector “Coach” Salinas, newly elected Regent at-large and Regent Gabriel Rivas III, who was re-elected to represent District 1.
At-large Regent Carol A. Scott was elected chair of the Board, replacing at-large Regent Trey McCampbell, who had held the position for the past 10 years.
Regent Rivas was re-elected first vice chair, with at-large Regent Dr. Nicholas L. Adame elected second vice chair. District 4 Regent Mary Sherwood, PhD, was elected secretary.
Salinas graduated from Carroll High School in 1962 and from Pan American College in Edinburg in 1968. He began a long and distinguished teaching and coaching career at Tom Browne Middle School in 1968. In 1971, he went to Miller High School to teach and serve as head baseball coach; then from 1973-78, he taught Spanish and coached baseball at Moody High School.
From 1978-85, Salinas was the head baseball coach at Texas Southmost College in Brownsville. Afterward, he went to Laredo Junior College, where he started their baseball program and served as a teacher and head baseball coach. In the early 1980s, he earned a master’s degree in education from University of Texas-Pan American at Brownsville.
Salinas returned to Corpus Christi, teaching and coaching baseball at Moody High School. During his time at Moody, the “Moody Magic” phenomenon was born; in late innings, the team would rally and win the game.
In 1993, Salinas was recruited to start the baseball program at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. He followed that success by starting the program at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. In addition, Salinas served on the Board of Trustees of the Corpus Christi Independent School District for several years until 2012.
Salinas is a member of the Moody High School Hall of Fame (2000), Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame (2009), Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelina Hall of Fame (2013) and Leo Najo Sports Hall of Fame (1980). In 2014, Salinas received the 10th Lifetime Achievement Award at the South Texas Winter Baseball Banquet, joining an elite group of coaches, former players and legendary major league broadcaster Milo Hamilton.
Salinas and his wife, Thelma, are celebrating 50 years of marriage this month. They have 10 grandchildren and a great granddaughter on the way.
Del Mar College empowers students to achieve their dreams. We offer quality programs, individual attention, outstanding instruction through faculty with real-world experience and affordable costs to credit and noncredit students in Corpus Christi and the South Texas Coastal Bend area. Nationally recognized while locally focused, we’re ranked in the top two percent of community colleges in the country granting associate degrees to Hispanic students (Community College Week). Del Mar College focuses on offering our students programs that match current or emerging career opportunities. Whether students are interested in the fine arts, sciences, business, occupational or technical areas, students get the education they need for the future they want at Del Mar College.