City to unveil five new banners at Clovis Heritage Walk

Banners of famous Clovis residents are displayed along the Clovis Heritage Walk section of the Old Town Clovis Trail. (Daniel Leon/Clovis Roundup)

The City of Clovis will pay tribute to five famous residents by unveiling cultural honoree banners in their honor Thursday at 10:30 a.m. along the Old Town Clovis Trail just north of Shaw and Clovis avenues.

The new banners feature the images of late bullfighter and rodeo clown Wilbur Plaugher; Mark Gardner, former Major League Baseball pitcher; Michael “Blackie” Gejeian, American race car driver, car builder and hot rod enthusiast; Cathy Ferguson, Olympic gold-medalist in swimming; and Phillip Sanchez, American diplomat, former United States Ambassador and assistant director of the federal Office of Economic Opportunity.

The banners will be displayed on the Clovis Heritage Walk section of the Old Town Clovis Trail located on the east side of Clovis Avenue near Lowe’s. The Clovis Heritage Walk presents a number of art installments which represent a diverse cultural mix of people that helped create and shape the City of Clovis.

Clovis’ Tourism Advisory Committee began this project in 2013 when City Council approved the plan to display the banners and approved a budget to continue adding about five new banners a year to the Clovis Heritage Walk. The Tourism Advisory Committee spent two years researching and creating a list of successful and famous people who hail from Clovis, live or lived in Clovis, or attended Clovis Unified Schools. In November 2015, the City presented the freshman class of banners featuring Franklin Antonio, Chris Colfer, Ken Curtis, Maria Echaveste, and Daryle Lamonica.

A native of Woodlake, Daniel Leon is a recent graduate of Fresno State with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism. Daniel served as Sports Editor at The Collegian, Fresno State’s student-run newspaper, prior to joining the Roundup. Got a story idea? Email him at editor@clovisroundup.com