It’s great to be alive when the honors come. So many times awards and honors come after a person has passed away. In the case of Jerry Chabola he is alive and kicking. Chabola continues to do great things in the Culver City community after he retired from teaching and coaching. He also continues to receive honors and awards for his service and commitment to education and coaching.
Last week Chabola was named one of the five Distinguished Service award winners for 2014 CIF Southern Section. The Southern Section also inducted 11 people into the CIF-SS Hall of Fame at luncheon in Long Beach. There are 580 schools in the CIF-SS. The Culver City football stadium is also named after Chabola.
“I was really excited when the CIF office contacted me to let me know I was receiving the award,” Chabola said. “The nomination came through Tom Salter, the Culver City Athletic Director. I was honored that I was nominated by my colleagues.”
Last year several of his peers and his son got together and decided to name the new football field and stadium after Chabola. The idea was presented to the Culver City School Board and the rest is history.
“That was an incredible experience,” Chabola said. “It’s almost beyond words for me. Tom was also involved along with my son Casey and other coaches and administrators.”
Having the stadium named after him was very special to Chabola because his father died a month after the 2013 ceremony.
“I was able to share that special experience with him before he passed away,” Chabola said. “That was a totally awesome moment.”
Chabola was born in Pennsylvania and his family moved to Venice when he was in the first grade. He attended St. Monica High School in Santa Monica. After college he started his teaching and coaching careers in California at Mt. Carmel High School in Poway, Imperial High School and La Salle High School in Pasadena.
Chabola started working for the Culver City School District in 1990. He taught Social Studies and also coached baseball, girls’ soccer and boys and girls lacrosse. In 1999 he was named Culver City High School Teacher of the Year.
While he was at Culver City high he was the Athletic Director for 19 years, served as President of the South Bay Athletic Association, served as CIF Southern Section Council Representative, he was also a member of CIF Southern Section Nominating Committee and he was on the first Lacrosse Southern Section Advisory Committee.
One of his biggest accomplishments at Culver City high was his involvement in the Vanguard Program.
“Every year for nine years we took a group of seniors that were good students but needed that extra push to reach their full potential,” Chabola said. “We enrolled them into the program which used special instruction and field trips to open their hearts and minds to bigger and better things. A lot of those kids have gone on to do a lot of great things.”
Behind every great man is a great woman. In Chabola case the great woman is his wife of 44 years, Janet. Chabola his dedicated his life to his family and kids all over the state of California. He still tutors at some of the elementary schools in Culver City.
“It’s been a pleasure serving the Culver City community,” Chabola said.
