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PENDLETON FAMILY AQUATIC CENTER
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
Anahi Avila, of Hermiston, heads the ball during a 2019 game at Kenni-
son Field. Avila is headed in 2022 to Blue Mountain Community College
to play soccer.
East Oregonian, File
Poolgoers cool off June 29, 2021, at the Pendleton Family Aquatic Center, a place beloved by former Pendle-
ton city attorney, municipal judge and community volunteer Pete Wells.
Swim scholarship
honors Pete Wells
Former city
attorney had a
fondness for the
pendleton Swim
association
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
P
ENdlEtON — up until
about 10 years ago, former
pendleton city attor-
ney, municipal judge and
community volunteer pete Wells
would show up at the pendleton
Family aquatic Center to try out
the slides a couple of days ahead of
opening day.
“He would show up in his
Speedo and go down the slides a
couple of times,” aquatic super-
visor Jeff Hamilton said. “He had
a lot of fun doing that. He’s been
involved here as long as i have.”
Wells’ volunteer commitments
in pendleton are a mile long, but
one that was close to his heart was
the pendleton Swim association.
the pendleton parks & recre-
ation department wanted to honor
Wells, who died dec. 31, 2021,
for his dedication to the swim
program. it asked the city to estab-
lish the pete Wells Memorial
aquatic Scholarship program.
“We did approve it, and formally
named it after him,” pendleton
Mayor John turner said. “i respect
everything he did for the city. this
is going to help young people learn
to swim who may not have the
funds. it’s more than a worthwhile
program. i think it’s great.”
Hamilton said he’s wanted to
start the program for a couple of
years, but didn’t have a name to go
with it.
“Jeff proposed it to me, and we
had a goal to establish a scholar-
ship fund, but it was on the back
burner,” said liam Hughes, the
director of the parks & recreation
department. “this was the kick in
the pants we needed. there is a big
need in the community. We have
never had a financial assistance
program. We think this will be a
big piece in breaking that barrier.”
Mary Wells/Contributed Photo
Former Pendleton city attorney, municipal judge and community vol-
unteer Pete Wells was a longtime slide tester at the Pendleton Family
Aquatic Center. He died in December 2021. The Pendleton Parks & Rec-
reation Department has established a scholarship in his name to help
low-income families afford swim lessons.
Mary Wells, pete’s daughter,
said the scholarship program is a
wonderful way to honor her dad.
“the one thing i want is for my
dad’s legacy to live on,” said Mary,
who runs the swim lesson program
in the summer. “this is something
i would hope lives on and on and
on. He was amazing. i would love
for it to outlast me.”
With the Columbia river
nearby, and little streams running
throughout umatilla County,
Hughes said it’s important that all
kids learn how to swim.
“i know for a fact i wouldn’t be
here today if i didn’t know how,”
Hughes said. “there was a time
when i was 11 or 12 where i nearly
drowned. Me and my dad were in
the South of France and we went
swimming one night at sunset. We
got sucked out in a riptide. it would
have ended badly if we didn’t know
how to swim.”
the aquatic center gives around
500 swim lessons a year. the cost
is $50, which includes eight lessons
over two weeks.
“We do our best to keep prices
as low as possible,” parks &
recreation communications coor-
dinator Kaley Cope said. “What’s
neat about this is all these years
prior, we have not been able to
offer swim lessons for kids whose
families can’t afford it. This will
allow us to help those families get
these swim lessons.”
it would be the summer of 2023
before kids would benefit from the
scholarship program. How many
kids that will receive help will
depend on how much money is
raised.
the parks & recreation
department is doing private fund-
raising to bankroll the scholarship.
it has three fundraisers set up, and
cash donations to the scholarship
fund are welcomed.
First up is the duck race.
people can buy a duck for $15 at the
pool and at the office. The ducks
will be sent down the slide on the
annual aquatic Blast day, with the
first duck hitting the water earning
its owner a free pool pass for 2023.
On July 29, there will be a
round up day, where admission
and concession purchases can be
rounded up to the nearest dollar,
with the extra money going to the
scholarship fund.
the last event is the Fish pond
Olympics on July 30. Swimmers
ages 3-12 will be able to show off
their skills in a variety of events.
the cost is $10 per swimmer.
“it’s an easy way to contribute,”
Mary Wells said. “i would love
for everyone to contribute. it’s a
life skill that can be provided for
people who can’t afford it. I think
every kid should learn to swim, but
not every kid has the opportunity.
i want this to be long-standing, not
just a couple of years.”
ON THE SLATE
Schedule subject to change
SATURDAY, APRIL 30
Prep softball
Echo/Stanfield at Hermiston JV
(2), 1 p.m.
College baseball
Blue Mountain at Walla Walla
(2), 1 p.m.
Prep baseball
Sherman at Pilot Rock (2),
11 a.m.
Stanfield/Echo at Lyle (2),
11 a.m.
Grandview at Hermiston,
4 p.m.
Track and field
Ione at Jeff Agar Invitational,
Trout Lake, 11 a.m.
Stanfield/Echo at Union Relays,
11 a.m.
McLoughlin at Legends Invite,
Walla Walla, 10:30 a.m.
College softball
Blue Mountain at North Idaho
(2), noon
College Rodeo
Northwest Intercollegiate
Rodeo Finals, EOTEC, Hermis-
ton, 5 p.m.
MONDAY, MAY 2
Prep tennis
The Dalles boys at Pendleton,
3 p.m.
Pendleton girls at The Dalles,
3 p.m.
Prep golf
Pendleton girls at Meadow
Lakes, Prineville, 11 a.m.
dawgs’ avila headed to
BMCC to play soccer
Wolves have her
penciled in as a
defensive midfielder
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
HErMiStON — anahi avila
has worn No. 16 on her soccer
uniform since she was in the eighth
grade. Nothing will change when she
pulls on her Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College jersey this coming fall.
“if i still have the number, people
will know who i am, how far i have
come, and how much i have grown,”
avila said.
timberwolves coach Jordan Hill-
mick said he didn’t care what number
she wanted, just as long as she would
come play for his team.
“She is a great person, and her
skill set will help us a ton,” Hillmick
said. “To be able to find a player in our
district and just down the road from
pendleton is always good. there are
programs that wanted her on their
teams, but we are local and compet-
itive, and she will bring a lot to our
team.”
avila played center-back for the
Bulldogs, but Hillmick sees her as
a defensive midfielder at the college
level.
“She is aggressive and very
skilled,” Hillmick said. “We are
excited to have her with us. She will
do amazing things. She knows a lot
of the girls on the team. during the
tryout, my players told me, ‘We need
her.’ after the tryout, i told her, “i
need you.’ ”
avila had talked to other commu-
nity colleges in Oregon, but was
having a hard time making a deci-
sion. Some offers came and went, but
BMCC was still on the board.
“She wasn’t sure where she
wanted to go,” Hermiston coach
Freddy Guizar said. “She had multi-
ple options, then coaches were leaving
colleges. She got an offer from Lane
Community College, but the coach
left. it was hard for her to commit.
She looked at BMCC and Jordan
was willing to give her an opportu-
nity. after one year, if she isn’t happy,
there’s the transfer portal.”
Once avila attended BMCC’s
identification camp, she knew she
found the right place.
“i had other options, but once
i went to their camp, i loved the
connection i had with the players and
coaches,” she said. “it’s also closer to
home. I find it way easier than driv-
ing 4 to 5 hours and not seeing my
family a ton.”
Hillmick knows he found a gem
with avila.
“the small-school kids are a
diamond in the rough,” Hillmick said.
“they know nothing but hard work,
and they know how to work.”
a three-year starter for the Bull-
dogs, avila went from being a scorer
her first year, to stopping goals the
rest of her career. She had three assists
her senior year.
“She was a big asset to our team,”
Guizar said. “She played center back/
defender. She was able to control the
defense since her sophomore year.
She scored a lot of goals on JV, but
her sophomore year we needed help
on defense.”
Guizar said avila will be a good
addition to the timberwolves.
“this is awesome for her,” he said.
“She can learn there and then move to
the next level.”
a teaching or nursing degree is on
the horizon for avila. She currently
is taking part in a program through
Hermiston High School that allows
her to spend 90 minutes in the morn-
ing at one of the grade schools.
“i have the opportunity to go to the
grade schools to see how the teachers
work with their kids,” she said. “i love
little kids, they have my heart. i want
to help them. they go through so
many things, and i want to be some-
one who can help them and be there
for them. I did an internship with first
grade, and now second grade, and it’s
different. They are maturing. It’s so
crazy to me how fast they grow up.”
A natural
avila doesn’t come from an
athletic family. Other than her older
sister, tina rodriguez, playing soft-
ball at irrigon High School, avila
carries the family torch.
She plays soccer in the fall and
softball in the spring, where she is an
outfielder for the Bulldogs.
“Soccer is something i picked up
in middle school playing rec soccer,”
avila said. “i enjoy softball too. No
one in my family plays soccer. i
am like the only one who plays any
sports. Hermiston athletics opens a
lot of doors for a lot of kids. Coaches
have plans for each kid from fresh-
man year and how they progress.”
avila said she likes the family
atmosphere of soccer, which is
needed when playing in the highly
competitive Mid-Columbia Confer-
ence.
“i like how the players all support
each other,” she said. “How well we
connect on the field. The coaches
push us to be our best and we work
to be the best we can be. We have
to practice a lot to learn how to play
at the same speed as the schools in
Washington, My junior year, we
played Oregon schools and we did
really well. Going back to the Wash-
ington league, it showed how much
we have to work on.”
the coronavirus pandemic wiped
out avila’s sophomore year of soft-
ball, and her junior year of soccer and
softball were short and condensed.
She said it was nice to be back to
normal this year.
“it’s been super fun,” she said.
“Not playing for two years and want-
ing to play against teams we had
rivals with. it’s nice to have a full
schedule against teams in Washing-
ton.”
like many student-athletes at
Hermiston, avila got a helping hand
from success coach Jay Ego to navi-
gate the college recruiting process.
“Mr. Ego helped me a lot,” avila
said. “He got my head in the right
direction, and helped me talk to
coaches from other schools. He was
so supportive in my choice. He was
super, super helpful. No matter what
he is doing, he will put that aside and
help you first.”