TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — In February, Jeanette Mills sent an email to KGUN 9 south-side reporter Reyna Preciado to share the story of the new snack bar on Pueblo High School's softball field.
She wrote about how her grandfather worked tirelessly to raise the money and build the new addition from the ground up. Her family held a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the school to celebrate its completion.
RELATED STORY: Southside neighbors react to 'vacated' boarding home following KGUN 9 investigation
“I wanted to honor my grandpa, my Tata, David Pallanes. He's an amazing man, and always so helpful," Mills said, explaining why she wanted his story told. "He started this snack bar journey. It just touched my heart to see him going out, getting donations. It was just amazing.”
KGUN 9 joined the Pallanes family at a recent home game to see the snack bar in full swing. Customers stood in line for treats as the team went head-to-head with Flowing Wells High School.
“It's actually nice you don't have to take a snack to go get a snack,” said one of their customers.
Jessie and David Pallanes graduated from Pueblo High School in 1969. They went on to raise several generations of Warriors, supporting their kids and grandkids in their sports careers.
“They're the foundation of Pueblo sports,” said Lawrence Lopez, who helped David build the snack bar and other additions to the softball field.
The project took seven months to complete, David recalled. It all started after he and his wife attempted to serve food during games on windy days. Once he got permission from the school, he committed time to building the snack bar. Going above and beyond, he raised money for the project and for the teams.
“I would go to merchants to see if we could get sponsors for the girls," David said. "And we did very well. We raised for them $2,800 while I was building the snack bar."
With help from volunteers, he was able to make his vision a reality this softball season; this despite facing a serious health issue.
“They had just diagnosed them with prostate cancer, and he had to go through 44 straight days of radiation," Jessie said. "He would be tired, but after he came from his treatment, he would still go out there and work."
Now that the project is complete, Jessie works the snack bar during games. She joked about how it was her part of the deal since David built it. Still, she doesn't work alone. She has the generations of Warriors helping her serve families with Pueblo Pride.
——-
Reyna Preciado is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2022 after graduating Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Reyna by emailing reyna.preciado@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or Twitter.
