VIDEO: Educator, businesswoman, civil servant: Hunt honored for lifetime achievement

By Philip Haldiman
Mail | X: @PhilipHaldiman

Peorians this side of the century know Vicki Hunt as a long-time civil servant who was elected four times for a total of 16 years.

But the younger folks might not know that she taught at Peoria High School shaping young minds, also for 16 years, and that she was a local business owner who opened the city’s first bed and breakfast in Old Town.

To this day, she continues her love of Peoria as the creator of The Oral History Project, interviewing long-time residents and preserving historically significant stories of the city’s past.

And for many of these endeavors she has been decorated and honored highly.

When talking about a lifetime, a lot can happen, and Hunt has filled her time on earth with a devotion to Peoria that you would be hard pressed to find a rival.

So she is an obvious choice for the Lifetime Achievement Peoria Independent Hometown Hero award.

The Hometown Heroes Awards are a celebration of individuals who live or teach in the city, and Peoria businesses for their achievements and distinguished contributions to the community and beyond.

Hunt will be honored at an awards luncheon next year. The third annual Hometown Heroes luncheon will honor those nominated in 2023.

In partnership with the city of Peoria, Hunt will also be interviewed by the city and aired on Channel 11.

Hunt was born in 1943 at the height of WWII to a native Arizonan mother and a father who was an airman at Luke Field. She grew up in Glendale, but as she likes to say, Peoria was the first place to really grab her heart and hold on.

She began teaching at Peoria High School in 1984 and has been a Panther ever since. Once that school’s qualities of tradition and high values sets in, it doesn’t let you go, she said.

“My parents were both teachers who set an example of high academic achievement and hard work in to succeed in teaching kids,” Hunt said. “I learned hard work and respect for learning from them. My dad was also a minister and we worshipped every Sunday. I learned early on and still believe that God has always had a purpose for my life and that, at the age of 80, he still has a plan and purpose for me to carry out.”

While at PHS, Hunt served as chair of the English department for a decade, as well as helped create and taught the first American Studies program.

The innovative three-hour block combined American History and American Literature, taught by two teachers together in the classroom.

Hunt was awarded PUSD Outstanding Teacher Award in 1989, and was named as Ambassador of the English-Speaking Union of Arizona, a substantial recognition that included an all-expenses paid five-week tour of the United Kingdom, visiting classrooms and observing teaching methods, while staying in the homes of United Kingdom teachers.

Hunt received the Bread Loaf Rural Teacher Network three-year award to study, all-expenses paid, at the Bread Loaf School of English in Vermont, with one term at Oxford University in England. This intensive study in language and communication is a highly acclaimed honor.

Hunt cites Raymond S. Kellis, her first principal, as a major influence on her teaching career. A Peoria Unified high school is named after Kellis.

“I was 21 years old and ripe out of college. His high ethics and values as a teacher and administrator helped develop this novice into a caring teacher who was to spend 24 years helping young people learn,” Hunt said. “I think the best way he inspired me was that he believed in me. He trusted me to act on my own instincts and to do what was right in my classroom. He listened to my ideas and supported me in trying them, perhaps after a bit of refining.”

As a city counselor over the years, Hunt has been a member of many local groups, committees and commissions, with a special focus on bringing arts into the community.

Recognized for her cultivation of the arts in an urban environment, former Counselor Hunt was appointed by Gov. Jan Brewer to serve as a commissioner on the Arizona Commission on the Arts.

Former Peoria Mayor Cathy Carlat said that Hunt is passionate about the care, revitalization, and beautification of the city’s established neighborhoods, avidly supporting projects to improve the area.

Hunt spearheaded road improvements, cleanup of the Varney neighborhood and has been an active participant in the Neighborhood Pride program, engaging with residents and city staff to improve individual properties .

As an active supporter of Habitat for Humanity, Carlat said Hunt took part in the construction and opening of more than 35 Habitat for Humanity homes in Peoria.

Additionally, she successfully lobbied the organization to add trees to the back yards for the benefit of all new homeowners. Hunt also sponsored special programs in Title One schools to promote healthy eating, optimizing use and benefits of the community garden and the Learning Garden.

Carlat said Hunt has spent a lifetime in service to others, joining organizations to better her community in a multitude of ways.

She is passionate about making the effort to move wholesome values and solutions forward, Carlat said.

“Vicki Hunt is one of the most true and honest people I have ever met. She is led by a big heart that beats for kids and service to others. She has had success as a teacher, councilmember, and business owner because her interpretation of every job is: help others and improve the community,” Carlat said. “Throughout her life she has proven that her formula of hard work, high moral standards and unwavering values create results that benefit others.”

Before being elected to the city council, Hunt owned two businesses in Old Town Peoria. In 1997 she purchased and restored the historic Saliba house on Monroe Street and opened it to the public as Peoria’s first bed and breakfast, and later as a successful full-service wedding and reception center.

This notable business was named by the chamber of commerce as one of their Places of Pride award winners in 2000.

Additionally, she opened an antique boutique called Vintage Green in a second historic house on Monroe Street in 2011.

As a small business owner, she was an integral member of the Main Street Partnership, an alliance of local businesspeople working to support the businesses in Old Town. The group sponsored the Oldtimers Parade each year, among other efforts to bolster the community.

Local business owners Bud and Lorraine Zomok said Hunt is an incredible advocate, partner and friend to the West Valley community.

“Vicki has dedicated her life to service,” they said. “Her tireless work as an elected official has resulted in impactful projects and programs which will make a difference for decades to come.”

The Zomoks are very thankful to Hunt’s support of locally-owned small businesses. Her passion for business owners, residents and the community have created a lifetime of friendships, impactful and long-lasting programs, as well as an enhanced quality of life throughout the West Valley, they said.

“Vicki Hunt is very deserving of this important and treasured award,” they said. “We truly appreciate the opportunity to share our thoughts about this wonderful, change-making woman. Vicki makes a difference each and every day. She truly embodies the name of Hometown Hero.”

Get to know more about Hunt here.

Philip Haldiman
News Editor | Peoria

phaldiman@iniusa.org

Philip Haldiman is a third generation Arizona native with brief residencies on the east and west coasts. He has bachelor’s degrees in Theater and Journalism at Arizona State University, and is an award winning journalist with more than 15 years worth of experience in reporting and editing. Most recently, he took first place for investigative reporting and third place for best sustained coverage or series at the 2023 Arizona Newspapers Association awards. In his free time, he produces an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.