Hi all, for those of you who don’t know me, my name is Zachery Gutierrez. I am a born and raised product of this great city, Grants, NM. Of my 40 years, I have lived here, except two years while I attended college at UNM. My parents Tom and Carmen Gutierrez, who are also lifelong residents of Grants, raised my older sister, myself, and younger brother in this great town. My grandparents, Dr. Gilbert and Margaret Gutierrez, are main staples of who a lot of my family members have become today, instilling a work ethic, being a person with integrity, and remaining humble in all we do. My other grandparents, Richard Phelps, and Martha Abeyta, have alongside helped raise and instill those traits as well, so I thank them all. All of whom I am very proud that god blessed to be my grandparents, and the parents of my mother Carmen Gutierrez, and late father Tom Gutierrez.
My father is the symbol and representation of a few good men that have walked this Earth that I value in mine and many others lifetimes. Many good men that I have had the pleasure of knowing and received their teachings growing up in this town. Too many to list, but I hope they know their impact on MY life and many of us who they have helped groom to be good men. It took a special woman to keep my dad balanced, so I thank my mom, Carmen Gutierrez and to what she still does for my family, my sibling’s family’s’, and our community to this day.
I am married to a beautiful woman, Heather Gutierrez (Calahan), who is also from Grants. She is the symbol and representation of what you want your daughters to be like whey they grow up. The reason to right when faced with wrong, the constant bearing of North when I am lost and looking for my way, the reason why one chooses to WANT to be a good person every day. We have 6 children together, great young men as sons, and beautiful daughters, as well as daughter‐in‐laws in the mix. We have the perfect little Grandson who we are over the moon about.
My journey began as I grew up peddling my bike on these streets with friends, working alongside my dad at Diamond G, playing sports, and attending Elementary through High School, GO Pirates. I played baseball and football at San Jose park as a young kid, Paddy Martinez field, Kerns field in Milan, and trampled all throughout this town. I attended Mt. Taylor Elementary School, Los Alamitos School, and graduated from Grants High School in 1999. I attended College at UNM for 2 years, where I played football on the UNM Football team from 1999‐2001. I was teammates with Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher and other great people whom I still call friends to this day. My short college venture away from home was awesome, but I gravitated back to the town I was running away from, Grants.
I didn’t like the big city‐ish style, but appreciated the surroundings I had here, and took a break from college and worked at Diamond G, until I felt the need and the pressure to do something in life. I became a teacher and started my first job as a 3rd grade teacher at Milan Elementary. What a 14 year ride that was, I enjoyed every single year of it. I gave myself 10 years of teaching before I knew I had to do something else. At 10 years I decided, with the encouragement of my Wife, to challenge myself in not ever settling and keep moving forward in my profession. I received my first Masters in TESOL, then moved on to receive my Masters in Educational Leadership, to eventually sit in the seat I do now as Assistant Principal at Los Alamitos Middle school.
My ultimate goal in where I am at today is to keep growing educationally, professionally, and most importantly, personally. It that quest of finding the end of being called a good man, I plan on helping our City of Grants, in becoming what we have all only dreamed of. A place where it is exciting to brag to others to come and visit, where our future is excited to continue the growth of our community, and our family WANTS to stay and grow their families. I hope that my time on this Earth is not wasted but put to the good of my family and my community.