December 18, 2025 • 43 mins
This is a Conch Legend Episode. In this conversation, Joy Nulisch interviews Bobby Menendez, a revered figure in Key West known as Mr. Conch Pride. They discuss the meaning of Conch Pride, the legacy of the Menendez-Miler Scholarship, and Bobby's journey from a multi-sport athlete to a dedicated coach and educator. Bobby shares heartfelt memories of growing up in Key West, the influence of key figures in his life, and the importance of community connections. The conversation highlights the values of preparation, respect, integrity, dependability, and education that define Conch Pride, as well as the lasting impact of sports and mentorship in shaping lives.
#conchpride #KeyWest #highschoolsports #football #seminoles #community #legacy #coaching
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Episode Transcript
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Joy Nulisch (00:00):
Thanks for tuning in to the Conchs of Bring Joy
Podcast.
I'm your host, Joy Newlish.
I'm a first generation Conchraised by a fourth.
What does that add up to?
A whole lot of Conch pride.
And that's what this show isall about: celebrating the
incredible people of Key Westand their stories from every
corner of our Conch community.
So sit back and relax, cuz.
(00:21):
Let's do this thing.
This episode is sponsored byRamonis, promoting Conch Pride
since 1971.
Rebecca Palomino (00:32):
Hey Joy.
Thank you so much for giving methe opportunity to say a few
words about one of my mostfavorite people on this earth,
Mr.
Bobby Menendez.
Words truly cannot describe howspecial of a person he is to
me.
And I know that feeling isshared by so many who have had
the privilege of knowing himeither as an educator, a leader,
(00:54):
a coach, a family man.
He has touched so many lives inthis community in so many ways
that I know he has mostcertainly earned his place as
one of the greatest Key WestConchs of all time.
And he deserves to becelebrated.
And I'm so honored to be a partof that celebration.
Personally, for me, he's hadsuch a tremendous impact on me
(01:17):
throughout my life, especiallythrough high school, college.
You know, he's always beenthere for me, guiding me and
encouraging me to be successful,to be a leader and to do what's
right by our community.
And I do have to plug in alittle go-gators there because I
did choose the better college.
Throughout my career, evenbefore I knew I wanted to be in
(01:40):
education, he was always thereto support me.
And throughout my career ineducation, he has been one of my
biggest cheerleaders.
And we've always thought howspecial it is that I've kind of
followed a little bit in of hisfootsteps.
You know, he was at SugarloafSchool as principal there for
years.
I spent seven years, same ashim, seven years at Sugarloaf
(02:02):
School, but in the role ofcounselor, working on my
leadership skills there, andthen came back to Key West High
School in the admin role.
And, you know, as everyoneknows, he was principal of Key
West High School as well.
When I knew I was gonna getnamed principal of Key West High
School, he was one of the firstpeople I had to call.
(02:23):
Him and I have such a specialbond, and um making him proud
and to be able to follow in hisfootsteps in this role.
Um big shoes to Phil.
And um, he is a person that Iwant to make proud in continuing
the traditions and the culturesand the legacy of Kiwaz High
(02:48):
School and Kong Pride.
Um, knowing that uh I'm makinghim proud and continuing the
road that he has paved forgenerations of Kiwaz High School
graduates is so incrediblyimportant to me.
We've always affectionatelyreferred to each other as Gator
(03:08):
and Seminole, and uh now we'veswitched it up a little bit.
He's number three, I'm numberfive.
With regards to Kiwaz Highprincipals that are not only
graduates but native-bornConchs.
And, you know, he's Mr.
Conk Prides.
He he's the epitome of serviceto our community.
I tell all of our students allthe time, service is our
watchword.
(03:28):
We say that in our alma mater.
Um, and just like those wordswill avail for many of us that
are in these roles that serveour community, so will the
legacy of Bobby Menendez,especially his slogan, Conch
pride, don't leave home withoutit.
And I certainly never will.
So thank you, Joy, for givingme the opportunity to be a part
(03:49):
of your podcast.
Mr.
Bobby, I love you more thananything, and go gators, but
more importantly, Conch pride,go Conchs.
Joy Nulisch (04:00):
How are we doing, Conch fans?
I got a good one for you today.
No, better than that, I got thereal one for you today.
We're talking with BobbyMenendez, a true Conch legend
who earned the title Mr.
Konk Pride for inspiring youngConchs on school campuses and
football fields.
Welcome to the show, coach.
Bobby Menendez (04:18):
Hi, Joy.
Thank you so much for uh doingthis special presentation today.
I really, really appreciate it.
And you you the bomb, girl.
Joy Nulisch (04:28):
Hey, I can't have a show called the Conchs and not
have you on it.
So thank you for joining me.
I really, really appreciate it.
It means a lot.
Thank you so much.
And you know, not only to me,every time I put something out
there on social media and askpeople who do they want the next
guest to be, you were the mostrequested guest.
Bobby Menendez (04:47):
Wow, that sounds that's fantastic.
Joy Nulisch (04:50):
So, you know, I ask a question to all my guests.
I usually save it for the endof the episode, and I ask, what
does Conch pride mean to you?
I'm gonna go ahead and startstart with that question.
What does Conch pride mean toyou?
Bobby Menendez (05:05):
Well, first of all, you know as a Conch you're
born and raised on this specialisland.
And so that that that's specialto me, just being a Conch.
And the word pride is I defineit by each letter.
B is for preparation, art,respect, I, integrity, d
(05:28):
dependability, and e foreducation, doing everything you
can to make yourself better inlife and your and your career.
That's what Kong Pride means tome.
Joy Nulisch (05:38):
That's why you earn the title Mr.
Kong Pride.
Bobby Menendez (05:42):
Thank you.
Joy Nulisch (05:43):
And what does that feel like?
You know, all the years sinceyou've been gone off the island,
retired from the schooldistrict, all the years and the
time, what does it mean to youto still be referred to as Mr.
Kong Pride?
Bobby Menendez (05:57):
Well, it it's special because the couple of
things that we have going on,and we've been doing it for the
last this will be our 21st year,is the Menendez Moller for one
thing, and uh that happens everyyear, usually in March or early
April.
And uh it provides uh throughSunset Rotary, it provides money
for a scholarship called theBobby Menendez Kong Pride
(06:20):
Scholarship that we presentevery year at class night at
Keywess High School to a seniorthat has uh met the
qualifications for the award.
So those two things alone wereuh were part of, I guess, where
I got the name Mr.
Kong Pride.
And uh, you know, of course,the the term Kong Pride, don't
(06:40):
leave home without it.
That's that's what we're allabout.
If you have Kong Pride, youdon't leave home without it.
So that's kind of where I'm atwith that that word, or that
those two words.
Joy Nulisch (06:50):
I had that question on a long list of questions
that I have for you.
Um I talked to Manuel CastilloScooby, who was one of your
former football players, and Ishared with him that I was
having you on the show, and heshared some wonderful memories
with me.
And one of the things that heshared with me that he said was
a full circle moment for him asa former football player, he
(07:14):
used to stand by you when yougave those famous pregame
speeches.
But then years later, hisdaughter Jade was the recipient
of the Bobby Menendez Conk PrizeScholarship.
So he said, What a moment itwas for him and his family.
Bobby Menendez (07:29):
Yeah, that that uh that is special.
You know, Scooby, when uh whenI did uh my pregame talks,
because I took that over whenTommy passed away, he would
always stand by me and we andour tradition was we'd all join
hands.
And Scooby was always there,right there, holding my hand.
And I'm getting a littleemotional about that, but it uh,
(07:50):
you know, it always alwaysspecial.
And I see him in the city whenI come down a lot, and and uh
those memories always come backto me about uh about him being
next to me, holding my hand, andwe of course holding the team's
hand, and we're joined togetheras one unit, and basically when
I'm doing my uh pregame talks.
So it uh it was special, and Iappreciate the fact that he
(08:13):
recognized that his daughterplus himself were both part of
my Kong Pride legend.
Jade Castillo (08:21):
Uh my name is Jade Castillo.
I'm a proud graduate of KewisHigh School's class of 2019 and
a grateful recipient of theBobby Menendez Kong Pride
Scholarship.
Tonight I wanted to take amoment to express my heartfelt
gratitude to Bobby MenendezScholarship Committee and to
everyone who supports thisincredible scholarship.
Receiving this scholarship hasmeant so much to me and my
(08:42):
family.
It wasn't just the financialsupport, it was everything that
scholarship represents.
Belief in our dreams,investment in our potential, and
most importantly, pride for ourcomfortability.
Thanks to this chip, yourgenerosity, the generosity of
this community, I had theopportunity to attend college
and earn my degree.
After high school, I attendedTalaxi Community College, where
(09:04):
I played two years of collegesoftball and earned my associate
parts degree.
After that, I decided to hangout with leads and transfer to
the Florida State.
Where I earned my bachelor'sdegree, my mister Bobby, and
business manager.
After 40 amazing years ofTallahassee, I kept my word and
(09:26):
came on to Key West, bringing itback to the place of the people
who gave me so much.
Thank you.
(09:58):
Thank you for believing me,thank you for investing in our
future, and thank you forinspiring me to pay forward.
I promise you get back to thiscommunity just as you are given
to me.
And don't forget what Mr.
Bobby says, Congride.
Don't be on the dialogue.
Joy Nulisch (10:21):
And that's what it's all about, right?
Conch connections.
To me, that's part of KongPride also, is recognizing and
honoring the connections that wehave with one another.
Bobby Menendez (10:31):
No doubt.
No doubt about it.
Joy Nulisch (10:34):
Let's let's back up a little bit.
Talk to me about growing up inKey West and the glory days.
What was Key West like then?
Where where'd you grow up, andwho were some of the kids that
you hung out with?
Bobby Menendez (10:48):
Well, I hung out uh I grew up on Elizabeth
Street, 320 Elizabeth, which isabout two blocks from from uh
the ocean.
The uh the bite there on uh inin downtown Key West.
There, of course, back theneverything uh was military.
Our town was strictly military,you know, not strictly, but
mostly military.
(11:08):
We had submarines, destroyers,uh submarine tenders.
Uh, of course, we still havethe air base there, Coast
Guards.
It was a lot of military.
Most of the people that workedin Key West were civil service
workers and worked for the forthe military, for the Navy and
and the military there that wasbased there.
And uh growing up, um it wasspecial there.
(11:30):
I lived uh a couple blocks fromTommy, my best friend, Tommy
Roberts.
There was a gentleman, uh BobParks, right up the street from
me that I grew up with.
And uh we kind of all hungtogether.
Uh a bunch of guys, uh, but thethe two closest friends were
Tommy and and Bob Parks.
So we all kind of hung outtogether.
And uh there was uh where thepublic library is there on
(11:52):
Fleming Street, we used to callthat the lot.
And we would go down there andyou know play basketball or play
different sports and uh and youknow meet up with some of our
other friends in the area and uhand have uh competitions and it
was it was a good time.
Joy Nulisch (12:09):
They called it the golden era of Kong baseball when
Boog Powell and the greatGeorge Mira and Santana and
those guys were winningchampionships.
Do you have any memories ofwatching them play ball?
Bobby Menendez (12:23):
Oh yeah, I I remember uh of course I remember
Boog and I remember George,both both uh ex you know,
fantastic athletes.
And uh, and of course, uh I gotto play with their brother
Charlie Powell, Carl Taylor.
We all played ball togetherthere uh after after George
graduated, and of course Boogmoved on to the Orioles.
(12:43):
And but no, I remember thoseguys, and of course, uh Joe
Mira, uh George's brother, and Iwere good friends.
We played ball together atKeywest High School.
So, you know, I've I was closeto the family, I guess, because
we all grew up on PackersStreet, which is uh right down
there uh next to uh right off ofuh Truman Avenue.
Joy Nulisch (13:04):
And I I think being that you are so close with the
Mira family, you won't mind ifwe just take a moment and
remember George Mira, the Conchlegend, and we gotta keep his
stories alive.
He'll always be remembered andappreciated for the great
athlete and Conch that he was.
Bobby Menendez (13:20):
Yes, he uh and I did text uh Joe sending my
condolences regarding uh George.
And of course, he was sufferinga little bit uh prior to his
passing, and uh God bless him,and it was a it was a pleasure
and an honor to to know Georgeand be a part of his
neighborhood.
Joy Nulisch (13:38):
As kids growing up here in Key West, we're so lucky
to have great athletes, right?
Yes, I mean a long list ofgreat athletes.
You were a multi-sport athleteat Key West High.
Tell me about those days andwhat sports did you play?
Bobby Menendez (13:55):
I played all three in high school.
Of course, football was mynumber one sport, and uh I
played basketball and baseball.
So I played all three sports inhigh school, and uh I excel uh,
you know, my fa like I said, myfavorite was football, but I
used to look forward to thechanges in the seasons, and uh
then then we'd move tobasketball and then of course
(14:15):
baseball in uh February,January, and February.
But um the I really enjoyed thethe coaching and and the
camaraderie uh that we had withall the guys that I played with.
Joy Nulisch (14:27):
No, I talked to a mutual friend of ours, Danny
Jimenez, and uh he told me theyused to call you Lightning Lou.
Bobby Menendez (14:34):
Yeah, yeah I don't know how lightning I am,
but I got that nickname.
I I don't I don't really knowhow how I got it, but I wasn't
that fast, but uh that's whatthey that's what they used to
call me, Lightning Lou.
Joy Nulisch (14:49):
That's awesome.
Not too many kids play multiplesports nowadays, so but
whenever I talk to the legends,that's one thing that they have
in common.
Bobby Menendez (14:57):
Yeah, they most kids now specialize.
They specialize in one, youknow, and work on the skills of
one sport instead of playing allthree.
I agree.
Uh you don't see too many threethree-year sportsmen.
Joy Nulisch (15:10):
And you talked about football.
What was what were the fightingConchs like during that time?
And who were some of yourteammates and who who was your
who were your coaches?
Bobby Menendez (15:19):
My coaches back then were Coach Allen, who uh
went off to the University ofMiami uh and started coaching
there, and we played all the bigschools in Miami.
We played Palmetto, we playedCarl Gables, we played all these
different schools.
Of course, they were uh a lot alot larger than than we were at
Key West High School, but wewere very competitive and uh we
(15:42):
uh we played well againstagainst uh those big schools,
and we had great records duringthose years as well.
Joy Nulisch (15:49):
And you did so well that you earned a full ride to
FSU.
Tell me about those years atFSU and what was it like for a
Key West boy to go toTallahassee and play D1
football.
Bobby Menendez (16:00):
I tell you what, it was it was fantastic.
Uh, the gentleman thatrecruited me, a guy named Don
James, Coach Don James, uh he'spast now, but he ended up
recruiting me at Key West HighSchool, and they uh signed a
four-year scholarship to FloridaState University, where I had
uh a great, fantastic career.
I I uh ended up my senior yearas a a co-defensive player of
(16:23):
the year, and uh so it was uh itwas a great career.
Played in three college bowls,two Gator Bowls and a Sun Bowl,
and those were proud moments tocome from an island and and have
that kind of success on thefootball field.
Joy Nulisch (16:38):
Hey, I would say so.
And Danny also told me to askyou about the game that you
played against Larry Zonka.
Bobby Menendez (16:46):
Oh Lord have mercy.
Uh he played he played atSyracuse, and uh he was uh
unbelievable dude.
And myself and and Mike Blattboth were on the defensive side
of the ball.
Mike was a linebacker, I was adefensive end, and I think when
when he got the ball, it tookabout three or four of us to try
to get him down.
I tackled him three or fourtimes in one in one now in one
(17:09):
run.
He he was a he was the biggestguy I had seen in uh Larry's
Uncle or something else atSyracuse.
Joy Nulisch (17:17):
Oh man, what what cool memories.
And I've seen some pictures ofthose bowl rings that you
mentioned.
What's it like to play in abowl game, especially now this
time of year we have the bowlgames coming up?
Do you still have memories anddreams about those days?
Bobby Menendez (17:32):
Oh yeah, we you know it's what what's special
about them is of course it's uhyou you know, you get watches,
you get a ring.
Obviously, there's a lot of uhfanfare and and uh pride in
being able to play postseason.
And uh so that's that's themain thing.
You know, at my senior year in67, 1967, we played uh in the
(17:54):
Gator Bowl against Penn State,and Penn State had a uh rival
team, and uh we uh we ended uptying them.
They tied us actually, 17-17.
And back then they they didn'thave tiebreakers, but it was it
was a wonderful way to finish mycareer at Florida State in the
Gator Bowl in 1967.
Joy Nulisch (18:14):
And I think it's no coincidence that so many people
uh Florida State fans here inKey West, you know.
Yeah, I think you probably hada lot to do with that.
And you mentioned Mike Black,so we had two Key West boys up
there playing at Florida Stateat the same time.
Bobby Menendez (18:30):
Right, right.
And then we were Mike and Iwere very proud of that, being
able to come from that island,you know, Key West and and both
end up starting on defense andand doing a great job for
Florida State.
Joy Nulisch (18:42):
Yeah, and like I said, there's still the uh a lot
of FSU no fans down here.
Uh you either root for the no'sor or you root for the
hurricanes.
And in Florida's in there too,somewhere.
You can tell I'm not know muchon the gators, but yeah.
Bobby Menendez (18:59):
Yeah, but I'm not I'm not a big Gator fan
either, but uh but but they'rethere, they're in Key West,
believe me.
Joy Nulisch (19:04):
No, absolutely, absolutely.
I'm sure I'm gonna be getting alot of text messages for that
comment.
Maybe we'll edit that part out.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You got control.
Nobody will ever know we saidthat.
So you come back to Key West.
Do you start coaching and getinto education right after
college?
Tell me about how that journeystarted.
Bobby Menendez (19:25):
Well, that that journey started in 1968.
I get a call.
I'm finishing up.
I I was I had uh anothersemester left before I could get
my degree, which was fromJanuary to March in 1968.
So I'm in my apartment and Iget a call from Glenn Archer.
And uh Mr.
Archer says, said Bobby, I wantyou to come to K US High and
(19:47):
teach and coach.
And I said, Mr.
Hey, Mr.
Archer, I said, I I don't havea teaching degree.
He says, Don't worry about it.
He says, I'll take care ofthat.
And uh because I had a degreein business administration, so
in June.
Of that year, I head back toKey West and I started working
at the high school.
And during that time, I had totake different courses.
(20:08):
Some of them I even had tocommute to Miami, to Florida
International, taking certaincourses in order to meet the uh
requirements for a Floridateaching certificate.
So that took me, I don't know,maybe about a year or so.
And at that time he hired me asa permanent sub.
So I I worked as a permanentsub in a place, and he asked me
(20:31):
to, this is funny.
He said, We needed like alittle detention center because
some of our kids, you know,behaviors weren't uh weren't the
best.
So he says, I want you tocontrol the, you know, have this
room where these teachers, ifthe kids are disruptive, can
send them to you.
So and and and the sad partabout it, it was called a funny
(20:52):
farm.
That's that's what they callthe room.
The kids made that up, not me.
And I would sit in there andand you know make them do their
work and and that kind of stuff.
And so it was it was prettyinteresting.
And then I finally got my uh uhteaching certificate, and
that's when I started teachingbusiness economics there at in
(21:12):
the commercial track, and Tommywas like the assistant principal
there at the time.
So, you know, we both startedour careers right about the same
time.
Joy Nulisch (21:21):
I I paused for a moment because you're talking
about Mr.
Glenn Archer and Tommy Robertsin the same sentence, and it
just kind of made me catch mybreath.
Talk about Conch Pride andpeople who have influenced all
of us.
It just took me a moment tofeel that.
You you mentioned Tommy Robertsa couple times now.
(21:42):
You you grew up with him.
Bobby Menendez (21:43):
Was he a principal at the school then?
Or you were both at that atthat time he was uh like
working, uh he was an assistantprincipal.
And and then I and then I uh Igot the opportunity to go to
Glen Archer uh uh elementary, uhit was Glenn Archer uh junior
high at the time, and I wentthere as an assistant principal
(22:04):
to get and I went through andgot my credential for that.
Then I had to get my master'sdegree in order to become an
educational leadership in orderto become a principal.
So I worked a number of yearson that, got my master's, and
that's that's when Glenn and Dr.
Henriquez offered me SugarloafElementary, and that was in
1981, and I went up there as theprincipal, and I was there
(22:27):
until Tommy passed in 1988,April 1st, 1988, and that's when
I took over Keywest High Schooland did his graduating class,
the class of 88.
And uh my first class was aclass of 89 at Keywess High
School.
Joy Nulisch (22:44):
Lots of memories come back.
I graduated '86, class of '86.
But um, but yeah, I re Iremember that time you're
talking, and um I'm rememberingthe loss of Tommy Roberts and
the impact that it had on thecommunity.
I was I was young during thattime, but it was like the first
time that I felt like acommunity mourn, and you know,
(23:07):
the the impact of of that loss.
Danny Jimenez, I mentioned himthree times already, but he also
mentioned that time to me andhow important it was.
And there was really no oneelse, nobody better to take over
Key West High.
It needed to be you.
Bobby Menendez (23:23):
Talking about community.
That that's kind of how I Ilooked at it because I I mean I
love Sugarloaf, SugarloafElementary, and we built a
middle school there as well.
So it was Sugarloaf ElementaryMiddle when I left.
And uh just I just felt like uhit was time for me to carry on
the traditions that Tommy hadset in place at Keywess High.
(23:43):
And that's when I went to Dr.
Henrique's and and said thatuh, you know, I I would like to
go to Keywess High.
And he granted that that uhopportunity to me.
And I um I've been alwaysgrateful because of that that
opportunity.
And we just carried on thetraditions that that were part
of uh Tommy's uh uh led, youknow, Tommy's uh traditions, and
(24:04):
I just picked them up andcarried them forward.
Joy Nulisch (24:07):
And uh you mentioned Bucky Henriquez,
another one, again, talkingabout Conch Pride and the
successful career that he hadand the opportunities that he
granted many of us.
I think of uh you mentionedGlenn Archer school, that was
the junior high that I wassupposed to go to from
Pointiana, and then at the timethat uh they end up merging
(24:29):
H.O.B.
and Glenn Archer.
So I end up going to H.O.B.
Bobby Menendez (24:33):
You know, Glenn Glenn Archer, uh there's three
people that impacted my life.
Of course, my wife Kathy, my uhGlenn Archer Jr.
and Dr.
Henry.
And uh those those three folkshave had a tremendous impact on
my on my career and and uh mylife.
And and I am so grateful to allthree of them for what they've
(24:55):
done for me.
You know, when you when I thinkabout Glenn, I think about him
as a coach.
When I think about Dr.
Henriquez, I think of him as myteacher and my coach, because
he did teach biology and I wasin his biology class.
You know, these to these twoguys were uh were instrumental
in my career.
It was it was it wasunbelievable.
(25:15):
Glenn calls me up, and then Dr.
H gave me the opportunity to bea principal at both Sugarloaf
and Key West High School.
Joy Nulisch (25:24):
And what a legendary career.
I know that you made them veryproud.
Bobby Menendez (25:30):
I tell you what, it's um I wanted to make them
proud because I guess they knewsomething about me that I
didn't, because they gave methose opportunities, and uh they
don't they don't come alongjust because uh because of your
name.
They they because they had theysaw something in me as as a as
a leader and and uh I wanted tomake them proud.
Joy Nulisch (25:48):
So one of the things that a lot of your
students have reached out to meand told me to ask you about
were the morning announcements.
As a principal, you were famousfor those morning
announcements.
How did that come about?
Bobby Menendez (26:02):
You know, I I just I just felt like I wanted
to start the day on a positivenote.
And I would always come onfirst thing in the morning, and
if I had a quote, I would, youknow, I would uh indicate a
quote, or if somebody was havinga birthday, a couple of people
in the in the building, I wouldrecognize their birthdays.
I don't know, it was just justa lot of different things.
(26:22):
That's part of preparation too,because you just don't get them
on the mic and and saysomething.
You know, you I would preparesomething each morning to uh to
share with the with thestudents.
And um, I don't know if theyeven do that anymore, but uh
that that was special to me tobe able to to to come on and and
get people fired up uh aboutthe day and you know just
(26:46):
anything if there was somespecial recognition of a student
did something really well, youknow, that's that's just the way
it was.
It and and I enjoyed it verymuch.
Joy Nulisch (26:56):
Yeah, you when you when you're saying that and you
know keeping the positive andkeeping things light.
One of the other conversationsI had was with Randy Acevedo,
and I let him know that I wasgoing to be interviewing you,
talk about being prepared.
See, I prepared, I did myhomework, coach.
Got prepared, right?
And uh, and I knew that you andhim, baby.
(27:17):
That's it.
That's what I'm talking about.
So I knew that you and he had aa long relationship, you know,
from the time he was a footballplayer to his professional
career.
So I reached out to him and heshared a few stories.
Um, like I said, you were hisfootball coach.
Then when he came back fromcollege, he he coached with you.
(27:39):
And then finally he he alsoworked for the school district
and had a successful career.
And the common theme that heshared with me was that you
always kept things like youalways built people up, had a
positive attitude.
No matter what kind of tensesituation was, you know, on the
(28:00):
table, you always brought thepositivity and levity to the
moment.
Bobby Menendez (28:06):
I think uh I'm thinking when you were talking
about that in Randy, I wasthinking about this positive
situation that transpired in1996.
Alma Olsen was the principal ofK Wis High at the time, and she
asked me, I was downtown, andshe asked me if if I would take
over their football program.
They were 0-5, and I mean theywere not a good year.
(28:30):
That was they weren't doingwell at all.
And she asked me, so I asked uhthe superintendent at the time,
I think it was uh either RuggerWalker Mike Lown, I can't
remember, and he said, Go ahead.
So I took a we we met in J-WingAuditorium.
You remember J-Wing?
Absolutely.
Uh we met and I told all theplayers because they were
quitting and and just everybodywas just done, you know.
(28:52):
And we got it, we met in theauditorium, and uh we we I
talked about, hey, if you youquit, don't worry about it, come
back out.
So we had kids, we callourselves the dirty 30.
I think about 30 kids showed upat 0 and 5, and we won the last
four out of the five games thatwe played that year, and it was
(29:13):
attributed to our coaches,which Randy uh uh Acevedo was
one of them, Robert James.
I'm trying to think of some ofthe other guys, Danny Mariscal,
probably Dan, I think DannyJimenez might have been there.
But anyway, uh we just had infact, let me take a minute just
to recognize some of thesecoaches that I worked with.
(29:34):
Um, of course, Tommy Roberts.
Tommy was my best friend, andhe and I started coaching
together.
Then you had Dave Evans, andyou'll remember some of these
names.
Pat Freeman, Pat Labrata, DannyJimenez, a guy named Terry
Dilner, he's in Pennsylvanianow, Robert James, who I just
mentioned, Randy Acevedo, as Imentioned, Danny Mariscal, Jerry
(29:56):
Hughes, Mike Rodriguez, HuttHudson, Mike Wynn, Bill, Mike
Wing, Bill Trout, Wayne Miller,Judge Wayne Miller.
You know, you know the judge.
Here comes the judge.
Joy Nulisch (30:06):
Yeah, I want to get him on my on the show.
Bobby Menendez (30:08):
Yeah.
Chuck Freeman.
You know, because we do ourcomp reunion at his place.
We we're coming up on year 10uh next year.
And Joe Russo and then GeneRoberts, these are Jerry Hughes,
I think I mentioned, and MikeRodriguez.
Uh, these are just some of theguys that I coach with, and
these are the guys that made adifference for Key West High
School in uh in the in thefootball program there.
(30:31):
And uh it was it was it was anhonor to be a part of the that
great bunch of folks.
Joy Nulisch (30:37):
Yeah, yeah, I'm glad you brought that up, and I
I did have that on my list alsoto ask you about that coaching
fraternity, that brotherhood offootball legends, those names
that you mentioned, that raiseda hair on your neck.
Because that's serious footballminds right there.
What's it like to be part ofthat group?
Because that doesn't end whenthe season ends or when your
(30:59):
career ends.
Like you said, you guys stillget together.
Tell me about that camaraderiebetween you.
Bobby Menendez (31:05):
Well, it the whole thing started at uh in
Chieflin, Chieflin, Florida,with these Conch reunions that
we started putting together.
And it was it was about coachesand play, you know, former
players and friends.
And that's that's when we allcome together.
And it's usually in the springof every year.
And like I say, this is year 10coming up.
This will be our tenth year,and it's at the what we call the
(31:27):
Freeman compound, that's ChuckFreeman's place, there in
Chiefland, Florida.
And uh all of us get there, andmost of our coaches, believe it
or not, come to this event.
And you know, we share allkinds of war stories, obviously.
Uh uh, and it's just uh it'sjust a great time to be together
and and share the the like yousay, the camaraderie that we've
(31:50):
had through the many years thatwe work together.
Joy Nulisch (31:52):
I talked to Heather Freeman the other day and one
of Key WestI's homecomingqueens, Mr.
Chin's daughter, and uh shesaid that that has that reunion
has grown from being a coach'sreunion to adding players, and
now pretty much if you love theConchs, you're welcome to come
to the reunion.
Bobby Menendez (32:11):
Oh, yeah, it's op it's open to you know
anybody, and I and what I do isI I send out an email every year
uh with as many emails that Ihave, you know, 60 or so emails
to let everybody know the dateand the time and and all of
those things.
And that's that's uh it's opento uh everyone.
It doesn't have to be a coach,you don't have to be a player,
(32:33):
you can be a friend, a relative,whatever.
Um and we'd love to have you.
Joy Nulisch (32:38):
Hey, what can you imagine if we did a podcast on
location?
We set up a couple cameras anda couple of mics, and it I mean,
what do you think?
Bobby Menendez (32:47):
Think about it this year, Joy.
Think about it this year.
That that would be a treat.
And I tell you what, that wouldbe one heck of a podcast.
It would be wonderful.
Joy Nulisch (32:57):
Yeah, I I think we might be on to something, so
let's let's definitely stay intouch.
Bobby Menendez (33:02):
Well, I'm gonna remind you uh when it gets when
I get that date.
I'll remind you.
And uh, of course, I got yourphone number now.
That's it.
Of course, it's under it'sunder Tech Newell, it's not Joy.
Joy Nulisch (33:14):
I love that.
I got I earned a nickname fromyou.
That that matters that's right.
Bobby Menendez (33:19):
That's right.
Joy Nulisch (33:20):
Hey, so let's talk a little bit about more about
football, right?
Because you you coach so manyplayers.
My classmate, um, I mentionedclass 86, Todd Weston.
He reached out when he heardthat I was doing this interview
with you.
He's he wanted to thank you forall the time and patience that
you took with him and theteammates.
(33:40):
He said it was interesting howfiery you were as a football
coach teaching those lessons.
But when it came to the lifelessons, it was a whole
different demeanor, much morepatient and calm.
But um, he wanted to know whatwere some of your most memorable
games as a coach?
Bobby Menendez (33:58):
Oh boy, oh that's that's a tough call, but
uh, because we had so manyrivalries.
I guess some of my memorablegames was when when we took when
I took over uh in 96 uh uhafter you know after I retired
from the coach, because Icoached 22 years at Kiwasai.
And and some of the victories,I mean, here we got these
(34:19):
schools like Killy and and Ely,Pompano Ely coming down, and
they got like 90, 100, you know,100 players that they take up
the whole field, and here we gotthe dirty 30 that that take up
the end zone, you know what I'msaying?
And these kids, and you know,of course we get we get them
fired up and and obviously verycompetitive, and we beat four
(34:41):
out of the five five of thoseschools that those shoot the you
know, the Achilleans, the thePompano Ely's, you know, these
these teams that were beyond ourcompetition, but our we reached
down and and those kids came upwith the plays and we walked
away with the victory.
Joy Nulisch (34:58):
Do you think that those fiery pregame speeches had
something to do with that fire?
Bobby Menendez (35:04):
You know, the the pregame speeches were was my
pride and joy.
What I would do each week is isto try to pick a theme
sacrifice, leadership,sportsmanship, respect, uh,
teamwork, you know, all of thesedifferent themes that uh that
uh that I would come up with,and then I would try to and then
(35:26):
I'd use the words, you know,I'd spell out the word senior,
and each each letter had a had aspecial meaning, you know, like
sacrifice, enthusiasm, thatthose kind of things, you know,
and and uh but it it took a lotof plan preparation, you know,
like uh like we always talkabout.
Preparation's part of thepride.
And but but to get those kidsin that emotional state prior to
(35:48):
a game, because that's how youplay the game of football.
It's played with emotion.
You just don't walk out on thatfield.
You you you're emotionallyready to take on that battle.
And uh and that's what that'swhat I would try to do, get them
emotionally ready to play thatgame.
It's something else.
Joy Nulisch (36:07):
Hey, I wish I wish I could have been a fly on the
wall, or maybe not, because Iheard that a few times there
might have been punctuationpoints where where things got
broke.
You know, there might have beensomething that flew across the
room.
Was that part of the plan?
Bobby Menendez (36:24):
I remember one time, I I mean, and I don't know
what prompted me to do this,but we uh we were playing a team
that was beyond beyond ourtalent.
And I don't know, for somereason I had something in my
hand, I don't know what it was,but I got so fired up myself
with the talk that I threw thisthing against the wall and it
hit the mirror, and a glass wenteverywhere.
(36:45):
You talk about fired up.
The kids couldn't get out ofthere quick enough to get on the
field.
It was it was amazing, it wasamazing, and uh of course I
never did that again.
I was I was careful not to haveanything in my hand when I made
those talks.
But that was crazy.
That was a crazy time.
Joy Nulisch (37:02):
Well, those um those stories are continuing to
be told.
I had Chaz Jimenez on the show,you know, he's uh uh wrestling
coach, doing been uh, I thinkcoaching like over 15 years, has
a very successful program.
You know, cool story, right?
Because his daddy Danny, youknow, second generation coach,
but he remembers those speechesfrom being a little kid, even
(37:24):
before he was a player.
Michael Henriquez Jr.
mentioned the speeches, BillyWardlow, um, already mentioned
Scooby, Jonathan Jolly, alsoJonathan, yes.
Yeah, he said you even did apregame speech for the baseball
team one year.
Bobby Menendez (37:40):
I did.
That's right.
I'm glad he he remembered that.
And and I forgot who asked me.
Maybe it was um, I don't knowwho I forgot who the head coach
was at the time, but I remembertaking him out into left field,
and uh it was it was a big game.
It was uh a champion, I thinkit might have been a
championship, like a districtchampionship or something,
something to that effect.
And and I went out there and uhI got him, I got him psyched.
(38:02):
I got him, got him ready toplay.
Joy Nulisch (38:05):
That's good stuff.
Like I said, that's how thelegends live, is that we keep
telling the stories.
When's the last time you'vebeen to Key West and when will
you be back again?
Bobby Menendez (38:14):
The last time I think my wife and I were down,
uh I want to say, I'm not I Ican't remember now.
I'm trying to think.
When when was it?
I think it was the summer, Joy.
Uh we went down this summer,and uh we'll probably come back,
come down there after Christmasin January sometime, and to to
visit and you know catch up onsome of the friends.
(38:36):
And of course, we I have oneson that lives there, Chris.
Chris yeah, he lives there anduh lives and works at the tag
office, and uh so that's who wevisit.
And of course, uh we stay withhim when we come down.
Joy Nulisch (38:49):
And uh you go ahead and let's talk about your
family.
I hear Miss Kathy back there,but what it where where you
where are you now?
You're not in Key West anymore.
You moved to the mainland.
What are you what are you doingwith your time and and tell me
about your family up there?
Bobby Menendez (39:02):
Yeah, we're uh we're in Jacksonville.
We've been here uh about fiveyears now.
Spend a lot of time with uh ourdaughter and my grandson
Thomas, who who uh introducedhimself.
We uh just hang out down here.
We we hang out in the gym, wedo do different things together.
Thomas uh plays basketball, soI take him to games and and uh
take him to practice and thatkind of stuff.
(39:25):
So I'm a busy, a busy retiredguy, believe me.
Joy Nulisch (39:29):
I love that.
Does he know that the K WestHigh School basketball gym is
named for you, the BobbyMenendez gym?
Bobby Menendez (39:36):
Yeah, he uh yes, he knows.
We uh in fact, uh I took apicture with him in front of
that trophy case that uh thatyou sent me those pictures of.
That's uh that that's an honorto appreciate um having that
having my name on that, and ofcourse, my best friend's names
on the football field, and thenmy two mentors, Dr.
(39:59):
Uh Henry.
Enriquez is at theadministration building and then
Glenn Archer's at theperforming arts at Key West High
School.
So all my people.
All my peeps.
We got our name.
We got our name on something.
Joy Nulisch (40:12):
Hey that that that's good company and the
legacy will always be there forsure.
We'll always be able to say,who's that guy?
You know, who's that guy?
Well, um, tell me more aboutthe Key West connections.
You m you're multi-generationConch.
You mentioned Chris, you comedown here um to see your son,
but who are some of the otherConchs that you're connected to
(40:35):
here on the island?
Bobby Menendez (40:36):
Well, I got uh Didi, you know, Dee Dee's the
mayor, Didi Henriquez.
Uh she's the mayor, and ofcourse Ralph Enriquez, her
husband and I were good friends.
When he was uh uh playing ball,I used to pitch patent practice
to him, and then of course hehe played professionally for a
couple of years.
And then you got my best, youknow, good friend Pat Labrata.
Of course, Danny Jimenez, theseare the guys that I've that I
(41:00):
hang with, Leon Fowler.
Yeah, I see I see DannyMariscal every once in a while
because he's a fireman.
Alex Vega, who's who's afireman, I think he's retired
now.
Randy Tynes, good friend ofmine, um that I always uh you
know try to try to see when Icome down.
Uh you're gonna tell him towatch the show.
Uh yeah, yeah.
(41:21):
I'm gonna uh definitely whenyou get it edited and give me
the green light, I'll send it tosome folks.
Uh folks have been asking me,uh, what's how you gonna get how
you I said she'll edit it andI'll and I'll send it to you on
YouTube.
So they'll they'll they'll belooking forward to it, believe
me.
Joy Nulisch (41:37):
I imagine we might go viral with this one.
I might hit that algorithm andtake off.
This will be the most viewedshow ever, and it's just getting
started.
Bobby Menendez (41:48):
Yeah, I appreciate it.
Joy Nulisch (41:50):
Hey, I really appreciate you taking time to be
on the show and sharing thegreat stories.
I'm sure you'll be back closerto the time when we need to
raise money again for the nextscholarship.
I do want to add, I don't knowif we mentioned it or not, but
this is like 20 years of thatscholarship, over $100,000 has
(42:10):
been granted to high schoolseniors.
That's a really big deal.
I know you'll be back again forthe Menendez Mila.
I hope to see you.
But thank you for being on thisshow.
Thank you for all the years ofsupport.
You know, I love receiving anemail randomly from you telling
me that you're proud of me, thatI'm doing good things.
You reached out about this showalso to say that you liked it,
(42:33):
which means a lot to me.
I really appreciate everythingthat you do for Key West, for
me, for all the Conchs.
And you know, it's all aboutthat Conch pride.
We don't leave home without it.
Bobby Menendez (42:44):
That's right.
Joy Nulisch (42:52):
And I think we'll end it right there.
Bobby Menendez (42:54):
Thank you so much, Joy.
You have a great Christmas, anduh, we love you and uh we look
forward to uh to the printedversion, uh edited version, I
should say, of the show so much.
Thank you so much.
Joy Nulisch (43:05):
Yes, sir.
We'll get it out to the peoplesoon.
Go Conchs.
This episode is sponsored byRamonas, promoting Conk Prize
since 1971.
I'm Joy Newlish, and Iappreciate you tuning into my
podcast.
My purpose is to bring joy intomy life and the lives of
others.
If you enjoyed this episode,drop a review, share, and
subscribe because there's a lotof good stuff on tap.
(43:27):
You can also follow Bring Joyon YouTube and Instagram or
check my website atjoynoodish.com.
Now go bring joy to the peoplein your world.
Until next time, much up.
Thanks for tuning in to the Conchs of Bring Joy
Podcast.
I'm your host, Joy Newlish.
I'm a first generation Conchraised by a fourth.
What does that add up to?
A whole lot of Conch pride.
And that's what this show isall about: celebrating the
incredible people of Key Westand their stories from every
corner of our Conch community.
So sit back and relax, cuz.
(00:21):
Let's do this thing.
This episode is sponsored byRamonis, promoting Conch Pride
since 1971.
Rebecca Palomino (00:32):
Hey Joy.
Thank you so much for giving methe opportunity to say a few
words about one of my mostfavorite people on this earth,
Mr.
Bobby Menendez.
Words truly cannot describe howspecial of a person he is to
me.
And I know that feeling isshared by so many who have had
the privilege of knowing himeither as an educator, a leader,
(00:54):
a coach, a family man.
He has touched so many lives inthis community in so many ways
that I know he has mostcertainly earned his place as
one of the greatest Key WestConchs of all time.
And he deserves to becelebrated.
And I'm so honored to be a partof that celebration.
Personally, for me, he's hadsuch a tremendous impact on me
(01:17):
throughout my life, especiallythrough high school, college.
You know, he's always beenthere for me, guiding me and
encouraging me to be successful,to be a leader and to do what's
right by our community.
And I do have to plug in alittle go-gators there because I
did choose the better college.
Throughout my career, evenbefore I knew I wanted to be in
(01:40):
education, he was always thereto support me.
And throughout my career ineducation, he has been one of my
biggest cheerleaders.
And we've always thought howspecial it is that I've kind of
followed a little bit in of hisfootsteps.
You know, he was at SugarloafSchool as principal there for
years.
I spent seven years, same ashim, seven years at Sugarloaf
(02:02):
School, but in the role ofcounselor, working on my
leadership skills there, andthen came back to Key West High
School in the admin role.
And, you know, as everyoneknows, he was principal of Key
West High School as well.
When I knew I was gonna getnamed principal of Key West High
School, he was one of the firstpeople I had to call.
(02:23):
Him and I have such a specialbond, and um making him proud
and to be able to follow in hisfootsteps in this role.
Um big shoes to Phil.
And um, he is a person that Iwant to make proud in continuing
the traditions and the culturesand the legacy of Kiwaz High
(02:48):
School and Kong Pride.
Um, knowing that uh I'm makinghim proud and continuing the
road that he has paved forgenerations of Kiwaz High School
graduates is so incrediblyimportant to me.
We've always affectionatelyreferred to each other as Gator
(03:08):
and Seminole, and uh now we'veswitched it up a little bit.
He's number three, I'm numberfive.
With regards to Kiwaz Highprincipals that are not only
graduates but native-bornConchs.
And, you know, he's Mr.
Conk Prides.
He he's the epitome of serviceto our community.
I tell all of our students allthe time, service is our
watchword.
(03:28):
We say that in our alma mater.
Um, and just like those wordswill avail for many of us that
are in these roles that serveour community, so will the
legacy of Bobby Menendez,especially his slogan, Conch
pride, don't leave home withoutit.
And I certainly never will.
So thank you, Joy, for givingme the opportunity to be a part
(03:49):
of your podcast.
Mr.
Bobby, I love you more thananything, and go gators, but
more importantly, Conch pride,go Conchs.
Joy Nulisch (04:00):
How are we doing, Conch fans?
I got a good one for you today.
No, better than that, I got thereal one for you today.
We're talking with BobbyMenendez, a true Conch legend
who earned the title Mr.
Konk Pride for inspiring youngConchs on school campuses and
football fields.
Welcome to the show, coach.
Bobby Menendez (04:18):
Hi, Joy.
Thank you so much for uh doingthis special presentation today.
I really, really appreciate it.
And you you the bomb, girl.
Joy Nulisch (04:28):
Hey, I can't have a show called the Conchs and not
have you on it.
So thank you for joining me.
I really, really appreciate it.
It means a lot.
Thank you so much.
And you know, not only to me,every time I put something out
there on social media and askpeople who do they want the next
guest to be, you were the mostrequested guest.
Bobby Menendez (04:47):
Wow, that sounds that's fantastic.
Joy Nulisch (04:50):
So, you know, I ask a question to all my guests.
I usually save it for the endof the episode, and I ask, what
does Conch pride mean to you?
I'm gonna go ahead and startstart with that question.
What does Conch pride mean toyou?
Bobby Menendez (05:05):
Well, first of all, you know as a Conch you're
born and raised on this specialisland.
And so that that that's specialto me, just being a Conch.
And the word pride is I defineit by each letter.
B is for preparation, art,respect, I, integrity, d
(05:28):
dependability, and e foreducation, doing everything you
can to make yourself better inlife and your and your career.
That's what Kong Pride means tome.
Joy Nulisch (05:38):
That's why you earn the title Mr.
Kong Pride.
Bobby Menendez (05:42):
Thank you.
Joy Nulisch (05:43):
And what does that feel like?
You know, all the years sinceyou've been gone off the island,
retired from the schooldistrict, all the years and the
time, what does it mean to youto still be referred to as Mr.
Kong Pride?
Bobby Menendez (05:57):
Well, it it's special because the couple of
things that we have going on,and we've been doing it for the
last this will be our 21st year,is the Menendez Moller for one
thing, and uh that happens everyyear, usually in March or early
April.
And uh it provides uh throughSunset Rotary, it provides money
for a scholarship called theBobby Menendez Kong Pride
(06:20):
Scholarship that we presentevery year at class night at
Keywess High School to a seniorthat has uh met the
qualifications for the award.
So those two things alone wereuh were part of, I guess, where
I got the name Mr.
Kong Pride.
And uh, you know, of course,the the term Kong Pride, don't
(06:40):
leave home without it.
That's that's what we're allabout.
If you have Kong Pride, youdon't leave home without it.
So that's kind of where I'm atwith that that word, or that
those two words.
Joy Nulisch (06:50):
I had that question on a long list of questions
that I have for you.
Um I talked to Manuel CastilloScooby, who was one of your
former football players, and Ishared with him that I was
having you on the show, and heshared some wonderful memories
with me.
And one of the things that heshared with me that he said was
a full circle moment for him asa former football player, he
(07:14):
used to stand by you when yougave those famous pregame
speeches.
But then years later, hisdaughter Jade was the recipient
of the Bobby Menendez Conk PrizeScholarship.
So he said, What a moment itwas for him and his family.
Bobby Menendez (07:29):
Yeah, that that uh that is special.
You know, Scooby, when uh whenI did uh my pregame talks,
because I took that over whenTommy passed away, he would
always stand by me and we andour tradition was we'd all join
hands.
And Scooby was always there,right there, holding my hand.
And I'm getting a littleemotional about that, but it uh,
(07:50):
you know, it always alwaysspecial.
And I see him in the city whenI come down a lot, and and uh
those memories always come backto me about uh about him being
next to me, holding my hand, andwe of course holding the team's
hand, and we're joined togetheras one unit, and basically when
I'm doing my uh pregame talks.
So it uh it was special, and Iappreciate the fact that he
(08:13):
recognized that his daughterplus himself were both part of
my Kong Pride legend.
Jade Castillo (08:21):
Uh my name is Jade Castillo.
I'm a proud graduate of KewisHigh School's class of 2019 and
a grateful recipient of theBobby Menendez Kong Pride
Scholarship.
Tonight I wanted to take amoment to express my heartfelt
gratitude to Bobby MenendezScholarship Committee and to
everyone who supports thisincredible scholarship.
Receiving this scholarship hasmeant so much to me and my
(08:42):
family.
It wasn't just the financialsupport, it was everything that
scholarship represents.
Belief in our dreams,investment in our potential, and
most importantly, pride for ourcomfortability.
Thanks to this chip, yourgenerosity, the generosity of
this community, I had theopportunity to attend college
and earn my degree.
After high school, I attendedTalaxi Community College, where
(09:04):
I played two years of collegesoftball and earned my associate
parts degree.
After that, I decided to hangout with leads and transfer to
the Florida State.
Where I earned my bachelor'sdegree, my mister Bobby, and
business manager.
After 40 amazing years ofTallahassee, I kept my word and
(09:26):
came on to Key West, bringing itback to the place of the people
who gave me so much.
Thank you.
(09:58):
Thank you for believing me,thank you for investing in our
future, and thank you forinspiring me to pay forward.
I promise you get back to thiscommunity just as you are given
to me.
And don't forget what Mr.
Bobby says, Congride.
Don't be on the dialogue.
Joy Nulisch (10:21):
And that's what it's all about, right?
Conch connections.
To me, that's part of KongPride also, is recognizing and
honoring the connections that wehave with one another.
Bobby Menendez (10:31):
No doubt.
No doubt about it.
Joy Nulisch (10:34):
Let's let's back up a little bit.
Talk to me about growing up inKey West and the glory days.
What was Key West like then?
Where where'd you grow up, andwho were some of the kids that
you hung out with?
Bobby Menendez (10:48):
Well, I hung out uh I grew up on Elizabeth
Street, 320 Elizabeth, which isabout two blocks from from uh
the ocean.
The uh the bite there on uh inin downtown Key West.
There, of course, back theneverything uh was military.
Our town was strictly military,you know, not strictly, but
mostly military.
(11:08):
We had submarines, destroyers,uh submarine tenders.
Uh, of course, we still havethe air base there, Coast
Guards.
It was a lot of military.
Most of the people that workedin Key West were civil service
workers and worked for the forthe military, for the Navy and
and the military there that wasbased there.
And uh growing up, um it wasspecial there.
(11:30):
I lived uh a couple blocks fromTommy, my best friend, Tommy
Roberts.
There was a gentleman, uh BobParks, right up the street from
me that I grew up with.
And uh we kind of all hungtogether.
Uh a bunch of guys, uh, but thethe two closest friends were
Tommy and and Bob Parks.
So we all kind of hung outtogether.
And uh there was uh where thepublic library is there on
(11:52):
Fleming Street, we used to callthat the lot.
And we would go down there andyou know play basketball or play
different sports and uh and youknow meet up with some of our
other friends in the area and uhand have uh competitions and it
was it was a good time.
Joy Nulisch (12:09):
They called it the golden era of Kong baseball when
Boog Powell and the greatGeorge Mira and Santana and
those guys were winningchampionships.
Do you have any memories ofwatching them play ball?
Bobby Menendez (12:23):
Oh yeah, I I remember uh of course I remember
Boog and I remember George,both both uh ex you know,
fantastic athletes.
And uh, and of course, uh I gotto play with their brother
Charlie Powell, Carl Taylor.
We all played ball togetherthere uh after after George
graduated, and of course Boogmoved on to the Orioles.
(12:43):
And but no, I remember thoseguys, and of course, uh Joe
Mira, uh George's brother, and Iwere good friends.
We played ball together atKeywest High School.
So, you know, I've I was closeto the family, I guess, because
we all grew up on PackersStreet, which is uh right down
there uh next to uh right off ofuh Truman Avenue.
Joy Nulisch (13:04):
And I I think being that you are so close with the
Mira family, you won't mind ifwe just take a moment and
remember George Mira, the Conchlegend, and we gotta keep his
stories alive.
He'll always be remembered andappreciated for the great
athlete and Conch that he was.
Bobby Menendez (13:20):
Yes, he uh and I did text uh Joe sending my
condolences regarding uh George.
And of course, he was sufferinga little bit uh prior to his
passing, and uh God bless him,and it was a it was a pleasure
and an honor to to know Georgeand be a part of his
neighborhood.
Joy Nulisch (13:38):
As kids growing up here in Key West, we're so lucky
to have great athletes, right?
Yes, I mean a long list ofgreat athletes.
You were a multi-sport athleteat Key West High.
Tell me about those days andwhat sports did you play?
Bobby Menendez (13:55):
I played all three in high school.
Of course, football was mynumber one sport, and uh I
played basketball and baseball.
So I played all three sports inhigh school, and uh I excel uh,
you know, my fa like I said, myfavorite was football, but I
used to look forward to thechanges in the seasons, and uh
then then we'd move tobasketball and then of course
(14:15):
baseball in uh February,January, and February.
But um the I really enjoyed thethe coaching and and the
camaraderie uh that we had withall the guys that I played with.
Joy Nulisch (14:27):
No, I talked to a mutual friend of ours, Danny
Jimenez, and uh he told me theyused to call you Lightning Lou.
Bobby Menendez (14:34):
Yeah, yeah I don't know how lightning I am,
but I got that nickname.
I I don't I don't really knowhow how I got it, but I wasn't
that fast, but uh that's whatthey that's what they used to
call me, Lightning Lou.
Joy Nulisch (14:49):
That's awesome.
Not too many kids play multiplesports nowadays, so but
whenever I talk to the legends,that's one thing that they have
in common.
Bobby Menendez (14:57):
Yeah, they most kids now specialize.
They specialize in one, youknow, and work on the skills of
one sport instead of playing allthree.
I agree.
Uh you don't see too many threethree-year sportsmen.
Joy Nulisch (15:10):
And you talked about football.
What was what were the fightingConchs like during that time?
And who were some of yourteammates and who who was your
who were your coaches?
Bobby Menendez (15:19):
My coaches back then were Coach Allen, who uh
went off to the University ofMiami uh and started coaching
there, and we played all the bigschools in Miami.
We played Palmetto, we playedCarl Gables, we played all these
different schools.
Of course, they were uh a lot alot larger than than we were at
Key West High School, but wewere very competitive and uh we
(15:42):
uh we played well againstagainst uh those big schools,
and we had great records duringthose years as well.
Joy Nulisch (15:49):
And you did so well that you earned a full ride to
FSU.
Tell me about those years atFSU and what was it like for a
Key West boy to go toTallahassee and play D1
football.
Bobby Menendez (16:00):
I tell you what, it was it was fantastic.
Uh, the gentleman thatrecruited me, a guy named Don
James, Coach Don James, uh he'spast now, but he ended up
recruiting me at Key West HighSchool, and they uh signed a
four-year scholarship to FloridaState University, where I had
uh a great, fantastic career.
I I uh ended up my senior yearas a a co-defensive player of
(16:23):
the year, and uh so it was uh itwas a great career.
Played in three college bowls,two Gator Bowls and a Sun Bowl,
and those were proud moments tocome from an island and and have
that kind of success on thefootball field.
Joy Nulisch (16:38):
Hey, I would say so.
And Danny also told me to askyou about the game that you
played against Larry Zonka.
Bobby Menendez (16:46):
Oh Lord have mercy.
Uh he played he played atSyracuse, and uh he was uh
unbelievable dude.
And myself and and Mike Blattboth were on the defensive side
of the ball.
Mike was a linebacker, I was adefensive end, and I think when
when he got the ball, it tookabout three or four of us to try
to get him down.
I tackled him three or fourtimes in one in one now in one
(17:09):
run.
He he was a he was the biggestguy I had seen in uh Larry's
Uncle or something else atSyracuse.
Joy Nulisch (17:17):
Oh man, what what cool memories.
And I've seen some pictures ofthose bowl rings that you
mentioned.
What's it like to play in abowl game, especially now this
time of year we have the bowlgames coming up?
Do you still have memories anddreams about those days?
Bobby Menendez (17:32):
Oh yeah, we you know it's what what's special
about them is of course it's uhyou you know, you get watches,
you get a ring.
Obviously, there's a lot of uhfanfare and and uh pride in
being able to play postseason.
And uh so that's that's themain thing.
You know, at my senior year in67, 1967, we played uh in the
(17:54):
Gator Bowl against Penn State,and Penn State had a uh rival
team, and uh we uh we ended uptying them.
They tied us actually, 17-17.
And back then they they didn'thave tiebreakers, but it was it
was a wonderful way to finish mycareer at Florida State in the
Gator Bowl in 1967.
Joy Nulisch (18:14):
And I think it's no coincidence that so many people
uh Florida State fans here inKey West, you know.
Yeah, I think you probably hada lot to do with that.
And you mentioned Mike Black,so we had two Key West boys up
there playing at Florida Stateat the same time.
Bobby Menendez (18:30):
Right, right.
And then we were Mike and Iwere very proud of that, being
able to come from that island,you know, Key West and and both
end up starting on defense andand doing a great job for
Florida State.
Joy Nulisch (18:42):
Yeah, and like I said, there's still the uh a lot
of FSU no fans down here.
Uh you either root for the no'sor or you root for the
hurricanes.
And in Florida's in there too,somewhere.
You can tell I'm not know muchon the gators, but yeah.
Bobby Menendez (18:59):
Yeah, but I'm not I'm not a big Gator fan
either, but uh but but they'rethere, they're in Key West,
believe me.
Joy Nulisch (19:04):
No, absolutely, absolutely.
I'm sure I'm gonna be getting alot of text messages for that
comment.
Maybe we'll edit that part out.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You got control.
Nobody will ever know we saidthat.
So you come back to Key West.
Do you start coaching and getinto education right after
college?
Tell me about how that journeystarted.
Bobby Menendez (19:25):
Well, that that journey started in 1968.
I get a call.
I'm finishing up.
I I was I had uh anothersemester left before I could get
my degree, which was fromJanuary to March in 1968.
So I'm in my apartment and Iget a call from Glenn Archer.
And uh Mr.
Archer says, said Bobby, I wantyou to come to K US High and
(19:47):
teach and coach.
And I said, Mr.
Hey, Mr.
Archer, I said, I I don't havea teaching degree.
He says, Don't worry about it.
He says, I'll take care ofthat.
And uh because I had a degreein business administration, so
in June.
Of that year, I head back toKey West and I started working
at the high school.
And during that time, I had totake different courses.
(20:08):
Some of them I even had tocommute to Miami, to Florida
International, taking certaincourses in order to meet the uh
requirements for a Floridateaching certificate.
So that took me, I don't know,maybe about a year or so.
And at that time he hired me asa permanent sub.
So I I worked as a permanentsub in a place, and he asked me
(20:31):
to, this is funny.
He said, We needed like alittle detention center because
some of our kids, you know,behaviors weren't uh weren't the
best.
So he says, I want you tocontrol the, you know, have this
room where these teachers, ifthe kids are disruptive, can
send them to you.
So and and and the sad partabout it, it was called a funny
(20:52):
farm.
That's that's what they callthe room.
The kids made that up, not me.
And I would sit in there andand you know make them do their
work and and that kind of stuff.
And so it was it was prettyinteresting.
And then I finally got my uh uhteaching certificate, and
that's when I started teachingbusiness economics there at in
(21:12):
the commercial track, and Tommywas like the assistant principal
there at the time.
So, you know, we both startedour careers right about the same
time.
Joy Nulisch (21:21):
I I paused for a moment because you're talking
about Mr.
Glenn Archer and Tommy Robertsin the same sentence, and it
just kind of made me catch mybreath.
Talk about Conch Pride andpeople who have influenced all
of us.
It just took me a moment tofeel that.
You you mentioned Tommy Robertsa couple times now.
(21:42):
You you grew up with him.
Bobby Menendez (21:43):
Was he a principal at the school then?
Or you were both at that atthat time he was uh like
working, uh he was an assistantprincipal.
And and then I and then I uh Igot the opportunity to go to
Glen Archer uh uh elementary, uhit was Glenn Archer uh junior
high at the time, and I wentthere as an assistant principal
(22:04):
to get and I went through andgot my credential for that.
Then I had to get my master'sdegree in order to become an
educational leadership in orderto become a principal.
So I worked a number of yearson that, got my master's, and
that's that's when Glenn and Dr.
Henriquez offered me SugarloafElementary, and that was in
1981, and I went up there as theprincipal, and I was there
(22:27):
until Tommy passed in 1988,April 1st, 1988, and that's when
I took over Keywest High Schooland did his graduating class,
the class of 88.
And uh my first class was aclass of 89 at Keywess High
School.
Joy Nulisch (22:44):
Lots of memories come back.
I graduated '86, class of '86.
But um, but yeah, I re Iremember that time you're
talking, and um I'm rememberingthe loss of Tommy Roberts and
the impact that it had on thecommunity.
I was I was young during thattime, but it was like the first
time that I felt like acommunity mourn, and you know,
(23:07):
the the impact of of that loss.
Danny Jimenez, I mentioned himthree times already, but he also
mentioned that time to me andhow important it was.
And there was really no oneelse, nobody better to take over
Key West High.
It needed to be you.
Bobby Menendez (23:23):
Talking about community.
That that's kind of how I Ilooked at it because I I mean I
love Sugarloaf, SugarloafElementary, and we built a
middle school there as well.
So it was Sugarloaf ElementaryMiddle when I left.
And uh just I just felt like uhit was time for me to carry on
the traditions that Tommy hadset in place at Keywess High.
(23:43):
And that's when I went to Dr.
Henrique's and and said thatuh, you know, I I would like to
go to Keywess High.
And he granted that that uhopportunity to me.
And I um I've been alwaysgrateful because of that that
opportunity.
And we just carried on thetraditions that that were part
of uh Tommy's uh uh led, youknow, Tommy's uh traditions, and
(24:04):
I just picked them up andcarried them forward.
Joy Nulisch (24:07):
And uh you mentioned Bucky Henriquez,
another one, again, talkingabout Conch Pride and the
successful career that he hadand the opportunities that he
granted many of us.
I think of uh you mentionedGlenn Archer school, that was
the junior high that I wassupposed to go to from
Pointiana, and then at the timethat uh they end up merging
(24:29):
H.O.B.
and Glenn Archer.
So I end up going to H.O.B.
Bobby Menendez (24:33):
You know, Glenn Glenn Archer, uh there's three
people that impacted my life.
Of course, my wife Kathy, my uhGlenn Archer Jr.
and Dr.
Henry.
And uh those those three folkshave had a tremendous impact on
my on my career and and uh mylife.
And and I am so grateful to allthree of them for what they've
(24:55):
done for me.
You know, when you when I thinkabout Glenn, I think about him
as a coach.
When I think about Dr.
Henriquez, I think of him as myteacher and my coach, because
he did teach biology and I wasin his biology class.
You know, these to these twoguys were uh were instrumental
in my career.
It was it was it wasunbelievable.
(25:15):
Glenn calls me up, and then Dr.
H gave me the opportunity to bea principal at both Sugarloaf
and Key West High School.
Joy Nulisch (25:24):
And what a legendary career.
I know that you made them veryproud.
Bobby Menendez (25:30):
I tell you what, it's um I wanted to make them
proud because I guess they knewsomething about me that I
didn't, because they gave methose opportunities, and uh they
don't they don't come alongjust because uh because of your
name.
They they because they had theysaw something in me as as a as
a leader and and uh I wanted tomake them proud.
Joy Nulisch (25:48):
So one of the things that a lot of your
students have reached out to meand told me to ask you about
were the morning announcements.
As a principal, you were famousfor those morning
announcements.
How did that come about?
Bobby Menendez (26:02):
You know, I I just I just felt like I wanted
to start the day on a positivenote.
And I would always come onfirst thing in the morning, and
if I had a quote, I would, youknow, I would uh indicate a
quote, or if somebody was havinga birthday, a couple of people
in the in the building, I wouldrecognize their birthdays.
I don't know, it was just justa lot of different things.
(26:22):
That's part of preparation too,because you just don't get them
on the mic and and saysomething.
You know, you I would preparesomething each morning to uh to
share with the with thestudents.
And um, I don't know if theyeven do that anymore, but uh
that that was special to me tobe able to to to come on and and
get people fired up uh aboutthe day and you know just
(26:46):
anything if there was somespecial recognition of a student
did something really well, youknow, that's that's just the way
it was.
It and and I enjoyed it verymuch.
Joy Nulisch (26:56):
Yeah, you when you when you're saying that and you
know keeping the positive andkeeping things light.
One of the other conversationsI had was with Randy Acevedo,
and I let him know that I wasgoing to be interviewing you,
talk about being prepared.
See, I prepared, I did myhomework, coach.
Got prepared, right?
And uh, and I knew that you andhim, baby.
(27:17):
That's it.
That's what I'm talking about.
So I knew that you and he had aa long relationship, you know,
from the time he was a footballplayer to his professional
career.
So I reached out to him and heshared a few stories.
Um, like I said, you were hisfootball coach.
Then when he came back fromcollege, he he coached with you.
(27:39):
And then finally he he alsoworked for the school district
and had a successful career.
And the common theme that heshared with me was that you
always kept things like youalways built people up, had a
positive attitude.
No matter what kind of tensesituation was, you know, on the
(28:00):
table, you always brought thepositivity and levity to the
moment.
Bobby Menendez (28:06):
I think uh I'm thinking when you were talking
about that in Randy, I wasthinking about this positive
situation that transpired in1996.
Alma Olsen was the principal ofK Wis High at the time, and she
asked me, I was downtown, andshe asked me if if I would take
over their football program.
They were 0-5, and I mean theywere not a good year.
(28:30):
That was they weren't doingwell at all.
And she asked me, so I asked uhthe superintendent at the time,
I think it was uh either RuggerWalker Mike Lown, I can't
remember, and he said, Go ahead.
So I took a we we met in J-WingAuditorium.
You remember J-Wing?
Absolutely.
Uh we met and I told all theplayers because they were
quitting and and just everybodywas just done, you know.
(28:52):
And we got it, we met in theauditorium, and uh we we I
talked about, hey, if you youquit, don't worry about it, come
back out.
So we had kids, we callourselves the dirty 30.
I think about 30 kids showed upat 0 and 5, and we won the last
four out of the five games thatwe played that year, and it was
(29:13):
attributed to our coaches,which Randy uh uh Acevedo was
one of them, Robert James.
I'm trying to think of some ofthe other guys, Danny Mariscal,
probably Dan, I think DannyJimenez might have been there.
But anyway, uh we just had infact, let me take a minute just
to recognize some of thesecoaches that I worked with.
(29:34):
Um, of course, Tommy Roberts.
Tommy was my best friend, andhe and I started coaching
together.
Then you had Dave Evans, andyou'll remember some of these
names.
Pat Freeman, Pat Labrata, DannyJimenez, a guy named Terry
Dilner, he's in Pennsylvanianow, Robert James, who I just
mentioned, Randy Acevedo, as Imentioned, Danny Mariscal, Jerry
(29:56):
Hughes, Mike Rodriguez, HuttHudson, Mike Wynn, Bill, Mike
Wing, Bill Trout, Wayne Miller,Judge Wayne Miller.
You know, you know the judge.
Here comes the judge.
Joy Nulisch (30:06):
Yeah, I want to get him on my on the show.
Bobby Menendez (30:08):
Yeah.
Chuck Freeman.
You know, because we do ourcomp reunion at his place.
We we're coming up on year 10uh next year.
And Joe Russo and then GeneRoberts, these are Jerry Hughes,
I think I mentioned, and MikeRodriguez.
Uh, these are just some of theguys that I coach with, and
these are the guys that made adifference for Key West High
School in uh in the in thefootball program there.
(30:31):
And uh it was it was it was anhonor to be a part of the that
great bunch of folks.
Joy Nulisch (30:37):
Yeah, yeah, I'm glad you brought that up, and I
I did have that on my list alsoto ask you about that coaching
fraternity, that brotherhood offootball legends, those names
that you mentioned, that raiseda hair on your neck.
Because that's serious footballminds right there.
What's it like to be part ofthat group?
Because that doesn't end whenthe season ends or when your
(30:59):
career ends.
Like you said, you guys stillget together.
Tell me about that camaraderiebetween you.
Bobby Menendez (31:05):
Well, it the whole thing started at uh in
Chieflin, Chieflin, Florida,with these Conch reunions that
we started putting together.
And it was it was about coachesand play, you know, former
players and friends.
And that's that's when we allcome together.
And it's usually in the springof every year.
And like I say, this is year 10coming up.
This will be our tenth year,and it's at the what we call the
(31:27):
Freeman compound, that's ChuckFreeman's place, there in
Chiefland, Florida.
And uh all of us get there, andmost of our coaches, believe it
or not, come to this event.
And you know, we share allkinds of war stories, obviously.
Uh uh, and it's just uh it'sjust a great time to be together
and and share the the like yousay, the camaraderie that we've
(31:50):
had through the many years thatwe work together.
Joy Nulisch (31:52):
I talked to Heather Freeman the other day and one
of Key WestI's homecomingqueens, Mr.
Chin's daughter, and uh shesaid that that has that reunion
has grown from being a coach'sreunion to adding players, and
now pretty much if you love theConchs, you're welcome to come
to the reunion.
Bobby Menendez (32:11):
Oh, yeah, it's op it's open to you know
anybody, and I and what I do isI I send out an email every year
uh with as many emails that Ihave, you know, 60 or so emails
to let everybody know the dateand the time and and all of
those things.
And that's that's uh it's opento uh everyone.
It doesn't have to be a coach,you don't have to be a player,
(32:33):
you can be a friend, a relative,whatever.
Um and we'd love to have you.
Joy Nulisch (32:38):
Hey, what can you imagine if we did a podcast on
location?
We set up a couple cameras anda couple of mics, and it I mean,
what do you think?
Bobby Menendez (32:47):
Think about it this year, Joy.
Think about it this year.
That that would be a treat.
And I tell you what, that wouldbe one heck of a podcast.
It would be wonderful.
Joy Nulisch (32:57):
Yeah, I I think we might be on to something, so
let's let's definitely stay intouch.
Bobby Menendez (33:02):
Well, I'm gonna remind you uh when it gets when
I get that date.
I'll remind you.
And uh, of course, I got yourphone number now.
That's it.
Of course, it's under it'sunder Tech Newell, it's not Joy.
Joy Nulisch (33:14):
I love that.
I got I earned a nickname fromyou.
That that matters that's right.
Bobby Menendez (33:19):
That's right.
Joy Nulisch (33:20):
Hey, so let's talk a little bit about more about
football, right?
Because you you coach so manyplayers.
My classmate, um, I mentionedclass 86, Todd Weston.
He reached out when he heardthat I was doing this interview
with you.
He's he wanted to thank you forall the time and patience that
you took with him and theteammates.
(33:40):
He said it was interesting howfiery you were as a football
coach teaching those lessons.
But when it came to the lifelessons, it was a whole
different demeanor, much morepatient and calm.
But um, he wanted to know whatwere some of your most memorable
games as a coach?
Bobby Menendez (33:58):
Oh boy, oh that's that's a tough call, but
uh, because we had so manyrivalries.
I guess some of my memorablegames was when when we took when
I took over uh in 96 uh uhafter you know after I retired
from the coach, because Icoached 22 years at Kiwasai.
And and some of the victories,I mean, here we got these
(34:19):
schools like Killy and and Ely,Pompano Ely coming down, and
they got like 90, 100, you know,100 players that they take up
the whole field, and here we gotthe dirty 30 that that take up
the end zone, you know what I'msaying?
And these kids, and you know,of course we get we get them
fired up and and obviously verycompetitive, and we beat four
(34:41):
out of the five five of thoseschools that those shoot the you
know, the Achilleans, the thePompano Ely's, you know, these
these teams that were beyond ourcompetition, but our we reached
down and and those kids came upwith the plays and we walked
away with the victory.
Joy Nulisch (34:58):
Do you think that those fiery pregame speeches had
something to do with that fire?
Bobby Menendez (35:04):
You know, the the pregame speeches were was my
pride and joy.
What I would do each week is isto try to pick a theme
sacrifice, leadership,sportsmanship, respect, uh,
teamwork, you know, all of thesedifferent themes that uh that
uh that I would come up with,and then I would try to and then
(35:26):
I'd use the words, you know,I'd spell out the word senior,
and each each letter had a had aspecial meaning, you know, like
sacrifice, enthusiasm, thatthose kind of things, you know,
and and uh but it it took a lotof plan preparation, you know,
like uh like we always talkabout.
Preparation's part of thepride.
And but but to get those kidsin that emotional state prior to
(35:48):
a game, because that's how youplay the game of football.
It's played with emotion.
You just don't walk out on thatfield.
You you you're emotionallyready to take on that battle.
And uh and that's what that'swhat I would try to do, get them
emotionally ready to play thatgame.
It's something else.
Joy Nulisch (36:07):
Hey, I wish I wish I could have been a fly on the
wall, or maybe not, because Iheard that a few times there
might have been punctuationpoints where where things got
broke.
You know, there might have beensomething that flew across the
room.
Was that part of the plan?
Bobby Menendez (36:24):
I remember one time, I I mean, and I don't know
what prompted me to do this,but we uh we were playing a team
that was beyond beyond ourtalent.
And I don't know, for somereason I had something in my
hand, I don't know what it was,but I got so fired up myself
with the talk that I threw thisthing against the wall and it
hit the mirror, and a glass wenteverywhere.
(36:45):
You talk about fired up.
The kids couldn't get out ofthere quick enough to get on the
field.
It was it was amazing, it wasamazing, and uh of course I
never did that again.
I was I was careful not to haveanything in my hand when I made
those talks.
But that was crazy.
That was a crazy time.
Joy Nulisch (37:02):
Well, those um those stories are continuing to
be told.
I had Chaz Jimenez on the show,you know, he's uh uh wrestling
coach, doing been uh, I thinkcoaching like over 15 years, has
a very successful program.
You know, cool story, right?
Because his daddy Danny, youknow, second generation coach,
but he remembers those speechesfrom being a little kid, even
(37:24):
before he was a player.
Michael Henriquez Jr.
mentioned the speeches, BillyWardlow, um, already mentioned
Scooby, Jonathan Jolly, alsoJonathan, yes.
Yeah, he said you even did apregame speech for the baseball
team one year.
Bobby Menendez (37:40):
I did.
That's right.
I'm glad he he remembered that.
And and I forgot who asked me.
Maybe it was um, I don't knowwho I forgot who the head coach
was at the time, but I remembertaking him out into left field,
and uh it was it was a big game.
It was uh a champion, I thinkit might have been a
championship, like a districtchampionship or something,
something to that effect.
And and I went out there and uhI got him, I got him psyched.
(38:02):
I got him, got him ready toplay.
Joy Nulisch (38:05):
That's good stuff.
Like I said, that's how thelegends live, is that we keep
telling the stories.
When's the last time you'vebeen to Key West and when will
you be back again?
Bobby Menendez (38:14):
The last time I think my wife and I were down,
uh I want to say, I'm not I Ican't remember now.
I'm trying to think.
When when was it?
I think it was the summer, Joy.
Uh we went down this summer,and uh we'll probably come back,
come down there after Christmasin January sometime, and to to
visit and you know catch up onsome of the friends.
(38:36):
And of course, we I have oneson that lives there, Chris.
Chris yeah, he lives there anduh lives and works at the tag
office, and uh so that's who wevisit.
And of course, uh we stay withhim when we come down.
Joy Nulisch (38:49):
And uh you go ahead and let's talk about your
family.
I hear Miss Kathy back there,but what it where where you
where are you now?
You're not in Key West anymore.
You moved to the mainland.
What are you what are you doingwith your time and and tell me
about your family up there?
Bobby Menendez (39:02):
Yeah, we're uh we're in Jacksonville.
We've been here uh about fiveyears now.
Spend a lot of time with uh ourdaughter and my grandson
Thomas, who who uh introducedhimself.
We uh just hang out down here.
We we hang out in the gym, wedo do different things together.
Thomas uh plays basketball, soI take him to games and and uh
take him to practice and thatkind of stuff.
(39:25):
So I'm a busy, a busy retiredguy, believe me.
Joy Nulisch (39:29):
I love that.
Does he know that the K WestHigh School basketball gym is
named for you, the BobbyMenendez gym?
Bobby Menendez (39:36):
Yeah, he uh yes, he knows.
We uh in fact, uh I took apicture with him in front of
that trophy case that uh thatyou sent me those pictures of.
That's uh that that's an honorto appreciate um having that
having my name on that, and ofcourse, my best friend's names
on the football field, and thenmy two mentors, Dr.
(39:59):
Uh Henry.
Enriquez is at theadministration building and then
Glenn Archer's at theperforming arts at Key West High
School.
So all my people.
All my peeps.
We got our name.
We got our name on something.
Joy Nulisch (40:12):
Hey that that that's good company and the
legacy will always be there forsure.
We'll always be able to say,who's that guy?
You know, who's that guy?
Well, um, tell me more aboutthe Key West connections.
You m you're multi-generationConch.
You mentioned Chris, you comedown here um to see your son,
but who are some of the otherConchs that you're connected to
(40:35):
here on the island?
Bobby Menendez (40:36):
Well, I got uh Didi, you know, Dee Dee's the
mayor, Didi Henriquez.
Uh she's the mayor, and ofcourse Ralph Enriquez, her
husband and I were good friends.
When he was uh uh playing ball,I used to pitch patent practice
to him, and then of course hehe played professionally for a
couple of years.
And then you got my best, youknow, good friend Pat Labrata.
Of course, Danny Jimenez, theseare the guys that I've that I
(41:00):
hang with, Leon Fowler.
Yeah, I see I see DannyMariscal every once in a while
because he's a fireman.
Alex Vega, who's who's afireman, I think he's retired
now.
Randy Tynes, good friend ofmine, um that I always uh you
know try to try to see when Icome down.
Uh you're gonna tell him towatch the show.
Uh yeah, yeah.
(41:21):
I'm gonna uh definitely whenyou get it edited and give me
the green light, I'll send it tosome folks.
Uh folks have been asking me,uh, what's how you gonna get how
you I said she'll edit it andI'll and I'll send it to you on
YouTube.
So they'll they'll they'll belooking forward to it, believe
me.
Joy Nulisch (41:37):
I imagine we might go viral with this one.
I might hit that algorithm andtake off.
This will be the most viewedshow ever, and it's just getting
started.
Bobby Menendez (41:48):
Yeah, I appreciate it.
Joy Nulisch (41:50):
Hey, I really appreciate you taking time to be
on the show and sharing thegreat stories.
I'm sure you'll be back closerto the time when we need to
raise money again for the nextscholarship.
I do want to add, I don't knowif we mentioned it or not, but
this is like 20 years of thatscholarship, over $100,000 has
(42:10):
been granted to high schoolseniors.
That's a really big deal.
I know you'll be back again forthe Menendez Mila.
I hope to see you.
But thank you for being on thisshow.
Thank you for all the years ofsupport.
You know, I love receiving anemail randomly from you telling
me that you're proud of me, thatI'm doing good things.
You reached out about this showalso to say that you liked it,
(42:33):
which means a lot to me.
I really appreciate everythingthat you do for Key West, for
me, for all the Conchs.
And you know, it's all aboutthat Conch pride.
We don't leave home without it.
Bobby Menendez (42:44):
That's right.
Joy Nulisch (42:52):
And I think we'll end it right there.
Bobby Menendez (42:54):
Thank you so much, Joy.
You have a great Christmas, anduh, we love you and uh we look
forward to uh to the printedversion, uh edited version, I
should say, of the show so much.
Thank you so much.
Joy Nulisch (43:05):
Yes, sir.
We'll get it out to the peoplesoon.
Go Conchs.
This episode is sponsored byRamonas, promoting Conk Prize
since 1971.
I'm Joy Newlish, and Iappreciate you tuning into my
podcast.
My purpose is to bring joy intomy life and the lives of
others.
If you enjoyed this episode,drop a review, share, and
subscribe because there's a lotof good stuff on tap.
(43:27):
You can also follow Bring Joyon YouTube and Instagram or
check my website atjoynoodish.com.
Now go bring joy to the peoplein your world.
Until next time, much up.
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