The Park Director: Huante's Hazard Park Haven

The Park Director takes us into the life of service that Ray Huante lived as a park director who became a father figure to many of us. He exposed thousands of young people to many sports so you might wonder why baseball, basketball gymnastics, and football are intertwined with cross country and track. However, that’s what a great park director and a teacher should do. Exposure to the unknown is a great opportunity to learn something new and after all, that’s what we should all strive to be, lifelong learners. Ray Huante was Hazard Park Director for more than a decade, and it was there where he made a lifelong impression on us “barrio” kids who eventually became “his boys and girls.” Thousands of young people were touched by this man’s gentle ability to listen, inspire, and protect in what could have been a dangerous drug and gang-infested environment.

In one of the most beautiful yet dangerous parts of East Los Angeles, Hazard Park sits in a valley-like 26.5-acre mix of grass areas patched with small wetlands. It was the right fit for Ray Huante to be assigned Park Director. He became known as a second father to many of us.