Ned Baker - WHS 1936
Ned was born October 5, 1919 in Pomona, California and was the only son of Glenn and Nita Ferris Baker. He was raised on the family citrus ranch west of Woodlake, attended Woodlake Union High School, College of the Sequoias, and graduated with a BS in marketing from the University of California, Berkeley. He was the founder of Glenita Ranches in Woodlake and a partner in Visalia Citrus Packing Group.
Ned’s commitment to local education began when he was elected the Woodlake Union High School Board of Trustees in 1950. He subsequently served as member and president of the Tulare-County School Boards Association, on California School Boards Association as a representative of Tulare and Kern Counties, and as president of the Tulare County Academic Decathlon committee. Baker served another 30 years on the College of Sequoias Board of Trustees from 1967-1996.
Ned participated in numerous civic activities throughout his life and was honored as “Woodlake Man of the Year” in 1963. He served on the Board of Directors of Agricultural Producers for 25 years and as Chairman of the Board for over a decade. He served on the Board of Directors of the Tulare County Lemon Association for 15 years. In 1997 he was inducted into the COS Hall of Fame in recognition of outstanding achievement.
During one period he served on nine different boards of directors at the same time. He was also a Past President of the Woodlake Rotary Club.
Ned also provided leadership in the citrus business, serving on the board of directors of the Tulare County Lemon Association, as chairman of Agriculture Producers, and as a member of the Navel Orange, Valencia Orange, and Lemon Administrative Committees. In 1976, he was appointed by the governor to represent citrus growers on the State Board of Food and Agriculture. He later became the face and voice of Sunkist Growers through a series of TV and radio commercials broadcast in the U.S. and England.
Ned and his wife, Karyll, had three children and three grandchildren that are WHS graduates: sons Jeff, 1961, Terry 1965 and his wife Sally Dudley Baker 1976, Craig and wife Becky Walters Baker 1975 and their children Kyle 2002, Jennifer 2003, and Ryan 2007. Ned and Karyll were two of the founding members of the St. Clement Anglican Church in Woodlake. Both were active leaders in the ministry of the church, working to build the St. Clement Day Care Center to serve the community. Ned passed away January 24, 2010.
It is indeed an honor to induct Ned Baker into the Woodlake Union High School Hall of Fame.
