Oral history interview with David Mondt and Curtis Jones conducted by Stefani Evans, Claytee White, and Bethany Dayton on June 16, 2025 for the Game On! An Oral History of Las Vegas Sports project. In this interview, Mondt and Jones discuss being part of the Las Vegas Gay Softball League. Mondt is the current Commissioner for the league, and Jones is a longtime player who has been inducted into the Hall of Fame for his performance and contributions. Mondt begins by telling about his early life in Missouri and Florida, attending college, and learning to love journalism. He eventually moved to Las Vegas in December 2004 to begin his career with local newspaper, the Las Vegas Sun. Jones then recalls his childhood, and moving frequently because his father was in the military. During his senior year of high school, the family again relocated to Las Vegas, and his family arrived in August 1972. He attended UNLV and received a Bachelors in Early Childhood Education and a Masters in Educational Administration. Both then discuss the founding of the Las Vegas Gay Softball League (LVGSL). Mondt discusses how his introduction into softball was aided by Jones being an incredible coach. The LVGSL continues to grow, and the league has had many players make it to national championships and the Hall of Fame. Both describe their hope to make a place that is inclusive and lets players feel free to truly be themselves. Digital audio available, no transcript available.
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Oral history interview with Matthew Montalto conducted by Claytee D. White and Stefani Evans on September 5, 2024 for the UNLV Remembers: an Oral History of the 6 December 2023 Shootings project. In this interview, Montalto begins by describing his childhood in Las Vegas, after his family moved here from Anchorage, Alaska when he was five. Montalto graduated in 2000, and completed nearly one year at UNLV before a medical condition forced him to withdraw. For the next 14 years, Montalto worked various office jobs before realizing he wanted a college degree. In 2019, UNLV awarded him his B.A. degree in English and Creative Writing, and he soon found work in the Department of Anthropology. On December 6, 2023, he and his husband, Jose, parked on Maryland Parkway in front of Flora Dungan Hall (FDH); before saying goodbye, they made plans to meet for lunch in the Student Union. Montalto talks about his pride that UNLV didn't hire the shooter, and that through this, he and UNLV have "become better versions" of themselves. He describes therapy, support systems, and the power of gaming narrative story groups. He mentions the school shooting in Winder, Georgia in the context of the Columbine High School and Sandy Hook shootings. He learned he is more stable in a crisis than he knew, and he performs well under pressure. Digital audio and transcript available.
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Oral history interview with Finley Cotrone conducted by Claytee D. White and Stefani Evans on August 26, 2024 for the UNLV Remembers: an Oral History of the 6 December 2023 Shootings project. In this interview, Cotrone, Associate Professor in Residence at UNLV's William F. Harrah College of Hospitality, describes how her students were giving their final presentations to Cotrone, Lateka Grays, and Vince Eade when the alarm sounded. They were in a second-floor classroom in Beam Hall (BEH). When the fire alarms sounded, most of Cotrone's students--thinking it was a fire--ran down the stars and out of the building. When Cotrone attempted to get a student who uses a wheelchair and her friend to an elevator, an officer pulled a gun on the group. The group went into a nearby kitchen, which had too many doors and lights they couldn’t turn off. When the group was finally released, security officers escorted them down the stairs to the front exit of BEH, where the group saw the deceased shooter before being ushered toward the Risk Management building. Cotrone returned the next day to retrieve her car, and used Zoom meetings to talk with her students about their experiences. She talks about how she has not sought therapy; but says she talks about the shooting openly to gain power over it. The interview concludes with political discussions about guns and racism. Digital audio and transcript available.
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Oral history interview with John Sloan conducted by Stefani Evans and Claytee D. White on April 7, 2025 for the Game On! An Oral History of Sports project. In this interview Sloan talks about his upbringing in Illinois, mentioning how he grew up playing sports, but nothing competitvely. He went to college and graduated with a dual B.S. and J.D., then jumped into the work force in financial sales. He was later given the chance to run for state's attorney in Mercer County, Illinois; though he was resistant at first, he decided to give it a try and won the election. He was the state's attorney for eight years before moving around the midwest for various financial jobs. Eventually, Sloan was able to retire in Las Vegas, Nevada, which began his love of pickleball. He and his wife traveled for a non-sporting event in St. George, Utah and while trying to find a tennis court to play in, discovered pickleball. Eventually, he succeeded in getting the first public dedicated pickleball courts in Nevada placed at Police Memorial Park. Sloan also helped start and run the Las Vegas Pickleball Club, becoming an ambassador to the USAPA for seven years. He was able to get courts installed at Sunset Park, Police Memorial Park, and the Veterans Memorial Community Center and has recruited the next generation of pickleball players in Las Vegas. To this day, he still plays pickleball with family and friends, and has even introduced his grandchildren to the sport. Digital and transcript available.
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Interviewed by Monserrath Hernández and Barbara Tabach. Jahaira Farias is a graduate of Western High School, a Marine Corps veteran, and a founder of a local chapter of the Women Marines Association. At the time of this oral history, Jahaira worked for US Congresswoman Susie Lee. Jahaira Farias was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, and grew up on the west side of town. She has summertime memories of her travels to Mexico, where she was able to connect with her family's heritage and language. During her years at Western High School, she participated in varsity sports and was the armed drill team commander. After graduation, Jahaira enlisted into the Marine Corps, where she specialized as a transport operator and hazardous material transporter and served two deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her transition to civilian life included work in security at Caesars Palace. When she took a position with as district representative for Congresswoman Susie Lee, her focus was to assist veterans and immigrants. She helped Rep. Lee develop community outreach towards the Latinx community and Veterans. Jahaira is the president of the Las Vegas NV-3 Sagebrush Marines chapter of the Women Marines Association, an organization she helped establish and rebuild. The WMA helps veterans find their footing again through mentoring and support, and conducts community engagement by fostering the same camaraderie found in the Corps. After surviving a motorcycle accident, Jahaira's recovery is nothing short of miraculous, going from being in a wheelchair to competing in Tough Mudder. Now extremely active, Jahaira is an avid hiker and certified yoga instructor, specializing in trauma recovery. A polyglot, Jahaira formally studied Arabic and Russian, and speaks English, Spanish, and Pashto, and received an associate degree in Russian from the College of Southern Nevada.
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