Hall of Fame
Judy Hildner
The Pueblo Chieftain
The reigning matriarch of Colorado media, Judy Hildner is held in the highest esteem throughout the state.
Hildner remains one of the most knowledgeable media persons in the state and had oversight on one of the country’s finest newspapers with their coverage of southern and southeastern Colorado, along with the San Luis Valley.
She ended her 34-year media career with The Pueblo Chieftain the paper where she started before she graduated from high school. She began her career keeping stats and then calling them into the newspaper.
And, just to cover the bases, she was also the editor on the Pueblo Catholic newspaper.
She is considered to be the state’s first-ever female sports editor, serving in that capacity from 1990-2012.
Hildner graduated from Pueblo Catholic High School, earning Outstanding Senior honors, and then went on to CSU-Pueblo (then SCSC) where she worked at the Chieftain while completing her degree.
A founding member of the CHSAA Hall of Fame committee, she is a member of the Greater Pueblo Sports Hall of Fame and has been honored many times for her work with high schools. In her eyes, one could never do too much for prep sports.
A long-time champion of prep sports, Hildner has covered all levels of sports, including Super Bowls and NCAA Tournaments but the high school arena was the heart of her coverage area and really where so many stories are waiting to be told.
A native of Niles, MI, Hildner moved to Pueblo when her father became an accountant for CF & I. And, her mother wrote a local column for the Southern Colorado Register.
Hildner is a member of, and has chaired the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Selection Committee, is a two-time member of the CHSAA Hall of Fame selection committee and has served, on the Pueblo School #60 District Strategic Planning Committee and others.