Rogers High ‘Walk of Fame’ inductees include Pac-12 judge, Broadway actress
Rogers High School inducted three alumni into their “Walk of Fame” during the school’s homecoming convocation Friday morning – including a small-town judge at the center of a legal case deciding the fate of the Pac-12 conference.
Established in 1993, the “Walk of Fame” honors notable graduates of the Spokane high school who are “highly successful in their careers and made significant contributions to their communities.”
“Walk of Fame members have made their mark in a wide variety of fields – from education and engineering to health and science, business and government to athletics and the arts. They are role models for today’s Rogers students, real-life proof that all kinds of dreams do come true,” read one student as he introduced the three Walk of Fame inductees.
The event honored former Broadway actress Patty Holley, Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy Earl Howerton and Gary Libey , a Whitman County Superior Court judge.
Libey has gained national prominence in recent weeks as he was assigned to adjudicate a dispute among schools in the disintegrating Pac-12 conference. The Pac-12 has been in free fall for months as one school after another has jumped ship to other football conferences. As of early September, only Washington State University and Oregon State University remained committed to the Pac-12 past this season.
The legal dispute arose over whether the jettisoned schools still had the right to act as Pac-12 board members and decide the conference’s future. Libey ruled last month a meeting of the board could not be held until he makes an ultimate adjudication on that issue. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for November 14.
It’s a large case with national implications for the long-serving small-town judge.
While being ceremoniously walked across the gym by Rogers High student Nermin Omar, Libey was decked out in a flashy green plaid jacket he got at a small shop in Colfax – far from the serious judge’s robes he wears while holding court.
Libey graduated from Rogers in 1969. Since then, he went to law school and became a fixture of the legal community in Whitman County. He previously served as president of the Whitman County Bar Association and was elected a Superior Court judge in 2016.
“In his more than five decades since (graduating), he has built a sterling legal career … and is widely respected within his profession,” read one current Rogers student as he introduced the judge.
“It’s a distinct honor. I am very grateful,” Libey said after the ceremony. “I’m joining a rarified group. I’m the third alumni inducted from the Class of 1969,” he noted proudly.
Asked about his newfound nationwide fame among college football fans, Libey said he has not noticed it much in Colfax.
“I haven’t really felt it. I live in Colfax. Everybody knows where I live and I’m still in the phone book. Nobody treats me any different because now my name’s in the paper,” Libey said.
Libey added his responsibilities on the Pac-12 case are just the same as any other case.
The school also honored Holley, who graduated from Rogers High in 1973. A former Miss Black Spokane, Holley performed in New York and on Broadway in the 1980s and 1990s. She is featured in the Madonna video “Like A Prayer” and has toured the U.S., Europe and Japan as featured vocalist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. She now lives in southern California.
“It’s been great to have my family up there and to see all the alumni from Rogers in my family,” she said after the ceremony. “It’s been wonderful to be acknowledged for my work that I love doing.”
Graduating from Rogers in 1977, Howerton retired as a Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy after 32 years and has since worked as a campus resource officer for Spokane Public Schools. He also was appointed by Governor Gary Locke to the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission.