Rogers Walk of Fame inducts six – WWII veteran, teachers, peace activist, wrestling coach, professional boxer, NFL player
A scaled down celebration inducted six new Rogers High School graduates into the Rogers Walk of Fame Friday.
Those inducted include World War II veteran Dean Ladd, retired educator and peace activist JoAnn Simms, high school teacher and Rogers head wrestling coach Rod Tamura, retired Whitworth University English and modern language program coordinator Julie Fish, professional boxer Rick Welliver and former professional football player and current drug and alcohol abuse school counselor Levi Horn.
The Rogers Walk of Fame was created in 1993 as part of the Renaissance Program at the high school and is designed to honor Rogers graduates for exceptional personal and professional achievements. The Walk of Fame members are intended to provide role models to inspire current students y.
Usually, three graduates are inducted each year. This year’s ceremony included six inductees because last year’s celebration was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, said Walk of Fame executive director Tim Tyvan.
A small, masked crowd of about 50 attended the ceremony in the school’s auditorium and a luncheon followed. The six inductees were introduced at the homecoming football game Friday night as well.
Tamura graduated from Rogers in 1978 and was a varsity wrestler, winning individual division champion twice. He taught at Ridgeview Elementary and Glover and Garry middle schools before he came back to Rogers in 2014 as a teacher and a coach. He plans to retire at the end of this school year.
“I always knew, toward the end of my career, that I wanted to come back to the school that raised me,” he said. “It’s been really special to have that relationship.”
Tamura also serves on the board of the Japanese American Citizens League and has presented numerous talks on Japanese internment at local middle schools and high schools. He’s a community volunteer with numerous organizations and is already in the Rogers Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Horn graduated from Rogers in 2005 and went on to play football at the University of Montana, where he was an All-American. He played for the Chicago Bears, the Minnesota Vikings, the British Columbia Lions of the CFL and three Arena Football teams, including the Spokane Shock. He’s an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and worked for Nike’s N7 program for Native American communities.
He’s a drug and alcohol counselor and coach at Shadle Park, North Central and Rogers high schools and is on the board of the Spokane Salish School.
Horn said his goal is to help students who are struggling, and he appreciates being able to do it at Rogers.
“It’s a real honor to sit there with the teachers and administrators who helped me,” he said. “I get to join the fight and help kids that are like me. Once I left football, that’s all I wanted to do.”
He said he appreciates being recognized by his former school.
“It’s very nice to be honored for the work that you do, especially working with youth,” he said. “You don’t always get to see the end game.”
JoAnn Sims is a 1959 graduate of Rogers. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Washington State University, then a doctorate in education from Seattle University. She taught at the Seattle Country Day School. She has worked with World Friendship, a Japanese peace organization, and represented the United States as a peace ambassador to Hiroshima, Japan.
Sims said it was great to be back at her old high school, even though it has changed significantly since she graduated, and she hopes to be an inspiration to young people looking for their own path.
“I was surprised and stunned,” she said of her induction into the Walk of Fame. “I really like the idea of a Walk of Fame. I think everyone has the opportunity to help their community be better than it was before.”
Dean Ladd graduated from Rogers in 1939 and attended Washington State University for a year before joining the U.S. Marines. He received a field commission with the 2nd Marine Division and saw combat in Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian, earning three Purple Hearts. After the war ended, he returned to school and earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering. He served in the Marine Reserves for 30 years, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.
Ladd has written three books, including “Faithful Warriors – A Combat Marine Remembers the Pacific War.” He’s involved in numerous community groups, including as president of the American Sons of the Revolution and vice chairman of the Ice Age Floods Institute.
Julie Fish graduated from Rogers in 1958. She began working at Whitworth University in 1977, in enrollment, as director of program services and as executive vice president. She worked at South Puget Sound Community College as a program coordinator in the Public Workforce Training Institute before returning to Whitworth to conclude her career as the program coordinator for the English and Modern Languages Department. She’s a member of the John R. Rogers Alumni and Friends Foundation.
Rick Welliver graduated from Rogers in 1991 and was a varsity wrestler and a varsity football player. He was an amateur and professional boxer and has won a Washington Golden Gloves title and two Montana Golden Gloves titles. As a professional boxer, he had a 10-5-1 record. He founded the Spokane Boxing Gym and Inland Northwest Boxing in 2001 and is a certified U.S.A. Boxing coach. He founded the Spokane Police Athletic League Boxing Club.
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Correspondent Nina Culver can be reached at nculver47@gmail.com.