12th Annual Wall of Distinction Awards Banquet

Banquet Details

Please join us for an afternoon of reflection and celebration!

April 11, 2023

11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Rogers Convention Center

There are no physical tickets. Please check in at the Event Registration upon arrival for table seating information.

Tickets & Sponsorship

Honoring Positive Impact

The annual Rogers Public Education Foundation's Wall of Distinction Banquet brings the city together to support public school excellence and to honor alumni, teachers, administrators, parents and community leaders who have made an impact on the city’s public school system.

 

We welcome the community to nominate alumni, retired staff, or school supporters to be added to our Wall of Distinction at any time.
Submit a Nomination

2023 Honorees

Patsy Mooney

1970 RHS Graduate & Retired Educator

More about Patsy

Patsy Mooney grew up in Rogers and has made a lifelong effort to give back to her community. She attended Central Ward Elementary, now the location of Tillery Elementary, and later she went to Rogers Junior High School on the same campus after its conversion. A 1970 Rogers High School graduate, Mooney excelled as a Student Council officer, a cheerleader, and a class favorite. She earned an education degree at the University of Arkansas.

 

In 1974, Greer Lingle hired Mooney to teach a new program - elementary physical education. In 1977, she was recruited to be a cheerleading sponsor at Rogers High School and teach physical education. She also led the adaptive physical education program. In 1983, she began teaching health education, which she continued to teach until her retirement in 2018.

 

Mooney is known for going the extra mile for others. She started the girls' Fellowship of Christian Athletes club at RHS in 1983 and later sponsored both the boys and girls program until she retired.

 

Mooney has been a member of the downtown United Methodist Church since the age of 3 and is active in the Stephen Ministry and the Boomerang Joy women's group. Mooney volunteers at the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank and Samaritan Center. She also serves on the board of the Friends of the Rogers Historical Museum.

Ed Prentice

Award-Winning, Retired Educator

More about Ed

Ed Prentice joined the Rogers School District in 1974. During his 28 years of teaching social studies in the Rogers Public Schools, he served in many leadership roles, including as chairman of the Rogers High School Social Studies Department, as a member of a district superintendent search committee, and a building committee for the district's second high school. He also worked closely with student groups, sponsoring the National Honor Society, the Rogers High School Scott Paper Hi-Q team

(an academic competition predecessor to Quiz Bowl), and the History Club.

 

Prentice earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Tulsa.

Before becoming a teacher, Prentice served four years in the U.S. Air Force, primarily with the 55th Air Rescue Squadron out of Kindley Air Force Base in Bermuda.

 

At RHS, he is particularly proud of having developed and taught two new classes in the 1980's, Asian History and the History of Terrorism. He also taught Government and World History night classes for four years during the earliest effort to establish a community college in Rogers.

 

Known for not only challenging his students but also mentoring them, Prentice received several local awards as well as a national award. He was named Teacher of the Year in 1993 and was the recipient of the Bonnie Grimes Award for those that go above and beyond for Rogers Public Schools students.

 

In 1994, Prentice was presented with the Nancy Lyman Roelker Award by the National Historical Association at their national convention in Chicago. The award is based on former students' and peer letters of recommendation. Since its inception 31 years ago, only 10 high school teachers have received this award, with the remaining 21 recipients chosen from various universities.

 

Prentice and his wife Beverly (also a retired Rogers educator) still own and operate a

400-acre farm raising Angus cattle on the banks of Big Sugar Creek in Southwest Missouri.

 

Prentice feels that the combination of teaching and farming has led to a full and rewarding life. Always a teacher that had his former students return to visit him, he is especially pleased that, even since his retirement in 2002, he still hears from former students, even some that he taught in 1975.

Gina Kell

Beloved Retired Educator

More about Gina

Gina Kell devoted her life to education and touched many lives in her 26 years in the Rogers Public Schools as a teacher and a math facilitator.

 

"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once famously shared, 'Life's most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?' For those of us who had the privilege of knowing Gina Kell, we saw this question answered by a life well lived through acts of kindness and service to others," a colleague shared in her nomination.

 

Kell passed away in 2020 but is still remembered for always going above and beyond for her students with extra tutoring and resources, as well as for being a fierce advocate for them. Kell also made her mark by supporting her colleagues in countless ways, both large and small, often surprising them with encouraging notes or a treasured piece of her original artwork at just the right moment.

 

Inspired by her kindness, Elwood Middle School is continuing her legacy by marking

December as the Gina Kell Month of Service each year to care for the community. Elmwood students have participated in greenway cleanups, written notes to nursing home residents, and conducted walkathons for the Kendrick Fincher Hydration for Life program to build on Kell's legacy.

2022 Honorees

Gloria Hopper

Retired educator & administrator, former RPEF board member

Gary Jackson

Retired architect & youth sports supporter

Clarice Strode Moore

RHS Class of 1952, retired business & community leader

Phillip Martin

Retired photographer, school supporter

2022 Legacy Award Recipients

Loyd Phillips

Cathy Davis

2021 Honorees

Craig Campbell

RHS class of 1969, retired lawyer

Bill Dunham

RHS class of 1987, distinguished veteran

Grimsley Graham

Retired educator and former RPEF board member

Rev. Ben Rowell

Retired pastor, former "Voice of the Mounties"

2021 Legacy Recipients

Betty Lynn Reagan

Mary Sue Reagan

2019 Honorees

Barney Hayes

Retired RPS Director of Facilities, dedicated city official

Denny Higgins

Retired educator and administrator

Faye Jeffery

Retired educator and teacher advocate

Dr. Tom Woodruff

Life-long educator and retired baseball coach

2019 Legacy Award Recipient

Greer Lingle

Superintendent of RPS from 1955 - 1983

2018 Honorees

Billy Cotton

Decades Long Youth Baseball Coach & Mentor

Jenny Harmon

Decades Long Youth Baseball Coach & Mentor

Jennie Rehl

Retired Educator & Administrator

Angie Tucker Ridley

Successful Rogers Alumna & RPEF Leader

2018 Legacy Award Recipient

Cyrus Sutherland

Local Architect, Educator 

& Preservationist

2017 Honorees

David Cauldwell

Former School Business Manager

Bob Crafton

Retired Businessman

Dr. Janie Darr

Retired Businessman

Bonnie Grimes

Retired Educator & Administrator

2016 Honorees

Mitzi Bardrick

Retired Educator

Jeff Bradley

Oncologist & RHS Graduate

Monica Bray

Oncologist & RHS Graduate

Raymond Burns

Chamber Leader & RHS Graduate

2015 Honorees

Lt. Col. Shea Brannan

Surgeon, Humanitarian, & RHS Graduate

Freddie Jones

Educator & RHS Graduate

Kim Mason

Educator & Health Activist

Betty Sutton

Musician, Educator, & Community Arts Activist

2014 Honorees

John Boozman

Rogers School Board & US Congress

Jan Garner Buck

Rogers School Board & US Congress

Mary Lynn Reese

RPEF Founder & RHS Graduate

Bob Ross

Educator & RHS Graduate

2013 Honorees

Joy Kelley

Educator & RHS Graduate

Aaron Mankin

Educator & RHS Graduate

David Matthews

State Representative & RHS Graduate

Virginia Mocivnik

State Representative & RHS Graduate

2012 Honorees

Greg Hines

Mayor of Rogers & RHS Graduate

David Swearingen

Architect, Civic Leader & RHS Graduate

Jo Soderquist

Founding Member of the RPEF

Frank Tillery

Founding Member of the RPEF

Nominate Someone Special for our 2023 Awards!

Submit a Nomination