WC NEWS

Weatherford College has announced Parker County Attorney John Forrest as the 2023 Alumnus of the Year. He will be honored during the annual Alumni Awards Luncheon on April 14 along with Distinguished Alumni Award honorees Harvey Catchings and David G. Rogers.  

A Parker County native, Forrest graduated from Weatherford High School in 1987. He earned more than 30 hours at Weatherford College and went on to complete a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and his law degree from St. Mary’s University.  

Forrest was elected as Parker County Attorney in 2001, a position he has held for the past 22 years. He oversees the criminal prosecution of misdemeanors, the domestic violence unit, the child protective services unit, mental health cases, civil cases, and criminal and civil appeals.  

He has received the Outstanding Citizen Award from the Weatherford Chamber of Commerce and is the past president of both the Weatherford Rotary Club and Optimist Club.  

Additional community service by Forrest includes serving on the boards of the United Way of Parker County, Freedom House, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Parker County, and the Weatherford ISD Education Foundation.  

Catchings is believed to be the only former Coyote to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).  

A native of Jackson, Mississippi, Harvey attended WC on a basketball scholarship in 1969-70 before transferring to Hardin-Simmons University, where he completed his bachelor’s degree in behavioral sciences.  

Catchings played in the NBA for 11 seasons for the Philadelphia 76ers, the New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Clippers. He played in three Eastern Conference Finals and one NBA Finals. He later broadcast Chicago Bulls games on the radio.  

He also worked in mortgage lending and owns a promotional products company. After his basketball career, Catchings served as a national spokesperson for the NBA’s “Stay in School” program, traveling the country to speak to junior high and high school students  

Rogers graduated from WC in 1976 with a perfect grade point average and transferred to Texas A&M where he completed both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, graduating summa cum laude.  

He was awarded the prestigious Henry Ross Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement and was a member of the honor fraternity Gamma Sigma Delta.  

Rogers started his career as an agriculture investment consultant with MetLife. He is now the regional president and senior vice president of all commercial real estate lending for West Texas National Bank in Alpine.  

Before moving to Alpine, Rogers was an active member of the Weatherford Noon Lions Club and served as lieutenant and corral boss of the Parker County Sheriff’s Posse. He also served on the Parker County Homebuilders Association Board of Directors.  

He is the president of the Sul Ross State University Foundation Board, an advisory council member of the Center for Big Bend Studies, and he served two terms as president of the Alpine Lions Club.  

The Alumni Awards Luncheon will take place at 11:30 a.m. Friday, April 14, in the third-floor community room of the Emerging Technologies and Workforce Building.  

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Purchase online at https://www.simpletix.com/e/alumni-awards-luncheon-tickets-128111. For more information, contact Jaci Edwards at jedwards@wc.edu or 817-598-6272.