Paulding Exempted Village Schools Academic Hall Of Fame Induction

The 8th annual Paulding Exempted Village Schools Academic Hall of Fame induction was held at commencement on Sunday, May 28, 2017. Congratulations to Richard Rosalez- Class of 1994, Dr. Wendell Spangler, MD,-Class of 1992,  and Jeffery Webb-Class of 1997, who were the 2017 recepients.

Dr. Wendell Spangler, MD – Class of 1992

Wendell Spangler graduated from Paulding High School in 1992 in the top 4% of his class. After high school graduation, Wendell attended and graduated from the University of Toledo in 1996 Magna Cum Laude. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and a minor in Biological Chemistry. Wendell did his senior year of college at the Medical College of Ohio since he was admitted to the early admissions program with a very limited amount of other students. After completing medical school in 1999, Wendell attended his 3-year family medicine residency at the W.W. Knight Family Practice through the Toledo Hospital.

Wendell came back to his hometown to practice family medicine in 2002 and has been employed by Paulding County Hospital (PCH) since. He has had many duties as a physician since starting at PCH including Chief of Staff multiple times, running an allergy clinic and a drug court clinic, and has been the collaborating physician for some mid-level providers.

He is currently serving on multiple committees at his place of employment including physical therapy, pediatrics/newborn division, home care and family practice divisions, and on the medical staff wellness and bioethics committees. Most recently, he is now on the Board of Health of Paulding County and Child Mortality Review committees. He is also the medical director of Hands of Hope Pregnancy Center of Paulding County.

Wendell resides near Paulding with his beloved wife Kari, and his three children, Hudson, Ella Kate and Sophia. He is the son of James and Carolyn Spangler.

Richard C. Rosalez – Class of 1994

Rich Rosalez is a 1994 graduate of Paulding High School. He attended and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1998, where he majored in Urban Studies and Planning while taking a heavy STEM course load. Rich won numerous awards for athletics, academics, and community service, including first prize in MIT’s research writing competition and Academic All-American recognition for cross country.  He earned his law degree in 2001 from the Columbia University School of Law, where he continued to win awards for academic achievement and contributions to the community.  Rich next joined leading international law firms Latham & Watkins in New York and Jones Day in Dallas, where he maintained a diverse legal practice, including white collar, government enforcement, antitrust, intellectual property, and complex commercial litigation.

Rich serves as Vice President, Litigation at Samsung Electronics America, Inc., the US subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world’s leading consumer electronics company. As the leader of the litigation department, Rich is responsible for all aspects of the company’s litigation docket, responses to regulatory investigations, and related activities.  Since joining Samsung in 2011, Rich has been actively involved in some of the most followed and influential legal matters in the US. He also regularly advises the company on significant strategic issues and public relations matters, including serving as a company spokesperson with numerous leading media outlets such as Bloomberg, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Fortune, and The Financial Times. Rich was part of the team that presented argument in the Samsung vs. Apple case before the Supreme Court of the United States, which had been described as The Patent Trial of the Century by The Wall Street Journal. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Samsung’s favor.

Rich has won recognition at the regional and national level and been featured in a magazine for his professional accomplishments. Rich also serves as an advisor to a leading DFW charter school, an adventure guides leader, a school and community volunteer, and a youth sports coach many times over. He is the son of Patricia and Brooks Pendergrast of Antwerp, Ohio, and Prudencio and Jocelyn Rosalez of Troy, Ohio. Rich lives in Highland Park, Texas, with his wife Julie, and their children, Maya and Marcus.

Jeffery A. Webb – Class of 1997

Jeff Webb is a 1997 graduate of Paulding High School.  Jeff played basketball (4 yrs), baseball (2 yrs), and cross country (2 yrs). He was also on the Science Olympiad team (4 yrs), earning multiple medals at the regional and state competitions. Jeff was also his class’ President.

Jeff earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University in 2001, graduating Magna Cum Laude. He was elected as the President of the Ohio State chapter of Pi Tau Sigma, an international Mechanical Engineering Honor Society, and was the recipient of the Rob Wolf Outstanding Senior Award. Jeff worked as a co-op student at Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.

Upon graduating from Ohio State, Jeff decided to attend law school. At the request of Cooper Tire’s VP and General Counsel, Jeff took a full-time job in Cooper Tire’s law department, where he assisted with complex product liability litigation. While working at Cooper Tire, he attended law school in the evenings at the University of Toledo. Jeff graduated as valedictorian of his law school class in 2005.

Upon graduating from law school, Jeff accepted a job with the San Antonio, Texas, office of the international law firm, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP.  In 2015, Fulbright & Jaworski combined with a London-based law firm, Norton Rose, to become Norton Rose Fulbright. Jeff became an equity partner of Norton Rose Fulbright in 2015. The Firm recently combined with another New York-based law firm. The Firm will now have over 4,000 attorneys, located in nearly 60 offices around the world, with roughly $2 billion in annual revenues — making it one of the top five largest law firms in the world.

Jeff practices in the area of litigation, including oil & gas, commercial, and product liability litigation. He represents companies and individuals in complex litigation, oftentimes bet-the-company lawsuits involving hundreds of millions, or even billions, of dollars in dispute. In 2016, Jeff was selected to Benchmark Litigation’s “Under 40 Hot List,” which honors the achievements of the nation’s most accomplished legal partners under age 40. Similarly, on seven occasions, he has been recognized as a Texas Rising Star by Thompson Reuters, and in 2017 was named one of Texas’ Top 100 Rising Stars.  In 2015, he was one of sixteen attorneys recognized by the San Antonio Business Journal with their “Outstanding Lawyer” award. The Business Journal has also named him to their “Who’s Who in Energy” list for multiple years, and he was honored with their “40 Under 40” award in 2012.

Jeff is also actively involved in the San Antonio community. For example, he has volunteered on the Board of Big Brothers Big Sisters for over 10 years, serving as Chairman of the Board from 2011-2013. BBBS recently completed a successful $3.5M capital campaign to purchase a new headquarters, significantly expanding the organizations’ ability to provide services to more youth. He also serves on the Board of his church’s CYO organization and assists with coaching his kids’ various teams. Jeff is married to Michelle, and they have three kids: Jacob, Trevor, and Brooke.

Jeff credits the superb education and development that he received in the Paulding school system for laying the foundation for any achievements that he has been able to accomplish. He believes the education and opportunities offered by the Paulding school system are as good or better than a vast majority of schools, public or private, not only in this area but across the country. For example, the number of AP courses and (academic and athletic) extracurricular activities available at Paulding are tremendous, particularly for a town of this size. Jeff credits all of the teachers, coaches, instructors, and administrators along the way, but would like to particularly thank Dwight Kurtzman, Ellie Barnes, and Don DeWitt for the impact they had on his educational experience.