2006

an athlete at Umon High School. where he receiVed All-State honors m basketball. Gordon played tight end and dcfcnsh e end on the 1950Warrior football :.quad. which finished 9-3 mcludmg a 19-14 v1ctory o,·er South Georgia m the Tobacco Bowl. Hillery llomc 'cned as head coach and John Grace was the backfield coach. Gordon abo played forward on the EC basketball squad under Coach Amo Vincent who later became the College's third pres1dent. After serving in the Air Force, Gordon returned w East Central and helped the 1955 Warrion. earn a 6-4 record He received honorable mention All-State honor:. at tight end following the 1955 carnpa1gn. The Wamors at that time were led by bead coach Clayton Blount and assistant Dudley Miller. Gordon, who also served as sophomore class vice president, said he 1s "mo..,t appreciati\e" of the education he received at FC' .., feel like the be:.-t education I rece1ved in college\\ as right here at East Central.. . .it's more personal. more mstructiYe. and the College staff. teachers and everyone involved showed more of an mtere~t m me. I was not just a face or a number; I was a student 1 ·hem. And I am proud to say that most of my family also attended Ea~t Central." Gordon espe~o:1ally had words ofpraise for the late Stella Newsome, who taught E11~ ,'J cl tsses One of the College', donnitoric' abo bears her name

representatives oJJ,-.cal. state, natiOnal and internatiOnal media covered the week-long tnal \\h1ch \\Us broadcast on global television. Judge Gordon, who has presided over thousands of cases m his career. said passing sentence on someone is never an easy task. "These are decisions that I often take home. I am not the kind of person who can lea\ e a case at court. I have spent many a sleepless night because I could not quit thinking about a case. Sometimes 1 wonder ifthe right deci.,ion was made. I ll) to do what is right but sometimes mistake5 are made. I'm only human," Gordon said. Despite the challenges associated with being a judge, Gordon said the profession "is very rewarding...and I feel like I'm doing something for my country by executing laws that g1ve our citi7ens the1r rights and protections." Prior to beginmng his career as judge in 1977, Gordon served six years as d1strict attome) . One of the most publicized cases he prosecuted was the second case be was assigned. "The case involved a white person who was indicted for the rape of a female Choctaw," Judge Gordon recalled. "ll was a very difficult case but it resulted 1n a connct1on. I remember that people would get to the courthouse at 8 in the morning and would not even leave for lunch because they were afraid oflosing their seats.