Sebree, Tibbals Inducted Into UHS Legacy Hall

    Umatilla High School has selected two distinguished alumni for induction into the school's Legacy Hall. Alumni Judge Wesley Tibbals and the late Evelyn Sebree were formally inducted into the school's 'Hall of Fame', a program that is now in its third year.
   Sebree, known as 'Sis' in the community, was a 1947 graduate of Umatilla High. A great-granddaughter of Umatilla's founder, Nathan Trowell, Sebree was a teacher for 14 years before earning her Ph.D. in education and later serving for 25 years at Lake Sumter State College. As President of the Florida Association of Financial Aid Administrators, Sebree was passionate in securing financial assistance for students to further their education.
   Among her professional accomplishments were helping secure a new building for the nursing program at Lake Sumter State College, served as a committee member with a group that saved the historic Umatilla Methodist Church building and saw it placed on the National Register of Historic Places, was instrumental in converting the 1910 Umatilla School into the Greater Umatilla Historic Museum, and also served as President of the Carr Cabin Restoration Committee. She was also a proud Gator Booster.
   Tibbals graduated from Umatilla in 1991. After receiving his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Florida, he practiced law for 16 years. His career included representing Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, and individuals in both state and federal courts. In 2014, he received the Jimmy Kynes Award for pro bono legal service from the Hillsborough County Bar Association, and in 2015 he received an appointment to the position of circuit court judge by Florida Governor Rick Scott. Today, Tibbals continues to handle family, civil, and criminal matters, and he has received assignments to serve as a temporary appellate court judge.
   In 2019, the Hillsborough County Bar Association Family Law Section recognized Tibbals with an award for his extraordinary contributions to family law.
   Judge Tibbals is a faculty member of the Conference of Circuit Judges, where he teaches continuing judicial education courses to judges throughout the state. In 2023, the Sigma Chi Fraternity recognized Tibbals with the Significant Sig Award, presented to alumni at the highest level of their professional peer group.