BETHALTO - A lifelong Bethalto Community Unit School District #8 educator received major recognition at Civic Memorial High School.
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On Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, Civic Memorial officially renamed its Student Commons after Willard Wallace, a former principal and well-known community member who has built a legacy of service in Bethalto. Staff and community members filled the Willard Wallace Student Commons with applause as a tearful Wallace accepted the recognition.
“Wow. I don’t know I can say anything other than that,” Wallace said after the ceremony. “This has been my life. I grew up here. I was standing here before this building was built. We toured it, the assistant superintendent and me and a couple of other people. This was just dirt then. It’s great. Those people showing up like this is just wonderful.”
The commons were packed with Bethalto residents and former students who have been impacted by Wallace.
Principal Justin Newell introduced Wallace and spoke about his work as a principal, teacher, coach and friend. He noted that Wallace went above and beyond to support students and do everything he could to help the community, even going so far as to pick up litter along the roads in his 80s.
“It’s all about legacy, what you leave behind and how you are remembered. Willard Wallace is all about legacy,” Newell said. “Leaving a legacy for others to aspire to is so important, and that’s what Willard has done for our school and our community…His impact is lasting, his influence unmistakable, and his legacy foundational. He is truly a pillar of this community.”
Todd Laux served as the ceremony’s featured speaker. He shared that he moved to Bethalto at age 15, and Wallace was his principal. In this role, Wallace mentored him and told him again and again that he believed Laux could be a leader.
Laux recalled when Wallace welcomed former Civic Memorial Principal Debra Pitts to Bethalto, a story that Laux believes “epitomizes” Wallace as a person. When some Bethalto residents reacted to Pitts’s appointment with racism and sexism, Wallace visited her to gift her a Civic Memorial hat.
After the ceremony, Pitts expressed her appreciation for Wallace and noted that his kindness was the best introduction to her new role.
“To me, Mr. Wallace is the gold of Bethalto,” Pitts said. “He’s everything to everyone. Always kind, always saying something kind, always embracing you. He’s the gold of Bethalto.”
Laux added that his own life likely could have gone in a different direction if not for Wallace’s unfaltering kindness toward him. He thanked Wallace and the other educators in attendance, encouraging them to think “WWWWD?” — “What would Willard Wallace do?” — when dealing with students who need that extra push.
“He was my first friend…It put me on a better path,” Laux said. “They say the way you do anything is the way you do everything. Everything that Mr. Wallace did was with passion. It was with joy. It was with a smile on his face.”
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