Former Boulder City High School principal Bill Garis was inducted into the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame Feb. 26, joining the ranks of some of the state’s best athletes and administrators.
“They were some of the best years of my entire career,” Garis said about his time in Boulder City. “I could probably talk till about midnight about athletics out there.”
Garis, who was an athletic administrator and principal at Boulder City High from 1993-2000, began his teaching career in Oklahoma in 1976 where he also worked as an assistant football coach and basketball coach from 1981-84. After eight years in Oklahoma, Garis moved to Las Vegas and served as a dean at Garside Junior High School from 1984-89.
In 1989, he became assistant principal at Basic High School and served three years on the Interscholastic Activities Association’s Sportsmanship Committee.
Once he arrived in Boulder City, Garis said he tried to learn more about the sports he was unfamiliar with. He recalled taking a trip to Spring Creek with the boys soccer team and watching them play a game in the snow.
One of his fondest memories was seeing the boys basketball team win the state championship in 1999.
“It was just a really special group of kids that year,” he said.
While at Boulder City High, Garis served as the Class 3A Southern League president for the 1995-96 school year.
He left Boulder City in 2000 to become principal of then-new Sierra Vista High School. From 2003-08, he implemented a districtwide concussion management program and took on the role of Title IX officer. He also established a series of postseason coaches meetings for all sports and implemented accountability programs for event security, game officials and event managers.
Garis was named Nevada’s Principal of the Year for 1999-2000 by the Nevada Association of School Administrators and received the NIAA’s award of merit in 2008.
“Bill devoted countless hours to the NIAA and was an outstanding leader for 30 years in the Clark County School District,” NIAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine said. “The NIAA is truly blessed to have Bill accepting this award.”
Garis retired in 2013, but still works on collective bargaining agreements between the school district and its teachers.
Contact reporter Steven Slivka at sslivka@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow @StevenSlivka on Twitter.