Randall County honors annex after former judge
Located in the walls of the very building that late Judge Ernie Houdashell worked tirelessly to help make a reality, the Randall County Commissioners Court, led by his successor Judge Christy Dyer, held a ceremony to name the county annex at 4329 S. Western St., after him.
Houdashell served as Randall County Judge for more than 18 years before succumbing to COVID-19 complications on Nov. 22, 2020. As a judge, he oversaw creating a new justice center — the annex now named in his honor — and a new fire and events center, among many other accomplishments.
Dyer was appointed in January 2021 following Houdashell's untimely death and is up for reelection this year. In honor of her predecessor, she opened Tuesday's ceremony by talking about his achievements and how fitting it is to rename the building he helped propagate.
Chosen to speak about Houdashell and his achievements, Randall County Auditor Karon Kantor said she worked with him during his entire tenure.
Kantor said she overcame her self-professed aversion to public speaking to pay tribute to her former colleague's tireless efforts to work for the county.
“Judge Houdashell was a visionary, he was a great public servant, a patriot, a mentor to many, my colleague, but most importantly, I was blessed to call him my friend,” Kantor said.
She went on to list his numerous accomplishments as a judge and ended with a familiar quote: “And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.”
Nancy Tanner met the late judge after her first campaign and spoke fondly of her first lunch meeting with him, which she said lasted more than three hours. She noted the wisdom and experience he shared were beneficial to her judgeship.
“Judge Houdashell was my friend for many years. I appreciate all the advice he gave me during that time,” Tanner said. “I hate that he is no longer here because I really need to talk to him right now. He was a good guy and a good leader. He will be missed.”
Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson spoke glowingly about Houdashell's time on the bench. She previously had multiple dealings with the judge as a probate attorney.
“His strongest asset was that he was common-sense oriented,” Nelson said. “He always came out of a problem looking out for the common-sense solution and I think that served the county well. I really respect him and really miss him.”
Nelson said the naming of the building, of which he was a big part in bringing to fruition, solidifies his legacy within the county.
“We would not have this or many other county buildings without the judge’s vision to get these types of projects done as efficiently as he did,” Nelson added.
Dyer spoke about the man she called her mentor and what he meant to the county. She said it was hard to find a place to start when talking about Houdashell.
“He was a mentor, my friend, and an inspiration," Dyer said. “Randall County was so blessed to have him at the helm. He leaves big shoes to fill. I work very hard and every day, I think about him and what would be his thoughts on if we were taking the right step forward for Randall County.”
She said that the judge left such an excellent groundwork that she had to stay on the course on which he set the county.
Randall County Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace Clay Houdashell spoke about the building his office resides in being named in his father’s honor.
“He took great care to bring modern facilities to the people of Randall County and to use their tax dollars to bring needed facilities to those he served,” Houdashell said.
Clay Houdashell spoke about how his father had a great love for firefighters and their work for the community. He told a story about how there was a fire south of Amarillo several years ago in which Randall County firefighters were battling around the clock and were short on supplies. He said his father went and purchased water and food and drove it out to the firefighters.
He said that the choice of building for the naming of his father had a lot to do with it being more of a county service building rather than being just a part of the justice system. He said he felt his dad would have wanted a building that was more related to the business of the county.
Clay Houdashell said that while hard to choose just one of his father's accomplishments that stood out, he would select his first big project. In his opinion, he said, the Justice Center would be the one that stands out due to the problems with the old building needing a significant overhaul. He said that project inspired him to try to do bigger and better things for the county.
“I am glad that they named this building after my father. I have a personal connection to this building since it's home to my office," Houdashell said.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Randall County honors annex after former judge
