• Chris Schimmoeller and Trina Schimmoeller Peiffer (Woodford County High School, 1987): Chris and Trina were co-valedictorians at WCHS in 1987 and won multiple awards in English, Spanish, art and other subjects. They also excelled as athletes in volleyball, basketball and track. Chris and Trina both earned full scholarships to Georgetown College and graduated at the top of the 1991 class. Chris was named student-athlete of the year for the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. She was a Fulbright Scholar to India and a Rhodes Scholar finalist. Trina received the USA Today Student of the Year award, earned a Ph.D. in English at the University of California, Davis, and published a book in 2000.

• Jim Curtis (Versailles High School, 1960): Jim Curtis captured this county on film. And while he is widely known for his studio work and his time as staff photographer for The Woodford Sun during the ’70s and ’80s, Curtis’s photographs also appeared in magazines and newspapers across the country, and he won multiple awards over the years. He photographed champion racehorses, national celebrities, the president of the United States, and the Queen of England.Curtis was editor and photographer of his high school newspaper, then he earned a degree from the U.K. School of Journalism.

• Deborah Martin, Ph. D. (WCHS, 1981): An Associate Professor of Theatre and Film at Berea College, Dr. Martin been teaching at the college level since 1993, and her courses range from Script Analysis  and Advanced Acting to Principles of Directing. Before coming to Berea in 2001, Martin taught at the University of Alabama, Florida State, Texas Tech and the University of Kentucky. She has also served as Director of Theatre at Berea College.

• Noah Mullins (VHS, 1936): Mullins excelled at football, baseball and track both at Versailles High and the University of Kentucky. He was two-time All-state football in high school, was a national scoring leader, and set a national record for the longest kick return—109 yards. Mullins earned all-SEC football honors at UK and ran the fastest 100-yard dash in school history. During World War II, he played for the 357^th infantry division’s football team and ran track for his company. After the war, Mullins played professional football for four seasons, including three years with the Chicago Bears, helping lead the team to a championship in 1946.

• Larry Weathers (WCHS, 1970): A multi-sport champion and member of Woodford County’s first state championship wrestling team in 1970, Weathers also was one of the school’s first state champion individual wrestlers. He was an All-state tackle in football, helping lead Woodford County to the Central Kentucky Conference title in 1969. And Weathers was also a track and field champion, winning the state title in shot put twice. At Alabama A&M University, Weathers was a four-year starter and an All-Conference defensive lineman for three years. In 1999, Weathers was inducted into the Alabama A&M Hall of Fame.

• Lewis Cox: Over a career of 42 years, Cox served Woodford County Schools as a principal, teacher, coach and administrator. When he retired in 1994, Mr. Cox was the longest-serving administrator in the state of Kentucky. For 30 years, Cox was director of pupil services. Upon his retirement in 1994, several people were hired to replace Cox in the central office because he also filled roles such as testing coordinator and food service director. Cox launched two programs that are still in place today: Working with the Woodford County Woman’s Club, he found coats for students in need every fall, and every spring, he made sure they had shoes and socks.

• William Foley Jr., M.D. (VHS, 1962): Dr. Foley served the people of his hometown as a family physician for 33 years, many of them from an office in the same hospital where he was born. His service extended to the students of Woodford County, as Foley was for 12 years a member of the Woodford County Board of Education and for many years football team physician as a volunteer. A 1970 graduate of the U.K. College of Medicine, Foley served a tour of duty with the U.S. Air Force, and for five years he was medical director of the family medical center at the U.K. Chandler Medical Center.

• Silas Hart: Soon after Woodford County Schools lost partial state funding following the reform act in 1990, Hart created WEEF, the Woodford Educational Endowment Foundation. Since 1997, WEEF has provided Woodford students a yearly experience with performance art in music, theater, dance or storytelling. WEEF also provides funds for technological needs in the schools, and WEEF’s mini-grants helps teachers acquire tangible items—resources or equipment—that they can use year after year. 

• Carl Rollins, Ph. D. (WCHS, 1965): From 1986 to 2013, Rollins served the people of Woodford County in a series of elected offices: Midway mayor and councilman, county magistrate and Kentucky state representative. As chairman of the Kentucky House Education Committee, Carl helped pass legislation to protect health benefits for retired teachers, ease the transfer of college credits and promote innovation within public schools. A U.S. Air Force veteran, Rollins served on the board of the Woodford County Health Department and was director of the Woodford County Community Education program.

• Sharon Jefferson Hardin (WCHS, 1967): For more than two decades, Hardin has worked to help Woodford countians meet a most fundamental need. The Woodford Co. Hope Ministries Food Pantry, which Hardin has directed since 2007, provides food and nourishment to nearly 6,000 local citizens. She works with 20 churches and leads some 250 volunteers in the effort. After operating the food pantry from a series of locations, Hardin led an effort to raise $300,000 for a permanent location, which opened at the start of 2015. 

• Sharon Jefferson Hardin (WCHS, 1967): For more than two decades, Hardin has worked to help Woodford countians meet a most fundamental need. The Woodford Co. Hope Ministries Food Pantry, which Hardin has directed since 2007, provides food and nourishment to nearly 6,000 local citizens. She works with 20 churches and leads some 250 volunteers in the effort. After operating the food pantry from a series of locations, Hardin led an effort to raise $300,000 for a permanent location, which opened at the start of 2015. 

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