• Pamela McGill Duncan (Woodford County High School, 1981): Duncan has used professional degrees to advance education in a number of arenas. Currently serving as associate general counsel for the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Duncan has also been a high school teacher in Oklahoma, a professor at the University of Kentucky School of Library and Information Science, and an adult-education tutor. After graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree from UK, Duncan earned a law degree and served on the UK Law Review, and she graduated with high distinction from the UK School of Library and Information Science.

• Darlene Lodmell Porter (WCHS, 1994): After graduating with honors from WCHS and Western Kentucky University, Porter has achieved success in Warren County, Kentucky, where she serves as dean of students at Alvaton Elementary School. Early in her career, Porter was recognized for superior instruction by Renaissance Learning. She also has served as curriculum coordinator and has led several initiatives, including organizing a robotics team and a news team within her school. She has presented at education conferences and has received awards from her students and peers. 

• Tammie Bradley (WCHS, 2000): An accomplished vocalist, Bradley has performed as a soprano with the Houston Grand Opera Chorus and with Opera Ebony in New York City. In 2015 she was selected to join the Lindemann Young Artist program of the Metropolitan Opera of New York.  Bradley won the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition and landed the grand prize in the Music Academy of the West’s Marilyn Horne Song Competition. In 2015 she performed at Kentucky State University, her alma mater, in a recital titled “Home and Honored.” Bradley has a Master’s degree in vocal performance from Bowling Green University.

• Joni Schenck Lanza (WCHS, 1995): A singer and dancer who made it from Jane’s School of Dance in Versailles to the Broadway stage, Lanza acted in the Tony-award-winning “42^nd Street.” She also appeared on Broadway as a cast member of “Thoroughly Modern Millie” with Leslie Uggams, and she toured with “Barry Manilow’s Copacabana.” Lanza performed in the “Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall for five years. Now retired from dancing, Lanza continues to perform as a singer.

Mallory Blackwelder Trudeau (WCHS, 2005): The most successful golfer in WCHS history, Trudeau was the 2005 Kentucky High school state champion, the 2007 Women’s Western Amateur Champion and the 2010 Kentucky Women’s Open Champion. At UK, Trudeau recorded the best-ever scoring average for a season, and as a senior, she led UK to its first NCAA tournament appearance in nine years. Trudeau finished her UK career with the third-lowest scoring average in program history. She twice participated on the Golf Channel's “Big Break” and earned her LPGA Tour membership in 2014 after winning the Symetra Tour Championship.

• Gene Kirk (WCHS; 1971–1999, 2009–2010): The winningest boys’ basketball coach in WCHS history, with 452 victories, Kirk ranks 23^rd for total wins as a Kentucky high school boys’ basketball coach. He led the Woodford basketball team to eight district titles and a trip to the Sweet 16 in 1986. Also that year, Kirk coached the Kentucky All-stars team in a sweep of the series against Indiana. He also coached the Woodford Co. girls’ golf team for 23 years and the boys’ golf team for nine years. In 1985 Kirk led the girls’ golf team to a second-place finish in the state high school championship.

• Whayne Hougland Jr. (WCHS, 1981): Hougland serves as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan, overseeing 55 churches in the state’s Lower Peninsula. He was elected to the prestigious post after serving as rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Salisbury, North Carolina, for more than eight years. Hougland served as a canon evangelist at Christ Church Cathedral Lexington from 1998 to 2005. Following what he has described as a dissatisfying career in the corporate world, Hougland attended the University of the South School of Theology at Sewanee and was ordained in 1998. He received a Doctor of Divinity degree from the University of the South in 2015.

• Ben F. Roach, M.D. (Midway High School, 1936): “A medical legend in Kentucky” are the words UK President Lee Todd used to describe Roach, who co-founded the UK Markey Cancer Center in 1983 and raised $70 million for its construction and operation. Roach also established the Family Practice Department at UK; he was the first physician in Kentucky to be licensed for that specialty. In his hometown of Midway, Roach operated a private practice for 55 years and founded the nursing program at what’s now Midway University. He also owned and bred dozens of thoroughbred stakes winners, including the 1999 Kentucky Derby winner, Charismatic.

• Joe Graviss: Every Woodford County school has been touched by Graviss’s generosity. Through Graviss McDonald’s Restaurants, he has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Woodford County students, teachers, teams and organizations. Additional, significant funds have come from Graviss’s company as advertising and sponsorship support and through in-kind donations of food and coupons. Graviss’s donations have supported everything from athletic tournaments and academic competitions to teacher appreciation days and student incentive cards. Graviss has elevated the education climate throughout the county by contributing to organizations such as Woodford Educational Endowment Foundation, Bluegrass Head Start and Midway University.

• Bill Grimes: Grimes was a teacher, administrator and coach from 1961 to 1989. He served as principal of Woodford County Middle School for 13 years, including the time of its transition from a junior high school to a middle school. From 1987 to 1989, Grimes was president of the Kentucky Middle School Association. Prior to his time at WCMS, Grimes coached and taught at Midway Elementary School and at WCHS and was assistant principal at WCHS. He coached the WCHS track team to a conference title before the school even had a track of its own.

• Jerry Davis (WCHS, 1974): Davis has gone to extraordinary lengths to build and strengthen the bond among Woodford County alumni. He has organized reunions that range in size from happy-hour gatherings to a weekend celebration of the 50^th birthday of WCHS in 2014. Much of Davis’s work to connect Woodford graduates has been online, with Facebook pages dedicated to alumni events and updates. His Picture Then page, followed by more than 3,200 people, serves as a memorial for Woodford Co. students and teachers. Davis has scanned and posted every page of every WCHS yearbook on his website, WoodfordReserved.com. 

• Tricia Nave Kittinger (WCHS, 1975): For 34 years, Kittinger served her home community as a friendly and effective administrator. For more than half that time, she was the Circuit Court Clerk, first elected in 1994 and serving until 2013. Kittinger supervised a staff of 10 and was responsible for the records and proceedings of three courts and five judges. She also managed the driver’s license process and collected state funds and fees. Kittinger served as Special Clerk for several surrounding counties, lending her experience and expertise to other offices.

The Hall of Fame periodically recognizes individuals whose contributions to the school community are deemed to be exceptionally inspiring. In high school sports, most of the attention is focused on the game, as players strive for team victory and personal achievement. Parents assist, providing time, funds and emotional support for their children and the team. 

Another group of adults—a small number of highly dedicated individuals—are being recognized for the time, talents, care and contributions they have given to Woodford Co. students. Their service spans decades of duties that include managing concessions, organizing equipment and tracking statistics. Often, they served as surrogate parents. It is these volunteers who the Hall of Fame recognizes with the Legacy Award:

Nominate Individual/Team for the Hall  |  HOF Induction Classes  |  Donate to the Hall  |  List of Sponsors/Donors