Pat Lockaby spent 35 of her 40 years in the Orange County School System teaching English and Language Arts at Oak Ridge.  She arrived right out of college to begin a teaching career that influenced thousands of young people.  In her first year at Oak Ridge, she became the advisor of the Trailblazer, the school yearbook.  A constant supporter of athletics she led the way in establishing the Sports Section of the yearbook to award winning status.  Recognition of athletic achievement became the priority of her yearbook staff.  Her student photographers were a fixture at sporting events.  One can only guess the budget she had for film; a budget she surely exceeded.  Pat was the best assistant coach any head coach at the school could have.  Regardless of how hard you coached your athletes, Pat had the ability to get an athlete back on track.  She was “old school” but could handle today’s athletes.  She always saw the best in her students and pushed them to achieve both inside and outside of the classroom.  Pat was a member and trainer for the National Writing Project at UCF.  She was also responsible for establishing a mentoring program of yearbook sponsors in the Orange County School System.  After retiring for a year, Pat returned to Oak Ridge for a year before transferring to Odyssey Middle School where she spent three years before finally retiring in 2008.  Before passing away in 2011, Pat was heard to say, “no matter what, her 

heart would always bleed Oak Ridge green and gold”.

As a former University of Tennessee Volunteer who played the defensive end opposite the NFL Hall of Famer, Doug Atkins, Bill Spoone arrived in Orange County in 1958 to begin his teaching and coaching career.  He coached at Edgewater, Oviedo, Deland and Evans before beginning his administrative career as Principal at Howard Junior High.  Upon Mr. Spoone’s arrival in the fall of 1974, Oak Ridge began its ascent in becoming a dominant athletic force not only in the Metro Conference and Central Florida but within the state.  The football team found success immediately by becoming the first ever Metro team to go undefeated in the regular season.  The ’74 Pioneers went on to finish 11-1.  During his 13 year tenure, 1974 thru 1987, the boys and girls track teams won a total of 9 state championships with the first ever state title coming in 1977 when the Boys Team won the title.  It was often said that Mr. Spoone “let coaches be coaches”, thus, giving them the opportunity to be successful.  He also believed in weekly pep rallies, student support at every event and total administrative backing which raised school spirit to a remarkable level.  This atmosphere was highlighted in 1974, when Mr. Spoone and with Ms. Lillian Derrick, a Hall of Fame inductee last year, organized a caravan of 17 school buses to transport the students to the Oak Ridge - Vero Beach Region Championship at Vero.  During his term at Oak Ridge, Mr. Spoone served on the FHSAA Board of Directors.  He also served as President of the Metro Conference.  In 1983, he was elected to the Metro Conference Hall of fame.  The school gymnasium is named in his honor.  After retiring, Mr. Spoone served on the Orange County School Board.