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Ward Lear - Anitoch High School
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| Ward was involved in the field of education for 38 years. The first seven years were at Lyndon High School and the next 31 years at Antioch High School, 30 of those as the athletic director (1956-1987). Ward was involved in athletics during a time of change and innovation. Antioch High School offered four sports his first year; they had twenty sports when he retired. While at Antioch he added wrestling, golf, cross country, and soccer to the boys athletic program. He created the entire girls athletic program (eleven sports) along with the additional budget and monetary items needed to successfully run those programs. At the state level, Ward was a common fixture at IHSA and IADA activities. He has worked the IHSA state wrestling meet for the last 31 years. He has served as an announcer, timer and scorer. He hosted numerous IHSA tournaments. He served on the IHSA erestling advisory board from 1985-1987. The IADA was lucky to have such an involved member as Ward. He served as a district representative, convention presenter, 1983 program chairman, and in 1985 he was chosen as the IADA Athletic Director of The Year. At the national level, Ward presented at the national convention three times and worked on the set-up committee in 1987, when the national convention was held in Chicago. Ward may have retired from athletic administration in 1987, but he remained active with the IADA, IHSA and the NIAAA. He served on the IADA executive board as the retired athletic director liaison, chaired the NIAAA 50/50 raffle, continued to volunteer at state tournaments, and wrote numerous articles for the IADA and IHSA newsletters. Many athletic directors today are successful due to the fact that Ward Lear tutored them. |
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