Today, Lora Bickley, at the VHSL submitted her resignation effective 8-30-24. She will have been at the VHSL for 55 years at that time.
EVERY AD AND EVERY PRINCIPAL that ever dealt with Lora will tell you that there is no nicer person in the world. Her knowledge of the VHSL is legendary. It’s not just a cliche to say that Lora has forgotten more about League procedures than any five people at her office have ever known.
Dedicated to a fault, Lora has lost untold weeks of vacation for many, many years. By lost, I mean she couldn’t take the time off so she lost that pay. And, what few people know, was that it was a rare weekend or holiday that she wasn’t working from home, answering emails, returning calls, or taking care of League business on her computer. All completely without compensation.
Two recent examples of Lora’s dedication. She knew she would be extra busy this week because the Executive Committee was meetings in Charlottesville, so she worked on her routine work at home Saturday and Sunday. This morning, because today was the meeting of the complete Executive Commitee, she got to her office at 6:20. (Her normal day starts at 8:00).
Unless you had reason to attend VHSL meetings, here is a very poorly kept secret. Lora always makes cakes for meetings. Her Banana Nut Bread and her Pound Cake are absolutely, undeniably, the very best that you have ever put in your mouth.
Dr. Billy Haun, the League Executive Director, as well as the Executive Committee, was not joking when they said they were looking for a way to deny her resignation and find a way to force her to stay.
Assembling the weekly results of the football games, which includes about 75 out of state teams, plus the in-state private schools, was exclusively Lora’s responsibility. She started on this in June of every year. She had to determine what “class” all relevant out of state teams, and all private schools, were equivalent to in the VHSL. And of course she had to verify every single game on every single schedule that was submitted for the upcoming football season. Most AD’s did a good job of getting their info in on time and having it correct. But she spent more time on the 10% that didn’t do their job than on all the other 90% combined. Additionally, she is responsible for verifying and entering results into the “ratings“ program. This was just one of her many responsibilities. And, she ALWAYS handled everything politely and with respect and consideration. ALWAYS!
The League will try, but they will NEVER be able to fill the void that Lora will leave. Everyone hopes that they will be able to convince Lora to work part time, especially during football season. But if she says I’m sorry, she darn sure earned that right.
Her email address is available on the VHSL website. I hope that you will take a minute and send her a message of gratitude for all that she has done, for over a half a century to make things as good as they could be for the kids across our state.
EVERY AD AND EVERY PRINCIPAL that ever dealt with Lora will tell you that there is no nicer person in the world. Her knowledge of the VHSL is legendary. It’s not just a cliche to say that Lora has forgotten more about League procedures than any five people at her office have ever known.
Dedicated to a fault, Lora has lost untold weeks of vacation for many, many years. By lost, I mean she couldn’t take the time off so she lost that pay. And, what few people know, was that it was a rare weekend or holiday that she wasn’t working from home, answering emails, returning calls, or taking care of League business on her computer. All completely without compensation.
Two recent examples of Lora’s dedication. She knew she would be extra busy this week because the Executive Committee was meetings in Charlottesville, so she worked on her routine work at home Saturday and Sunday. This morning, because today was the meeting of the complete Executive Commitee, she got to her office at 6:20. (Her normal day starts at 8:00).
Unless you had reason to attend VHSL meetings, here is a very poorly kept secret. Lora always makes cakes for meetings. Her Banana Nut Bread and her Pound Cake are absolutely, undeniably, the very best that you have ever put in your mouth.
Dr. Billy Haun, the League Executive Director, as well as the Executive Committee, was not joking when they said they were looking for a way to deny her resignation and find a way to force her to stay.
Assembling the weekly results of the football games, which includes about 75 out of state teams, plus the in-state private schools, was exclusively Lora’s responsibility. She started on this in June of every year. She had to determine what “class” all relevant out of state teams, and all private schools, were equivalent to in the VHSL. And of course she had to verify every single game on every single schedule that was submitted for the upcoming football season. Most AD’s did a good job of getting their info in on time and having it correct. But she spent more time on the 10% that didn’t do their job than on all the other 90% combined. Additionally, she is responsible for verifying and entering results into the “ratings“ program. This was just one of her many responsibilities. And, she ALWAYS handled everything politely and with respect and consideration. ALWAYS!
The League will try, but they will NEVER be able to fill the void that Lora will leave. Everyone hopes that they will be able to convince Lora to work part time, especially during football season. But if she says I’m sorry, she darn sure earned that right.
Her email address is available on the VHSL website. I hope that you will take a minute and send her a message of gratitude for all that she has done, for over a half a century to make things as good as they could be for the kids across our state.
