Tuesday, January 3, 2017 - 11:07am By Jenny MacMurdo, Lemoore Chamber of Commerce
Bill Black, in a recent photo at the Sarah Mooney Museum.
Bill Black, in a recent photo at the Sarah Mooney Museum.

Former Lemoore High School Superintendent Bill Black has had many accomplishments in a long, distinguished career, and he’s going to have another one when on January 20 the Lemoore Chamber of Commerce honors him as its annual Citizen of the Year.

Tickets are still available for the 59th Annual Installation and Awards Banquet on Friday, January 20 at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino, in the Blue Oak Conference Center beginning at 6 p.m. The cost is $55 per person and can be purchased by calling the Chamber at 924-6401 or email staff at events@lemoorechamber.org.

Black was hand-picked by a contingency of past honorees as an individual who has given much of his time and talents for many years to help make Lemoore the place that it has become. Black has served as a teacher, vice principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent for the Lemoore Union High School District.

Tickets available for January 20 dinner at Tachi Palace

While serving as superintendent, he presided over a period of growth for the district that included major renovations and the construction of new facilities, including an Event Center, a new district office, renovated auto shop, and the presentation and counseling center.

Bill Black and Stephen Emanuels at a recent book signing.
Bill Black and Stephen Emanuels at a recent book signing.

In 1999, he came up with the idea for the Lemoore High School District Foundation for Education Excellence. The Foundation has benefitted teachers and students for the past 17 years. Black was instrumental in starting the annual Hall of Fame dinner honoring past LHS grads who contributed to their community, state or country.

He was also the guiding force behind the school’s FM radio station and communications program.  Bill was a member of Lemoore Rotary for many years and served as the group’s president, and was a key component of the Chamber’s Board and the Kings County Economic Development Board.

Currently, he has just co-published a book about the History of Kings County, and has also published several articles in local newspapers. He also presides over a group of Kings County administrative retirees who come together in advocacy for retired educators, and he has served on the Sarah A. Mooney Museum Board of Directors. Bill also received the prestigious “Friend of Lemoore High School” from the LHS Foundation. It’s given to a non-grad who has during his lifetime contributed greatly to the school.