Shawn Ward had big shoes to fill when she followed the legendary Wally Hunter as Lakewood Ranch High athletic director in 2004.
Now another Shawn - football coach Shawn Trent - must follow in Ward's footsteps.
The 32-year-old Ward, known for the warm but firm manner she learned from Hunter in dealing with athletes, parents, coaches and fellow athletic directors, has announced her resignation as the second athletic director in Mustangs history.
Ward plans to join her husband, Lloyd, in a business venture in Louisiana that involves recycling tires into rubber products.
Her last day at Lakewood Ranch will be Oct. 24.
Trent, the Lakewood Ranch High football coach, will become interim athletic director, principal Mike Wilder said Tuesday.
"I am thrilled to death for her," Wilder said. "We were very lucky to have her. She definitely impacted our school culture. She was very, very good at what she did."
Part of Ward's reputation is for being a master multi-tasker.
"I've learned to live in a world of phone rings, e-mail dings, people popping in, people popping out," Ward said. "It's way different from the highly planned life of a teacher, which I once was."
Among her many career thrills, Ward sat in the stands and cheered mightily with Lakewood Ranch students a few years ago as the Mustangs captured a state baseball championship in Tampa.
She also traveled in the van with the girls weightlifting team that recently took second in state.
"That was very exciting for me, to be part of their lives," Ward said.
Ward said it was impossible for her to pick out the most significant moments in her Lakewood Ranch career, which actually began in 1999 when she was hired as a math and science teacher.
She was at the school when it first opened.
"I can't think of one thing because I will remember all the coaches, students, faculty and administrators," said Ward, who got a bit emotional when talking about departing. "It will all probably hit me later."
A "Jersey Girl" from Turnersville, N.J., Ward said she was "bribed" by her parents with a car and a computer if she wouldn't protest too much when they decided to move to Florida during her teen years.
She attended the University of Florida, got a master's degree, and her first job outside of UF was at Lakewood Ranch.
Her scariest moment was her job interview, when she sat across from the heads of the science and math departments - Bryan Thomas and Carol Sicard - along with then-principal Roy Larsen and Wilder.
"The sheer number of them and just me was a bit intimidating," Ward said with a laugh.
By the time she drove back to Gainesville, however, a message on her answering machine said she had the job.
Almost immediately, she began to assist Hunter as a volunteer.
Over five years of helping Hunter, Ward saw how he reacted calmly to all situations. He was expert in handling both passionate parents, players and coaches, Ward said.
"He was always calm and collected," Ward said of Hunter, now a middle school administrator in the county. "He never let his own emotions into the discussion. He could be forceful, but never angry. He was a great mediator."
Trent, who is getting schooled this week on the computer by Ward, laughed when asked what he will remember most about Ward, who is still called Miss Fulks by those who don't know she got married in December.
"Her glowing smile," said Trent, who will give up his algebra class but not coaching football to assume the interim AD post. "No, really, it would be how she deals with people. She has this ability to take on all types of personalities and do well."
Ward had an epiphany a few weeks ago when she realized how fully she had put on the mantle of an athletic director.
"It was the home football game against Venice, and I was standing with Mike Wilder, and I realized I could just (look) at the stands for an instant and know everything," Ward said. "With a quick look, I could see the areas where too many kids were congregated. It was very, very strange. I just knew everything."
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