WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A much-loved Lexington Two educator and longtime coach was recognized Thursday with one of the district’s most prestigious awards.
Richard Lundy -- who retired from Brookland-Cayce High School in 2006, after more than three decades in Lexington Two – was selected for the district’s Heroes and Heroines Society. Lundy passed away in January, and his family attended a reception to accept the award before the Board of Trustees’ April 28 meeting.
Lundy started his education career as a teacher at Brookland-Cayce High School in the 1975-1976 school year. He was instrumental in Career and Technology Education, launching the building construction/carpentry program and was the first to teach in the vocational wing. He continued to lead the building construction program until his retirement in 2006. He gained much recognition as an athletic coach, working with Brookland-Cayce’s softball, basketball, and football teams. He coached softball from 1989-2011, compiling a 549-164 record (.770 winning percentage). He won State Championships in 1998, 2000, and 2002; Lower State Championships in 1999, 2004, 2005, and 2009; and Region Championships in 1989,1992,1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. He was named Coach of the Year by the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association and the S.C. National Federation of High Schools Association, both in 2000. He was Region Coach of the Year in 1989, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. Lundy had 20 players named All-State, 20 players named North/South All-Star, 16 players who became coaches, 14 players who became teachers, 26 players who played college softball, and one player who played professional softball. Lundy was inducted into the Brookland Cayce High School Education Foundation Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Athletic Hall of Fame in 2020.
Lundy and his wife, Charlotte, raised three daughters, all of whom graduated from Brookland Cayce High. In accepting the Heroes and Heroines Society award for their father, the three – Michele Lundy, Trina Kiernan, and Elaine Lundy – said: “In our hearts we thought we would forever see him coaching softball, and teaching carpentry, both of which he loved! What he loved more than the trade and the sport was every single person that he was able to leave a little legacy with as they passed through his life. I promise you he loved each one of you more than you loved him! Dad was an amazing husband, father, brother, Grandaddy, Papa, educator, carpenter, coach, Christian, and man. He touched more lives than most get to experience in a lifetime. His legacy will never die!”
The Heroes and Heroines Society was started in the 1990-91 school year to recognize retired educators who dedicated their lives to service in the classroom, guidance or media center. Lundy is the 37th honoree chosen for induction into the society representing the “best of the best” in Lexington Two schools.