THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996 TAG: 9606280225
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 28 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: 101 lines
THE LADY WHO walked so fast for so long will walk that way no more.
For 39 years, Doris Riedel sped through the halls of Princess Anne High at breakneck speed.
On Friday, she dropped it down a couple of gears by retiring.
``That's probably how most people would remember me, the lady who walks fast,'' said Riedel, the only person to hold the job of student activities coordinator at Princess Anne since it was created in 1978. ``They gave me the road runner award one year at the awards banquet.
``But I do everything that way.''
That's for sure.
Those who know her well use many adjectives to describe her. Slow isn't one of them. She's never been accused of beating around the bush.
Riedel was so fast that even viruses had trouble catching her. In 39 years, she only missed 33 days of work and many of those came because of deaths in the family. Oh, and she missed a couple of days when a volleyball pole fell on her foot.
``But I learned how to be pretty fast on crutches,'' she said.
Mostly out of necessity.
For the past 18 years, Riedel has worked a position that demands more speed and time than any other in the school system.
It was not unusual for Riedel to be the first to arrive at the school around 7 a.m. and the last to leave at around 10 p.m. As the SAC, Riedel was in charge of all extracurricular happenings - everything from a band practice to a basketball game, from a PTA meeting to a championship football game.
If it was happening at Princess Anne, she had to be there. Twelve months a year, five - sometimes six - days a week.
``The schedule is just so demanding,'' said Riedel, 61. ``It was kind of a hard decision, but not that hard. I want to do other things, travel and get a part-time job.
``I'm not going to sit still, mind you, but I just thought it was time.''
The fire that ravaged Princess Anne just before the opening of school last fall didn't help matters for Riedel. She now had to run between two locations as activities were divided between the damaged building and Celebration Station, about three miles away, which served as the auxiliary high school throughout the year.
``It wasn't the main reason (she retired),'' Riedel said of the fire. ``But I think it played a part. This has been a very rough year and I thought that I really didn't want to do it again.''
A replacement for Riedel hasn't yet been announced, but whomever it is had better have huge feet. They'll have some mighty big shoes to fill.
Riedel is as much an institution at Princess Anne as anybody anywhere ever could be.
``Absolutely,'' said Dr. Carol Chory, who served under her a few years at Princess Anne before taking the Kempsville coordinator's job in 1979. ``She was my mentor and I always looked to her for direction.
``She will be greatly missed.''
Riedel was a basketball and softball standout for Rural Retreat High in Wythe County before attending Radford University.
While working on her health and physical education degree, she was brought to Virginia Beach by Louise Luxford - a ``recruiter'' for Princess Anne County Public Schools.
In 1957, Riedel started her career at Princess Anne as a physical education teacher. For five years, she played with the Virginia Beach Surf Queens women's basketball team that toured the East Coast. The Cavalier Hotel was her sponsor. During her 21 years as a teacher, she helped coach field hockey and gymnastics and played an important role in the development of what is today's women's athletic program in the school system.
Roy Ammons was a student at Princess Anne when Riedel taught P.E. He's been a coach and SAC at Kellam since 1963.
``Doris is a good, common-sense person,'' Ammons said. ``Her priorities are in line and if something ever needed doing, she'd do it and do it right and do it right now.
``She cares about the kids and you have to in this job. I have an awful lot of admiration and respect for the lady. Yes, she's gonna be missed by a lot of people.''
During her years as the SAC, she worked under several principals and had to adjust her doings to their whims. Many say that she adjusted the principals to suit her whims.
Riedel has seen a multitude of coaches and athletes pass through Princess Anne's doors.
And it's the people she will likely miss the most.
``Buster O'Brien, Curtis Strange, so many others,'' said Riedel, a 1978 winner of the Virginia Beach Sports Club Director's Award and a 1990 Virginia State High School Athletic Director of the Year honoree.
``And I've seen women's sports grow from nothing to equal to the guys. I was one of the ladies really pushing for that.
``We now have 34 sports teams here. I've seen so much growth over the years.''
When Riedel first came to the school, the surrounding area was all farm land. Now it's bordered by a mall, shopping centers and an eight-lane Virginia Beach Boulevard that was barely two back then.
She's seen the city grow from two schools to 10.
``It's been amazing,'' she said.
But not nearly as amazing as the legacy Doris Riedel leaves behind. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHARLES MEADS
Doris Riedel, student activities coordinator since 1978, says of
retiring: ``I'm not going to sit still, mind you, but I just thought
it was time.'' by CNB