Boys & Girls Track and Field

Meet the 2013 Honorary Meet Officials

Two Honorary Meet Officials will lead the annual Parade of Athletes lap on Saturday morning (May 11) before the beginning of the 82nd annual Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) State Track and Field Meet.

Named Honorary Meet Officials for 2013 are: Bill and Peggy Funkhouser, Bunker Hill

This the first year the IESA has selected individuals to serve as Honorary Meet Officials. The individuals selected as honorary meet officials are honored for their contributions to the IESA interscholastic track and field program and the young men and women who participate in the sport. They are nominated by the IESA Track and Field Advisory Committee. The Honorary Meet Officials will play an integral role of the Parade of Athletes lap as they will lead the teams and individuals around the track at the East Side Centre, amidst music, applause and cheers from teammates, parents, family, and fans.

Here is a closer look at the 2013 Honorary Meet Officials:

**Bill and Peggy Funkhouser may not be known to many people who attend the annual IESA state track and field meet but their contributions to the success of the IESA state meets cannot be measured. Like any event of this magnitude, it takes many people and volunteers to make it run smoothly and Bill and Peggy have been an integral part of these meets for nearly 40 years. Each year, they have driven from their home in Bunker Hill, Illinois to work both the Class A and Class AA meets. Bill has worked in various capacities with the meets since 1972 and has been the head timing judge and chief finish evaluator for every race in both classes when the Association instituted fully-automatic timing. Bill has watched every race for both classes and determined the time and place for every runner that has participated in any given heat since 1994. Because he has always been in the press box doing his job, he has rarely been seen by the people in attendance at the meets but has faithfully been doing a job that ultimately has given every runner and team a time and a place. Bill is a graduate of Alton Sr. High School and Southern Illinois University and spent 31 years as a teacher and a coach. He retired in 1993 from Bunker Hill School. He is a former member of the IESA Athletic Committee and then when the Association started girls activities and had separate committees for boys and girls, he served on the Boys Athletic Committee. While Bill was serving as the girls track coach at Bunker Hill, Peggy would often accompany Bill and his team to the state meets to chaperone the girls who had advanced to the finals. Starting in 1985, when the state meet was held in Washington, Illinois, Peggy was always in the awards area helping to distribute medals to the coaches and individuals. She continued in that role for many years and even helped distribute the team packets that coaches pick up. For the last two years, Peggy has joined Bill in the press box helping to run the timing equipment. She is a graduate of Bunker Hill High School at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. Bill and Peggy have been married for 52 years and have four children, 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. IESA sincerely thanks Bill and Peggy Funkhouser for their contributions, time, effort, energy, and all they have done over the past 40 years to make the IESA state track and field meet the best jr. high school interscholastic track and field meet in the nation.