The 2009 honorees were Ramsey, who received the Alumni Award; Ben A. Geisert, Community Contributor Award; and Dr. Don L. Northington, Educator Award.
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"Most of the awards I've won are coaching awards. This is an education award, which means a lot," Ramsey said. "I've always been strong in education. That's why my players went to college to begin with. It's something we certainly stressed."
The valedictorian of her 1955 graduating Class at Washington High School, Ramsey returned to town to receive her award. It was her first time back in Washington since 2001.
So, what struck her the most upon her arrival?
"How many more businesses there are and big name stores everywhere. There's a lot of traffic, too," Ramsey said. "Driving through downtown, I also noticed a lot of the stores I was familiar with are gone."
Ramsey attended Washington schools from fifth to 12th grade. She played softball and volleyball at WHS.
"I really enjoyed high school, and grade school for that matter. I always loved school," Ramsey said. "I remember our volleyball team well. We had some good teams. It was a lot of fun. Mr. (George) Williams coached both softball and volleyball. He treated everyone like he respected them."
Ramsey also has fond memories of living in Washington.
"I would have no trouble living here again," she said. "Growing up in Washington was the best thing to ever happen to me. I used to watch the men's softball team every night they played. It was very popular back in the 1950s. That's what got me interested in softball. During the day, I got together with friends and played softball. My dad caught me in the backyard after he got home from work. He was very instrumental. My mom quickly learned the game."
Ramsey caught on to softball in a big way. Her softball playing experience included stints with WHS, the St. Louis Women's Softball League and the Pekin Lettes in Pekin, Ill.
As a pitcher, individual softball honors for Ramsey included a four-time Amateur Softball Association All-American and a member of both the Illinois Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame and the National Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame.
"My best run was in 1965 where I pitched 98 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings for the Pekin Lettes," Ramsey said. "I played 18 years for the Lettes."
Ramsey's career record with the Lettes was 401-90. She had 3,811 strikeouts in 3,460 innings with a career earned-run average of 0.56.
After graduating from WHS, Ramsey attended Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., for one year. There were no women's sports teams at Bradley.
Ramsey then transferred to Illinois State University in Normal, Ill., where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education.
While attending Illinois State, Ramsey played volleyball, basketball, softball and even field hockey.
"We had good volleyball here in Franklin County, so I was way ahead of the other volleyball girls at Illinois State," Ramsey said.
Following her college career, Ramsey got in the coaching ranks, where she shined.
Ramsey coached both softball and basketball at Illinois Central, which was a challenge.
"Coaching both sports became more difficult as the years went on. Basketball ended later in the year and softball started sooner than when I first started," she said. "It got to the point where I had to choose one, so I chose basketball. The softball season was shorter and there was a lot of rain and cold weather."
On the softball diamond, Ramsey amassed a career record of 840-309 from 1970-98. Her teams won the NJCAA national championship in 1982 and 1998.
Ramsey also coached women's basketball at Illinois Central from 1969-2003, where she had a career record of 887-197. Her teams won the NJCAA national championship five times in 1992, 1993, 1998, 1999 and 2003.
Ramsey is the only coach to win two NJCAA national championships in the same year. Her basketball and softball teams both won in 1998.
"We had tremendous basketball talent that year," Ramsey said. "I knew we had the most talent in the country. If I could just keep them from messing up, we were going to be very successful. Two of the five first-team All-Americans that season played on our team."
The softball team that season at Illinois Central also was impressive.
"During the fall, we beat Missouri, who was ranked fifth in the country at the time," Ramsey said. "We had four pitchers and all of them got Division I scholarships. Two of them didn't even pitch in the national tournament."
Ramsey also has extensive experience coaching basketball and softball on the international level.
Just to name a few, Ramsey is a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, the Illinois State University Athletic Hall of Fame, the Bradley University Athletic Hall of Fame, the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame (first female inductee), the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame and the National Junior College Fastpitch Softball Coaches Hall of Fame.
In addition, the gymnasium at Illinois Central College was named the Lorene M. Ramsey Gymnasium in 2003.
Ramsey currently lives in Washington, Ill., approximately eight miles from Peoria, during the warmer months.
From November through April, Ramsey resides in Arizona.
An avid golfer, Ramsey's living situation allows her to play golf nearly year-round.
"I play good three to four times every week pretty much all year," Ramsey said. "I love to play golf. I'm an athlete again. I didn't get to play much while I coached, but I make up for it now."
