ANGOLA, NY – Gary Tribula came to Friday night's football home opener expecting an ordinary night running the game clock, just as he has for decades. Instead, before kickoff, he found family, friends, students, coaches, and the wider Lake Shore community waiting for him on the field, there to celebrate 58 years of service to the district.

The moment carried extra meaning: it was the first home game played out of the district's brand new press box, built on the very spot where Tribula has run the clock for decades. His story with Lake Shore began in September 1968, when he joined the district as a junior high math teacher. He spent 33 years in the classroom, later stepping into a department leadership role, before retiring in 2001. But Tribula's impact reached far beyond his classroom: over the decades he also coached JV and varsity football, modified wrestling, baseball, and swimming, and long after retiring from teaching, he remained a fixture in the press box as the district's trusted game-clock operator.

On the field, Tribula was presented with a commemorative plaque honoring that legacy. A second plaque now hangs proudly inside the new press box, a permanent tribute at the very spot where he'll keep running the clock for years to come.

"Gary's the guy who's always doing what needs doing," said Daryl Besant, Athletic Director. "That's fifty-eight years of showing up for this community, and we wanted him to know how much it means to all of us."

Longtime announcer and colleague Mike Brinkerhoff shared the news with the crowd: "This plaque will be permanently displayed inside our brand new press box, a lasting tribute to everything Gary has given to Lake Shore. And don't worry, Gary isn't going anywhere. He'll be right back up in that press box tonight, running the clock just like he always has."