DeKalb County Eastern Community Schools District cut the ribbon Monday, June 16, on the brand new Aaron Willard Student Activity Center at Eastside Jr/Sr High School.
The 30,000-sq. ft. building is named for Aaron Willard, a 1984 Eastside graduate who spent 36 years at his alma mater as a teacher, coach, athletic director and assistant principal. The Will, as the activity center is already being nicknamed, includes four basketball courts, indoor running track, weight room, batting cages and commons area connecting it to the rest of the school.
Willard and his family were joined by DeKalb Eastern Schools superintendent Ryan Abbott, members of the DeKalb Eastern Schools board, Eastside students and staff, and the Butler community to cut the ribbon on the new addition. The school board approved construction of the facility in April of 2023 and voted in March of 2025 to name the building in Willard's honor.
Willard graduated from Eastside in 1984, carving out an All-Northeast Corner Conference career in baseball and basketball. He went on to Huntington University, where he played baseball, before starting his teaching career at Eastside in 1989. He was a student supervisor, then physical education teacher. The last 26 years, he served athletic director and assistant principal.
Willard spent 23 seasons as the softball coach, leading the Blazers to the IHSAA 1A State Championship in 1998, and winning 506 games overall.
He then coached Blazer baseball for six years, winning 125 games and taking Eastside to a 2A State Runner-Up finish in 2021.
Willard also spent time on the boys basketball sidelines. In his season as head coach in 1993, he led the Blazers (5-14 in the regular season) to the DeKalb Sectional title--their first one-class sectional since 1966. He went on to win 65 games in six seasons.
All told, Coach Willard accounts for 700 victories in those three sports with 31 total NECC titles, 18 sectionals, seven regional, two semi-states and a state title. As a student-athlete he won an NECC regular season title in basketball and baseball and a NECC Tournament title in basketball. He was All-NECC twice in baseball and All-NECC in basketball as a junior.
Willard retired from education at the end of the 2024-25 school year.
Eastside is one of 32 high schools in the region that partner with PSM for sports medicine services, from our expert staff of athletic trainers, nutritionists, sports performance coaches, sports physical therapist and sports physicians from our orthopedic partner, Ortho Northeast.