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MEDIA ADVISORY April 9, 2002
Contact: John Johnson or Randy Allen
517.332.5046 or www.mhsaa.com

Officials' Awards & Alumni Banquet To Honor Over 300 On April 20

EAST LANSING, Mich. - April 9 - The Michigan High School Athletic Association's annual Officials' Awards & Alumni Banquet will honor over 300 individuals with 20 or more years of service to the interscholastic sports community. The 23nd edition of this banquet will take place on April 20 at the Sheraton Lansing Hotel at 7 p.m.

The 40-year award will be presented to 35 officials who will be in attendance. In addition, 193 officials with 20 years, and 80 officials with 30 years of experience, will be honored. With the induction of this year's select group, the honor roll of officials who have aided young student-athletes grows to 5,167 since the inception of the banquet in 1979.

The banquet will also feature the announcement of the 2002 recipient of the Vern L. Norris Award. The honor, named for the former MHSAA executive director, will be presented to an official with more than 20 years of experience who has been active in their local officials' association, has mentored other officials and has been involved in officials' education. Ted Wilson of East Detroit was the recipient of the inaugural award in 1992; Fred Briggs of Burton won the award in 1993; the 1994 recipient was Joe Brodie of Flat Rock; Jim Massar of Flint was honored in 1995; the 1996 winner was Jim Lamoreaux of St. Ignace; Ken Myllyla of Escanaba was the 1997 recipient; Blake Hagman of Kalamazoo received the award in 1998; Richard Kalahar of Jackson was the recipient in 1999; in 2000, Barb Beckett of Traverse City and Karl Newingham of Bay City were honored; and last year, Herb Lipschultz of Kalamazoo was the recipient.

The guest speaker for this year's event will be Joanne P. McCallie, women's basketball coach at Michigan State University.

Tickets for the banquet are available to the public and are priced at $15.00. Tickets will not be sold at the door. For additional information, contact Angie Butterwick at 517/332-5046.

(NOTE - For a complete listing of officials to be honored click here. We hope you will recognize any individuals from your area who have contributed over the years to interscholastic athletics. If you are interested in attending the banquet, contact Angie Butterwick at the MHSAA office for complimentary tickets.)