By Staff
The Michigan High School Athletic Association's annual Officials' Awards &Alumni Banquet will honor 354 individuals with 20 or more years of service to the interscholastic sports community. The 25th edition of this banquet will take place on April 24 at the Lansing Sheraton Hotel at 7 p.m.
A pair of officials from Niles and one from Buchanan will be among those honored. Ted Potts and Norm Guentert of Niles will be honored for 30 yeras of experience while Jon Harner of Buchanan will be recognized for 20 years of experience.
The 40-year award will be presented to 60 officials. In addition, 159 officials with 20 years, and 133 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 5,809 since the inception of the banquet in 1980.
The banquet will also feature the announcement of the 2004 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.
This year's banquet will feature brief multimedia presentations prior to the introduction of the 20, 30 and 40-year recipients, with historical highlights from 1984, 1974 and 1964.
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 Faye Verellen at 517/332-5046.
The officials on this list will receive their 20, 30 or 40-year service awards at the 25th annual Officials' Awards &Alumni Banquet at the Lansing Sheraton Hotel on April 24.