Hayes Jones: Olympic Hero Built in Pontiac
April 30, 2019
By Ron Pesch
Special for Second Half
His mother was going to name him Kelly, chosen to honor her brother who had passed away. But before the birth certificate would be filed at the county seat for Ethel’s newborn son, there was a change of plan.
He was born in August of 1938 in Starkville, Mississippi, into a world at unrest. Not yet officially at war, it would be soon.
Ethel’s father had a different suggestion. His daughter had another brother, who served in the Navy. If something were to happen to her brother, there would be no one else to carry on the family surname. With that, it was decided.
Instead, the child’s first name would be Hayes.
At the age of 80, Hayes Jones is happy to share the details of his life. Especially when the conversation offers the occasion to remember the people and places that most impacted his being. The conversation, as it always has, includes stories about mentors. These are the people who he will never forget.
The names and the stories are certainly not new. Many have appeared, in some form, in newspaper interviews from five, 15, 50, or 60 years ago. They are told with joy and admiration.
He speaks in measured tones, at a moderate and deliberate pace.
"I grew up a kid with a nervous condition, bad ulcers in junior high and I stammered," he told Marvin Goodwin of the Oakland Press in 2014. "I couldn't speak a sentence without stuttering."
“I still have that, if I get overly excited,” said Jones, speaking on his cell phone while on a recent visit to metro Detroit.
For the past 10 years, Jones has lived in Atlanta, Ga., and spends most of his time there. But he lived in and around Pontiac for years while working in and near the Motor City. He still has a home there and returns to visit with family.
Academics nearly derailed what was to come, but with a willingness to listen, absorb, then act, he would become a state track champion. At the age of 22, he held three world records and was an Olympic medalist. By 26, he would earn gold.
The spring of '55
Jones’ name first surfaced before a statewide audience in early April 1955 in a stringer’s report to the Detroit Free Press.
“Pontiac completely outclassed 11 other Class A foes here Friday night to win its first Arthur Hill-Saginaw High School invitational indoor track title at Central Michigan College’s fieldhouse. … Coach Wally Schloerke’s balanced outfit won six of the first 10 events.
“Leading the way for Pontiac was Willie Wilson who captured the high and low hurdles. Other Pontiac winners were Hayes Jones in the broad jump and Morris Jackson in the 440. The Chiefs also won both the medley and four-lap relays.”
“The final score of the winners more than doubled the points of runner-up, Flint Northern, who tallied 30½ points to the winner’s 69½ points,” stated the Traverse City Record Eagle in its extensive coverage of the event. Jones, a junior, had also tied for first, with teammate Hudson Ray, in the high jump, finished second in the 65-yard low hurdles and fourth in the high hurdles.
Two weeks later in the Free Press, sportswriter Hal Schram noted that Pontiac had won its second straight dual meet, overwhelming Dearborn Fordson, 84 1/3 to 24 2/3. “Hayes Jones won two events outright and tied for a third in piling up 14 points. He won the high hurdles in 15.4 seconds, the broad jump at 19 feet 2 inches and tied in the high jump at 5 feet 11 inches.” According to Schram, the Chiefs were already being “touted as the team to beat for Class A track honors.”
Competing in the ultra-competitive Saginaw Valley Conference, track success was relatively new to PHS. With the assistance of Ray Lowry, who previously served as Pontiac’s track coach, Schloerke’s Chiefs had finished as runners-up to the Class A state title in the springs of 1952 and 1953.
In the Regional at Ypsilanti, Pontiac qualified 19 athletes over 11 of the meet’s 13 events. Jones won the high hurdles and broad jump.
“Herb Korf, veteran coach at Saginaw High whose teams won seven (track) State titles in 10 years (1945-1954) admits he never had a squad with the depth and balance of this Pontiac powerhouse,” wrote Schram in his preview of the 1955 state meet. “The Chiefs won’t win many first places Saturday but will pile up the seconds, thirds and fourths. Willie Wilson and Hayes Jones in the hurdles and Freeman Watkins in the broad jump have the best chances of winning events.
“’It appears to be a battle for second place,’ is the begrudging forecast of Bill Cave, Flint Northern coach. who dislikes playing second fiddle to anyone.” (Cave and Flint Northern won MHSAA Class A titles in 1950 and 1953 and then ended 1954 second to Saginaw. The Vikings would then finish as Class A runners-up in each of the next six years before earning another title in 1961.)
As predicted, Pontiac grabbed an easy victory at the Class A meet, hosted at Michigan State’s Ralph Young Field. The Chiefs scored 51 13/14 points to Flint Northern’s 17. Jones alone racked up 17 points, winning the 120-yard high hurdles with a record time of 14.5 seconds, shaving a tenth of a second off the mark held for 14 years by Jackson’s Horace Smith. Jones also won the broad jump and finished second to Benton Harbor’s Don Arend in the low hurdles.
Alex Barge and Hudson Ray tied for high jump honors, while Bill Douglas won the 880 for the Chiefs.
“Pontiac’s only ‘muff’ of the day came in the final 880-yard relay,” said Bob Hoerner of the Lansing State Journal, “when a dropped baton by the already-champions kept the Chiefs from getting more points.”
At season’s end, this 1955 track team was quickly identified as the greatest in school history.
Learning to fly
While he was born in Starkville, Hayes Jones was built in Pontiac during an era of prosperity – when the city held a single public high school and employment was strong. His father, Jesse, had followed a younger brother to Michigan for work. Saving enough money after a couple of months, he called for his family to join him. Hayes was 3.
Jones never failed to credit those who helped when discussing the global athletic success that would come.
In a Free Press article from 1996, he recalled his instruction. “I had a good hurdling coach, Ray Lowry … and from what he taught me I’d visualize what I was supposed to do,” said Jones. A record holder at Toledo Scott High School, Lowry was one of the top pole vaulters in the nation while at Michigan Normal (today Eastern Michigan University) during the mid-1930s.
“Mr. Lowry taught me everything I knew about hurdling,” said Jones, when Lowry’s name was mentioned. “When I went to college my coach was a distance expert, but he didn’t know much about hurdling. As a freshman in Pontiac, I ran hurdles but I was very short. Most of my peers were taller and moved much faster than me. But Mr. Schloerke and Mr. Lowry saw my determination and said, ‘Let’s keep him on the team.’ I asked if I could take home a hurdle to practice with during the summer. I lived a mile and a half away. Mr. Lowry said ‘I’ll leave two or three out for you. You can practice with them after you deliver your newspapers.’ So every morning I’d deliver the Detroit Free Press and I would then head over to Wisner Stadium to practice.
“One morning this gentleman was driving past the stadium, and decided to stop. His name was Charlie Irish and he was a recreation supervisor for the city of Pontiac. I guess he’d drive by every morning and see this kid practicing. On this particular morning he stopped, and then every morning he would come.”
Whenever the ‘kid’ knocked down hurdles, Irish would pick them up and put them back in place.
“Charlie and his wife moved to Sun City after he retired. After college, I would fly to Arizona to thank him every year for giving up his time. There’s a large cemetery off Woodward between 13 and 12 Mile Roads, (where he’s buried),” said Jones, continuing. “Whenever I’d find myself there, I’d look to my right and remember Charlie.”
A fourth figure from Pontiac also loomed large in shaping Jones.
In the fall of 1955, after serving 13 years as principal at Pontiac Eastern Junior High, Francis Staley assumed the role of principal at Pontiac High School. He would remain in the role until the fall of 1967. His new job led to a conversation with the school’s budding track star.
“You have done your homework,” Jones said, laughing. “Yes, that was Principal Staley. He was the one from a personal standpoint that put me on the right track from an academic point of view.
“When he arrived at the high school, he called me to his office. I didn’t know what was going on. I thought he just wanted to meet a state champion,” Jones added, chuckling at the thought. “He had a folder on his desk. ‘I just want to let you know, no student at Pontiac High School can participate in extracurricular activities without passing grades. It appears you are right on the border.’”
Jones told Marilyn Daley of the New York Daily News about the incident for a feature in 1968. At 29, he had recently been named commissioner of recreation for New York City’s “new super-agency, the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Administration,” working toward giving kids and adults, regardless of income, opportunities for recreation 12 months a year.
“Hayes, you can’t continue in sports with these grades. Do you want to run or do you want to study?” asked the new principal.
“He was going to take me off the team," Jones explained. "Track and field was my whole life.
“That was the turning point of my life,” said Jones some 60 years later, reflecting on that summit and the impending consequences. “I hit the books. If it weren’t for Principal Staley, I wouldn’t have attended college.”
New-found focus
The 1956 track season would cement Jones’ standing as the greatest track athlete in Pontiac school history.
In March, at the Huron Relays, an indoor event hosted at Eastern Michigan’s recently opened Wilbur P. Bowen Fieldhouse, Jones picked up where he left off, winning three events while finishing tied for a fourth. It was an impressive performance to kick off the season.
In early April, Jones again starred at the Saginaw-Arthur Hill Indoor Invitational event at Central Michigan, setting new meet marks in the broad jump and high jump (tying with teammate Hudson Ray). He really opened eyes with a 7.8 time in the 65-yard high hurdles. “The recognized college time in the nation for that distance is 7.9,” noted the Record-Eagle, “so fans can see that he really was moving.”
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, concern was expressed about one athlete dominating prep meets in Michigan.
“There’s considerable agitation among prep track coaches to alter the point system in the state championships,” reported Bill Frank, future sports editor for the Battle Creek Enquirer. “Last year, for instance, Hayes Jones of the Class A championship Pontiac High team scored (the same number of points as) the second place school. … Many coaches feel that relay teams should count double in points, such as in the state swim meet. … Doubling points in relays would offset one school coming up with one outstanding athlete who could win the title by himself, such as Jones. … Also it’s felt it isn’t fair to give an individual seven points for a first place when an entire relay team of four runners can earn no more points as a group for winning.”
That April 21, for the first time in school history, Pontiac sent 17 athletes to compete in the prestigious Mansfield Relays in Ohio. Today the event is known as the Mehock Relays, renamed after the event’s originator, Harry Mehock, in 1972.
“Pontiac’s individual standout is Hayes Jones … who could well become Michigan’s all-time star prep hurdler,” wrote Ed Ackley of the Flint Journal, a week prior to the event. “Pontiac coach Wally Schloerke says he isn’t taking his club to Mansfield with any great hopes of winning the team title. ‘I just want to give the boys a good workout against stiff competition,’ he points out.”
But seven days later, for the first time in the Relays’ 25-year history, the Mansfield trophy “made its first trip outside the confines of Ohio.” It headed north to Michigan, thanks to “a sterling performance by lithe Hayes Jones,” said Fred Tharp, sports editor for the Mansfield News-Journal in a front page story.
Jones piled up 16 points, winning the 120-yard high hurdles and the broad jump, while placing “second in the 180-yard low timbers. His winning broad jump of 22 feet, 11¾ inches was just 3¼ inches behind the record set by Cleveland’s Jesse Owens in 1933. Jones had equaled the 180-yard low hurdle record of Bill Whitman of Cleveland East Tech in the morning semi finals. Whitman had run 19.4 in 1952.”
“Jones’ two firsts were the only wins authored by Pontiac but the Michigan School took four seconds, two thirds and a fifth” as the school racked up 34½ points. “Jones’ 16 points outscored 92 teams in the huge field.”
(Over 60 years later, Jones is one of only seven Mansfield/Mehock winners who went on to become an Olympic champion.)
A week later, Pontiac won its second consecutive Class A championship at the Central Michigan College High School Relays.
“In the 16-year history of this event the weatherman has seldom co-operated. Saturday was no exception,” stated the Free Press in its coverage of the gathering. “Weekend rains and the pounding feet of nearly 3,000 schoolboys, turned the oval into a quagmire. Despite these conditions, Jones had another fine day.”
The versatile athlete won three events, setting a meet record in the 120-yard hurdles at 14.9 on a rain-drenched track in near-freezing temperatures.
At the Class A Regional at Ypsilanti, Pontiac cruised to a record-shattering victory, scoring 97½ points and 12 firsts across 15 events, and again was expected to dominate the MHSAA Class A meet. To no surprise, Jones starred.
“Already the possessor of the state high hurdles record of 14.5, set last year, Jones bettered it last week for the third time. He cleared the posts at 14.3 (at the regionals) – only three-tenths off the national high school mark of 14,” stated The Associated Press in its preview to the upcoming state championship. Schloerke was quoted as saying that Jones was a “definite Olympic future prospect”.
On May 21, at the Class A and D track and field championships hosted at University of Michigan’s Ferry Field, “Hayes Jones made all those fabled track performances of his official,” stated the Free Press. “The 160-pound Pontiac High senior set two of the six records established, won three firsts and led the Chiefs to their second straight Class A track and field championship. Pontiac rolled to a record 61 points by winning six events and scoring in 10 of the 13 on the program.”
It was the 12th Class A championship by a Saginaw Valley Conference track team in 13 years.
Jones bested a 20-year old mark in the broad jump by more than nine inches (previously held by Lansing Central’s Ted Tycocki), with a leap of 23 feet 8 7/8 inches. He topped his own record in the high hurdles with a mark of 14.4, “won the lows in 19.4 and anchored the winning Pontiac 880-yard relay team for a personal contribution of 19½ points … other Pontiac firsts were won by Hudson Ray in the high jump, with a leap of 6 foot 3 3/8 inches and Bill Douglas, who captured his section of the half mile in 1:59.7.”
“The Pontiac track team should be recorded as the most powerful thinclad team in P.H.S. history - surpassing, if possible, even the undefeated State Championship squad of 1955,” wrote the sports editor of the 1956 Pontiac High School yearbook. Balance and depth, along with individual record-breaking performers, accounted for Coach Schloerke’s ‘dream team.’”
Eastern Michigan and national fame
The conversation with Principal Staley, and Jones’ decision to act, paved the way for life after high school. It was Lowry who suggested that Jones attend his alma mater, Eastern Michigan.
There was interest from larger schools that offered track scholarships. But an athletic scholarship didn’t apply at Eastern.
“We are forbidden to do so by our administration. We have absolutely no scholarships available to athletes as such,” said Eastern track coach George Marshall at the time. Eastern, along with Central Michigan, competed in the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with five schools from Illinois.
“My parents said, ‘You’re going to school to get a college education, not to just run track.’ I washed dishes and mopped floors to help my parents pay for college,” recalled Jones. “You had to get in based on academics. I think I would have gotten lost at a bigger school. At Eastern – teachers gave you one-on-one attention. They’d invite you over for dinner. I needed that.
“Back then all the boys had to serve one year in ROTC at Eastern. For some reason, I couldn’t stand at attention for any length of time – I would always get regular demerits. Finally, they said, ‘We’re sending you over to the infirmary to find out why.’ There they found out my left leg was three quarters of an inch shorter than my right. They made me exempt from ROTC, and I was told ‘Go run track.’”
At Eastern, Jones joined 17 returning lettermen on the track team. Standing 5-foot-10, Jones was small for a hurdler, but he quickly made his presence known.
In the opening meet of the winter indoor season, a 62-42 loss to Marquette University, Jones stood out, tying the Hurons’ 65-yard low hurdle mark with a winning time of 7.4 seconds. He also finished first in the high jump and broad jump. By the end of his freshman indoor-outdoor season, he had competed in 58 events and had captured 49 firsts.
In a 54-50 victory over reigning Big Ten champion Indiana in March of 1958, Jones, now a sophomore, tied the world’s record in the 60-yard dash. He also set a new American record in the 70-yard low hurdles and tied the U.S. mark in the 70-yard high hurdles. Instantly, he was thrust to the “forefront of American indoor hurdles.”
In June, he was invited on a trip with a U.S. State Department-sponsored track team that toured Belgium, France and Italy. Again, he absorbed advice and direction from coaches and peers.
Dave Sime, a great Duke sprinter, was on the trip and among those he credited. (Sime later would win a silver medal in the 100 meters at the 1960 Olympics in Rome).
“I had been dizzy starting … sometimes I’d use my arms right but often I was wrong. He showed me how to use them properly and I’ve been getting away good,” said Hayes in March 1958 after surprising track followers with a victory in the 60-yard hurdles at the National Amateur Athletic Union Indoor event in New York.
An injury suffered in December 1958 of his junior year received play across newspapers around the Midwest.
“I broke the training rules to play basketball and didn’t get caught until I broke my ankle,” said Jones, recalling the time in the New York Daily News article.
“It was a hairline fracture but Eastern had them put a full cast on me. I guess they didn’t want me to do any more damage,” Jones remembered, humored by the memory.
He was back in full form by the end of January 1959, winning two events for the second time in a row at the Michigan AAU track meet at Ann Arbor, including an 8-second flat in the 65-yard high hurdles – a tenth of a second off the world record. By his senior year, he was a national track celebrity, winning the 110-meter high hurdles at the Pan-American games in September 1959, then equaling the world record in the 60-yard indoor high hurdles at the end of January 1960 at the Millrose Games in New York. The news of his record was covered coast-to-coast.
In February, in back-to-back meets staged in Philadelphia and New York, he became the first in history to win both sprint and hurdle events in major indoor meets. Later in the month, he edged Lee Calhoun (the 1956 Olympic gold medalist in the 110-meter hurdles from Gary, Ind., and North Carolina College) in the 60-yard high hurdles at both the 72nd National AAU championships at Madison Square Garden and at the Knights of Columbus meet in New York. In Cleveland in March at the Knights of Columbus meet, he again topped Calhoun in the 50-yard high hurdles, lowering the world indoor mark to 5.9 seconds in the race.
A rivalry was formed. “I had the speed, but not the endurance,” stated Jones, recalling his dominance in the shorter indoor races but Calhoun’s success in the longer outdoor events. “I was leading up to the sixth or seventh hurdle, then I’d hear him coming.”
An Olympic berth
Jones continued to cause I.I.A.C. meet records to fall like dominoes when the outdoor season arrived at Eastern. In July, he earned a place on the U.S Olympic team at the trials at Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif., finishing third behind Calhoun by one tenth of a second, and Willie May (Big Ten hurdles champion at Indiana University) at 13.5 in the 110-meter hurdles. Public fundraising efforts began immediately in Pontiac to raise money to send his parents to Rome to watch their son compete in the Games of the XVII Olympiad. The three – Calhoun, May and Jones – finished in the same order in Rome in September sweeping gold, silver and bronze for the U.S.
After college, Jones accepted a teacher-coach position at Detroit Denby High School while training for the 1964 Olympics. When told by Olympic officials that accepting a coaching stipend could affect his amateur status, he soon transferred to Tilden Elementary in Detroit.
By February 1964, he had posted 50 straight indoor wins, dating back to 1959.
Asked why he preferred indoor racing, Jones told Sports Illustrated, “I’m only 5 feet 10 and outdoors everybody’s bigger than I am. When I get indoors, though, the spring in the boards and the spring in my legs make me 7 feet tall and I’m bigger than anybody.”
Still, there comes a point when experience is no longer a runner’s friend. Despite the success, Jones knew the 1964 season would be his last.
”Now I’m old – mentally. I’ve done everything a man can do as an athlete, and now I’m just repeating,” he told longtime sports journalist Bud Collins of the Boston Globe that February, announcing his plans to retire after the track season. “I won’t be able to keep the competitive edge much longer.” He still had one goal he wanted to meet: “I want to end my career with a gold medal.”
At the All-Eastern Invitational in Baltimore at the end of the month, he grabbed his 55th consecutive indoor victory, flashing “over the 60-yard high hurdles in 6.8 seconds.” The time shattered his previous indoor world record by one-tenth of a second. With the accomplishment, he stepped away from indoor competition.
In July 1964 at preliminary U.S. Olympic trials hosted as part of the World’s Fair in New York, Jones earned his place with the U.S. team. In October, just prior to the Tokyo games, he reminded the press of his retirement plans. “The only way I can go from here is down,” said Jones, now 26 years old. “I’ve sacrificed two months’ salary to come here. I came because I thought I could win. We’ll know pretty soon now.”
Jones qualified for the medal race, finishing second in his 110-meter hurdle preliminary round heat and third in his semifinals race. But he recognized an issue.
“… When I got to Tokyo I realized my training had not been right, that I had not done enough speed work,” Jones told Sports Illustrated in 1968, recalling the moment. “I was not fast enough between the hurdles. … I remember on the last day running up and down in the tunnel under the stadium, trying somehow to develop speed at the last minute. … In that tunnel a coaching friend, Ed Temple (head women’s track and field coach for 44 years at Tennessee State and head coach of the Women’s U.S. Olympic track team in both 1960 and 1964) came up to me and said, ‘Listen, Hayes, forget about your speed. Don’t worry about it. Just run between the hurdles. Just run.’”
“The only thing Hayes Jones recalls from the rainy race,” wrote Kathleen Gray, referring to the championship battle in a 2004 Free Press article, “was lunging toward the tape. It took longer in those days to figure out who crossed the finish line first, especially with the photo finish of the three top contenders …”
Depending on the source, it took 30 minutes – or was it more – for officials to declare a winner.
“It seemed like 45 minutes before the pictures were in and the lights began to flash on the scoreboard,” Jones said to SI. “Then it came: ‘First place, J…O…N…E…S…’ I can’t tell you the feeling, the thrill of it.”
Fellow countryman Blaine Lindgren finished second, while Anatoly Mikhailov of the Soviet Union ended the race third.
Jones had won his desired gold medal. And then, he gave it away.
Olympic hero comes home
That November, upon his return, Jones presented his Olympic gold medal to the youth of Pontiac during a ‘Salute to Youth’ rally at Pontiac Northern, the city’s newest high school. It still is on display at Pontiac City Hall. The donation was meant to “inspire kids to reach for their dreams,” said Jones.
“When I matriculated to the fourth grade, our principal gathered us together and said, ‘Now that you’re in the fourth grade you can participate in sports.’ The Kiwanis Club sponsored basketball, football and track,” Jones said.
“Because of that, I was able to find my passion. If not for the Kiwanis Club, I doubt I would have been able to find that. What made Pontiac so great was their belief in giving their time. A great community starts with volunteers.”
Today, there are two medals on display.
“The bronze, I had originally donated to the Detroit Children’s Museum under the Detroit Public Schools for permanent display but each time I went to visit, it was in storage. After three times reminding them that it should be on display, I asked for it back and donated it to the city of Pontiac. So now, kids making field trips to city hall will see two Olympic medals laminated and encased in the wall when they visit.”
As he told SI in 1968:
“It wasn’t the medal that mattered, don’t you see? It was the experience.”
Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.
PHOTOS: (Top) Clockwise from left: Hayes Jones presents his Olympic medal to Pontiac mayor William H. Taylor in 1964, Jones leaps a hurdle while at Eastern Michigan, Jones at Pontiac High and Jones goes over the high jump bar while at EMU. (2) As noted, Jones and Willie Wilson warm up before a Pontiac practice. (3) Jones with his Pontiac coaches in 1956. (4) Jones, far left, accepts trophies at the Mansfield Relays. (5) Jones on the cover of his View-Master series on physical fitness. (6) Jones sprints to the finish of his Olympic gold medal win. (Photos collected by Ron Pesch.)
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- Officials
Livonia's Karabees-Betts Named 35th Vern L. Norris Award Honoree
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 15, 2025
Debby Karabees-Betts has dedicated more than 50 years to serving high school and middle school students, often in several roles simultaneously to provide opportunities to learn and compete both academically and athletically.
To celebrate especially her 30-plus years as a Michigan High School Athletic Association-registered game official and her immense impact on that community, Karabees-Betts will be honored with the 35th Vern L. Norris Leadership in Officiating Award during the MHSAA’s Officials Awards & Alumni Banquet on April 26 in East Lansing.
The Norris Award is presented annually to a veteran official who has been active in a local officials association, has mentored other officials, and has been involved in officials’ education. It is named for Vern L. Norris, who served as executive director of the MHSAA from 1978-86 and was well-respected by officials on the state and national levels. Karabees-Betts will be honored at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Center along with high school game officials with 20, 30, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 years of service.
She began her career in education in 1973 and spent the next 40 years as a teacher and later guidance counselor. Her contributions to school sports also began in 1973 with her first of what would become several coaching tenures. She became an MHSAA-registered official first during the late 1970s, then returned to officiating in 1990-91 – first in swimming and track & field, later adding volleyball and cross country – and has officiated a combined five MHSAA Finals – two each in volleyball and boys swimming & diving and one in girls swimming & diving.
But that covers only one area of her influence on statewide officiating. Also a collegiate volleyball line judge in the Big Ten Conference over the last 16 years, Karabees-Betts co-wrote the “Best Practices for Line Judges” protocol adhered to at MHSAA Finals and has been an MHSAA officials trainer in the sport since 2010. She has conducted more than 100 officiating and line judging clinics over the last two decades, mentored several school-aged officials as part of the MHSAA Legacy Program and spoken to numerous high school classes on the benefits of becoming an official.
“The (essence of) officiating is that you bring sportsmanship, safety and respect and love for the games,” said Karabees-Betts, who first met Vern Norris while officiating an MHSAA Finals at Eastern Michigan University. “I have so many former players’ children that I’m officiating now. … You want that knowledge to make sure they have the most fair playing field that you could possibly give them.
“It’s kind of a legacy of love for the sport, the participation in the sport, the growth and knowledge of the sport and safety of the sport – because throughout 50 years, the safety factor has increased in almost every sport.”
Karabees-Betts, who lives in Livonia but did the majority of her teaching and counseling at Taylor public schools, first stepped into educational athletics as a professional in 1973 when, as a first-year teacher, she also took on the head coaching positions at Taylor Truman for girls swimming, volleyball and track & field during the early years of those programs.
She made the former Inkster Cherry Hill High School a force in boys swimming & diving, coaching that program to 10 straight Tri-River League titles and a Lower Peninsula Class B-C-D runner-up finish in 1977 before that school closed in 1985. She was named Coach of the Year in that league multiple times for that sport and also girls track & field.
She also earned multiple Western Wayne Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors during a decade-long run at Taylor Center from 1986-96, where she led the boys cross country, swimming & diving and track & field programs. Karabees-Betts would later coach the Dearborn Divine Child volleyball team to a Catholic High School League title and take the Riverview Gabriel Richard girls basketball team on a long Class C Tournament run. She also coached at Taylor Kennedy and Garden City high schools and middle school swimming and cross country in the Taylor district.
Karabees-Betts moved on to coaching volleyball at Schoolcraft College, serving as an assistant coach for a decade through 2010 and helping that program reach the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament. She continued officiating MHSAA events during that time and became a collegiate volleyball official in 1996.
She has served as an officials observer at the MHSAA Volleyball Semifinals and Finals the last four seasons and also several more as the officials crew chief for that high-profile event. She served as board secretary and awards chairperson for the Michigan Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association from 1979-84 and has served as board secretary/treasurer for the Capital Area Association of Volleyball Officials since 2013.
“Debby Karabees-Betts has brought her expertise and dedication as an educator into the athletic classroom, especially as one of our state’s most respected and admired teaching officials and mentors in volleyball,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “Her work across several sports has had a far-reaching impact stretching decades and continuing to this day, and her approach not only to officiating, but to teaching and mentoring is admired across her several sports communities.”
Karabees-Betts graduated from Taylor Center High School in 1969. She earned her bachelor’s and education specialist degrees from Michigan State University in 1973, the former in physical education, health and recreation and the latter in exercise physiology and science. She later earned master’s degrees in educational guidance and counseling, and athletic administration, from Eastern Michigan University, and then her doctorate in education and guidance and counseling from EMU in 1990.
She has contributed to her community in several more ways, including as a member of the Taylor Jaycees organization and president of its women’s club where she participated in some of the many charity efforts she’s been part of locally. She served on the Taylor Schools and Community Council and volunteered as part of the district’s crisis team, organized a traveling theatre troupe that performed at local elementary schools and taught first-aid classes at the local community center. She also served as director for the Dearborn Heights summer recreation department’s track & field program.
Karabees-Betts has been honored several times for her service, including with 12 Golden Apple Awards from the Wayne Regional Educational Service Agency. She received the Michigan Exceptional Educator of the Year Award from EMU in 2003 and the Guidance Counselor of the Year Award from the Wayne County Intermediate School District in 2010.
She is married to husband Dennis, who also is an MHSAA-registered swimming & diving official and worked the Lower Peninsula Finals to conclude both the girls and boys seasons this school year. They have two daughters, Desiree McMahon and Lori Hall, and a son Greg Betts.
Previous recipients of the Norris Award
1992 – Ted Wilson, East Detroit
1993 – Fred Briggs, Burton
1994 – Joe Brodie, Flat Rock
1995 – Jim Massar, Flint
1996 – Jim Lamoreaux, St. Ignace
1997 – Ken Myllyla, Escanaba
1998 – Blake Hagman, Kalamazoo
1999 – Richard Kalahar, Jackson
2000 – Barb Beckett, Traverse City; Karl Newingham, Bay City
2001 – Herb Lipschultz, Kalamazoo
2002 – Robert Scholie, Hancock
2003 – Ron Nagy, Hazel Par
2004 – Carl Van Heck, Grand Rapids
2005 – Bruce Moss, Alma
2006 – Jeanne Skinner, Grand Rapids
2007 – Terry Wakeley, Grayling
2008 – Will Lynch, Honor
2009 – James Danhoff, Richland
2010 – John Juday Sr., Petoskey
2011 – Robert Williams, Redford
2012 – Lyle Berry, Rockford
2013 – Tom Minter, Okemos
2014 – Hugh R. Jewell, West Bloomfield
2015 – Sam Davis, Lansing
2016 – Linda Hoover, Marshall
2017 – Michael Gentry, Shelby Township
2018 – Jill Baker-Cooley, Big Rapids
2019 – David Buck, St. Joseph
2020 – Hugh Matson, Saginaw
2021 – Lewis Clingman, Grand Rapids
2022 – Pat Hayes, Birmingham
2023 – Chuck D. Walters, Jackson
2024 – Candace Cox, Quincy
High school game officials with 20, 30, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 years of service also will be honored at the Officials Awards & Alumni Banquet on April 26. Eight officials with 60 years of service will be honored, as will 15 with 55 years of service, 70 with 50 years of service, 72 officials with 45 years and 90 officials with 40 years of service. A 30-year award will be presented to 164 officials, and 287 officials with 20 years of experience will be honored.
Also being honored during the Awards & Alumni Banquet is Legacy Program official Avery Beach, a senior at Mason High School who also is dually enrolled at Ferris State University. Beach carries a 3.96 grade-point average and is a member of both the National Honor Society and National Technical Honor Society as she plans to pursue a career in education. An all-state bowler and four-year varsity softball starter for the Bulldogs, Beach has officiated middle school volleyball as part of the Legacy Program, and also youth softball.
20, 30, 40, 45, 50, 55 & 60-YEAR OFFICIALS
The officials on this list are receiving their 20, 30, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60-year service awards.
20-YEAR OFFICIALS
Ada - Rick F. Hert
Allegan - Arthur K. Ziemelis
Allen Park - Kim A. Viculin
Alpena - John A. Anderson
Ann Arbor - Dennis J. Busse Jr.
Ann Arbor - Edward H. Rodenhouse
Ann Arbor - Shane J. Smith
Ann Arbor - Daniel H. Tarrant
Athens - Vergne C. Gregrich
Battle Creek - Cork Baker
Battle Creek - Harvey L. Glass
Battle Creek - April D. Hooker
Battle Creek - Nicholas C. Metheny
Battle Creek - Timothy J. Rizor
Battle Creek - Brenton T. Watkins
Battle Creek - Augie Zapata
Bay City - Josh A. Bauer
Bay City - David M. Bublitz
Bay City - Jeff A. Doan
Bay City - David M. Pietryga
Bay City - Dale E. Sneller II
Bay City - Jeff J. Zalucha
Bellaire - John F. Hanson
Belleville - Greg R. Reynolds
Belleville - Harold Rochon
Bellevue - Sarah M. VandenHeuvel
Berkley - Mark W. Steffens
Berkley - Mark R. Williams
Bloomfield - Thomas B. Wolford
Boyne City - Cindi L. Place
Bridgman - Robert S. Clark
Brighton - Scott D. Kelley
Brighton - Shanda Willis
Brownstown - Kenneth A. Stephens
Buchanan - Mark L. Soltys
Burton - Jamie S. Galant
Burton - Rojelio D. Lara
Byron Center - David M. Meltzer
Byron Center - Helga Roelofs
Byron Center - Timothy K. Smeby
Cadillac - William Anderson
Cadillac - Timothy L. Fekete
Caledonia - David M. Bommarito
Caledonia - Thomas J. Buist
Canton - Donald G. Dukes
Canton - Scott M. Shaw
Carney - Jeff C. Stage
Carsonville - Tom S. Nowotny
Charlotte - Jenny A. Granger
Chassell - James K. Tervo
Chesaning - John F. Ebenhoeh II
Chesterfield - Edmund J. Kordas
Clarkston - Thomas J. Giannaris
Clarkston - Ted S. Rozwadowski
Clinton Township - Christopher M. Catenaro
Clinton Township - David A. Clifton
Clinton Township - Bradley A. Jarson
Clinton Township - Robert T. Joyce
Clinton Township - Patricia J. Rigterink
Coldwater - Eric M. Anglin
Coldwater - William H. DeBeau
Coldwater - Chad A. Rakocy
Coleman - Jason F. Harper
Coloma - Jamie S. Riley
Commerce Township - Dennis A. Sartor
Concord - Kevin Herendeen
Corunna - Benjamin J. Hall
Corunna - Robert L. Hinojosa Jr.
Davison - Robert W. Myers
Davison - Wally Rose
Davison - Dana E. Rouse
Dearborn - John P. Satko
Detroit - Harold B. Bettie III
Detroit - Shawn A. Crawford
Detroit - Quincy R. Jones
Detroit - Warren Pettaway
Detroit - Lawrence E. Roberts
DeWitt - Randy L. Puffenberger
Dimondale - Dana M. Kirk
Dimondale - Scott E. McKimmy
Eastpointe - Brian A. Smith
Eau Claire - Ted R. Parker
Escanaba - Robert S. Johnson
Evart - Susan J. Guiney
Farmington Hills - Timothy E. Hay
Farmington Hills - Gary C. Maike
Fennville - Paul A. Marfia
Flint - Sims Johnson III
Flushing - Kenneth R. Tucker
Flushing - Roger L. Winfield Jr
Freeland - Sharon Sawyers
Gaylord - Douglas L. Curtis
Gaylord - David M. Johnson
Gaylord - Richard D. Marshall
Gladstone - Eric J. VanDamme
Gladwin - David P. Volk
Goodrich - Gaye L. TenBrink
Gowen - Casey N. Lake
Grand Blanc - Jerry L. Balogh
Grand Blanc - William N. Hoffmann
Grand Haven - Donald G. Verwey
Grand Ledge - Tim W. Bedford
Grand Rapids - Daniel C. Anderson
Grand Rapids - Greg James
Grand Rapids - Ryan P. Levitt
Grand Rapids - Jeffrey P. Simmons
Grand Rapids - Bert J. Smith
Grand Rapids - Cory D. Smith
Grand Rapids - Scott L. Stabler
Grand Rapids - Paul M. Wiercinski
Grand Rapids - Onesiphorus B. Burrel II
Grand Rapids - Johnny E. Davidson Sr.
Grandville - Douglas C. Diekman
Grandville - Natasha L. Phose
Grass Lake - James (Ed) E. Earley II
Greenville - Jeffrey Brown
Greenville - Andrew J. Krey
Grosse Ile - Christopher C. Vigh
Grosse Pointe - Brian A. Effinger
Grosse Pointe Farms - Larry A. Klimek
Grosse Pointe Woods - Thomas P. McCabe
Hamilton - Larry A. Meiste
Hamilton - Terry L. Perysian
Hancock - David C. Dow
Hancock - Jason J. Parker
Harper Woods - Mychael D. Foster
Hart - Brandon W. Bruce
Hartland - Roger T. Luck
Haslett - Deborah L. Traxinger
Highland - David E. Crow
Hillsdale - Lance E. Benzing
Hillsdale - Timothy J. Frosch
Holland - Douglas L. Bazan
Holland - Robert T. Carlson
Holly - Dave M. Thatcher
Holt - Jim E. Moreno Sr.
Holt - Jessie D. Read
Holton - Robert J. Stitt
Hudsonville - Arlyn J. Bohl
Hudsonville - Nathan Topie
Hudsonville - Roberto Ortega-Ramos
Interlochen - Gregory W. Allar
Iron Mountain - John L. Benzie
Ithaca - Rex L. Beracy
Jackson - James K. Haehnle
Jackson - Dale B. Lehman
Jackson - Corey C. McCave
Jenison - Chad J. Essebaggers
Jenison - Kip E. Haverdink
Jenison - James E. Krol
Jonesville - Eric P. Swihart
Kalamazoo - Michael A. Bailey
Kalamazoo - Patrick T. Cronin
Kalamazoo - Raynard A. Dunigan Jr.
Kalamazoo - Larry H. Ollie
Kalamazoo - David B. Saunders
Kalamazoo - Christopher A. Furlong
Kentwood - Glenn E. Ingram
Kentwood - Timmy D. Dickens
Kimball - Michael T. Roosen
Lake Orion - Brenton T. Bailo
Lakeview - Timothy A. Reed
Lansing - Jason R. Baley
Lansing - Steven L. Edgerly
Lansing - Melvin W. Eiland Sr.
Lansing - Robert W. Linman
Lansing - Roderick Turner
Livonia - John E. Eberhart
Livonia - Keith D. Riling
Macomb - Richard J. Moceri
Macomb - Jennifer L. Zacharzewski
Manchester - William T. Coggins
Manistique - John H. Ziemba
Marinette (Wis.) - Fred A. Furton
Marquette - Mark A. Petrie
Marshall - James R. DeBrabander
Marshall - Jon K. Morris
Mattawan - April C. Davenport
Mattawan - Mickey F. Peter
Mendon - Donald K. Koole III
Mendon - Donald K. Koole Jr.
Middleville - Joseph A. Broussard
Midland - Zachary A. Eagly
Midland - Mark E. Howison
Midland - Ian K. Lundquist
Midland - Kevin M. Nehil
Midland - Andy Reyes
Midland - Laurie A. Smith
Milan - Edward J. Marx Jr
Monroe - Steven A. Sowatsky
Monroe - Dale A. Stringham|
Moran - Gregg P. Fettig
Mt. Clemens - Kenneth Wynn
Mt. Morris - Shannon M. Smith
Mt. Pleasant - Cindy Verwey
Mt. Pleasant - James J. Waters
Muskegon - Troy A. Gardner
Muskegon - Gordon J. Hansen
Negaunee - Bobbi E. Ayotte
Negaunee - Mark A. Marana
Novi - Ned D. Harrington
Oak Park - Daniel Silva
Ontonagon - Allen A. Graham
Ortonville - Laurel M. Kobe
Oxford - Robert M. Kelly
Parchment - Thomas A. Jordan
Paw Paw - Barbara J. Alden
Paw Paw - George W. Kilts
Petoskey - Shane P. Brown
Petoskey - Paul D. Tunison
Pewamo - Michael A. Weber
Pickford - Rodney W. Priskorn
Plymouth - Greg W. Hames
Plymouth - Leslie S. English
Pontiac - Darris L. Finney
Pontiac - Trevor K. Williamson
Port Huron - Stephen F. Dusellier
Portage - Larry L. Allgaier
Portage - James P. Eichstaedt
Portage - Harley J. Franks
Ray - Jill M. White
Redford - Michael J. Laird
Riverview - Jason C. Gribble
Rochester Hills - Robert P. Bowery
Rochester Hills - Richard P. Burns
Rochester Hills - Kimberly A. Tobin
Rockford - Alex O. Briggs
Rockford - David M. Carattini
Rockford - Michael H. Jacobs
Rockford - John G. Mowat
Rockford - Seth D. Powell
Romulus - John C. Graham Sr.
Royal Oak - Paul M. Hayner
Royal Oak - Michael R. Pomroy
Rudyard - Tracy R. Peterson
Rudyard - Ron Vansloten
Saginaw - Brian W. Galsterer
Saginaw - Joel A. Keup
Saginaw - James J. Wood
Saline - William H. Kahn
Sandusky - Michael D. Dreyer
Saranac - Robert W. Simpson
Sears - Karen S. Ehl
Sheridan - Lorri A. Snyder
South Lyon - David Arvo
South Lyon - Amy E. Braun
Southfield - Berwyn Ellis
Southfield - Darcy A. Gitchuway
Southfield - Joseph L. Hamblin
Southfield - Justin M. Marshall
Southgate - Robert J. Tarabula
Spring Lake - Dennis R. Masson
St. Ignace - Denise E. Freed
St. Johns - Kevin P. Smith
St. Joseph - Robert Cultice
St. Clair Shores - Brandon A. Baetens
Sterling Heights - Russell P. Carl
Sterling Heights - Cliff T. Whiteside
Sturgis - Ron C. Abbs
Sturgis - Mark W. VanDosen
Swartz Creek - Mark W. Grantham
Sylvania (Ohio) - Andrew M. Dier
Taylor - Anthony Maffesoli
Temperance - Larry A. Nocella Jr.
Traverse City - Mike F. Wolf
Trenton - Brien R. Baeckeroot
Troy - Peter R. Bucheli
Troy - Thomas D. Jendrusch
Twin Lake - Douglas A. Prim
Union City - Daniel J. Hanna
Vassar - Mark Dowe
Warren - Daswell L. Campbell
West Bloomfield - Alan K. Murray
West Branch - Jeremy M. Bewley
West Olive - Steve J. Bazan
West Olive - Rich Johnson
Westland - Jeremy L. Jozefczak
Westland - Kenneth G. Smith
Westphalia - Kenneth J. Spitzley
Whitehall - Harold F. Schneider
Whitmore Lake - James F. Kreklau Jr.
Wyandotte - Dawn R. Manthei
Wyoming - Edward J. Howes
Wyoming - Andrew W. McKellar
Ypsilanti - Alexander M. Bade
Ypsilanti - David P. Lascewski
Zeeland - Justin S. Bazan
30-YEAR OFFICIALS
Ada - Christopher R. Becker
Allegan - Rick Lee
Allendale - Matthew R. Carlson
Allendale - Gregory D. VanderGoot
Alma - Kathleen A. Paul
Alpena - Mark S. Uekman
Ann Arbor - Eric D. Zemper
Baroda - Richard D. Albers
Baroda - Jerry T. Nitz
Bay City - Robert O. Huddleston
Bay City - Ronald L. Leahy
Belleville - Terry Landoski
Big Rapids - James N. Turner
Birmingham - Leon O. Braisted III
Bridgman - Dennis R. Ott
Brooklyn - Gary L. Schuch
Brownstown Township - Todd D. Skopczynski
Burton - Donald K. McCombs
Byron Center - Glennon W. Eckelkamp
Byron Center - John D. Philo
Byron Center - Jaime A. Pilbeam
Caledonia - Tina J. Hamp
Caledonia - Walter E. Van Wyngarden
Canton - Kenneth M. Letts
Canton - John J. Vichinsky Jr.
Carsonville - Roy D. Calahan
Charlevoix - Martin B. Seyfried
Cheboygan - Jason R. Friday
Chelsea - Keith M. DePaoli
Clawson - Rene C. Brooks
Coopersville - Joseph E. Meerman
Coopersville - Lynn K. VanSickle
Detroit - Donta Favors
Detroit - Joseph R. Flowers Jr.
Detroit - Jo Ann Jones
Detroit - Lawrence W. Miller
Dexter - Douglas A. Kelly
Dorr - Randy Kasper
Dowagiac - Scott E. Wiltse
East Lansing - David M. Hallman
East Lansing - Theresa S. Shepard
East Tawas - Joseph M. Cano Jr.
Eaton Rapids - Joe H. Dixon Jr
Eau Claire - Dennis F. Ostyn
Ecorse - James I. Cooley
Escanaba - John F. Ziemba
Farmington Hills - Diane M. Klucka
Fenton - Phillip J. Diener
Fenton - Thomas E. King Jr.
Flint - Terry A. DeCaire
Flint - Darrell A. Young
Flushing - Richard J. Murphy
Fountain - Duane R. Wolf
Frankenmuth - John W. Shelton
Garden City - Mark K. Mazzon
Gaylord - John M. Tithof
Grand Blanc - Stanley Beard
Grand Blanc - Sami Khal
Grand Ledge - Mary K. Gavitt
Grand Rapids - Patrick G. McLaughlin
Grand Rapids - Jane C. Plaisted
Grand Rapids - Robert S. Ruschmann
Grand Rapids - Randy R. Sheahan
Grand Rapids - Brett A. Svacha
Grandville - James J. Backowski Jr.
Hamilton - Kenneth W. Demann
Henderson - Karen A. Shuster
Hillsdale - William J. Mullaly
Holland - Peggy A. Lintemuth
Holland - Matthew M. McCrea
Holland - John L. Robertson
Holland - Scott W. Vanderstoep
Houghton - John B. Sanregret
Houghton - James A. Weiler
Howell - Frank A. Dame
Howell - Craig R. Williams
Hudsonville - Dale J. Heyboer
Hudsonville - Matthew D. Kuiper
Huntington Woods - Joseph J. Rozell
Ithaca - Rodney W. Whitmore
Jackson - Marla E. Grant
Jackson - Nelson D. Negus III
Jerome - Brad L. Brown
Kalamazoo - Charlie D. Westervelt
Kawkawlin - Jack A. Servis
Kentwood - Robert A. Navarro
Kingsford - Jack B. Wallis
Lake Orion - Michael J. Ley
Lansing - Mark G. Simon
Lathrup Village - Darryl A. Alexander
Lawrence - Allan D. Wood
Lincoln - Troy M. Somers
Livonia - Debby E. Karabees-Betts
Lowell - Shane S. Risner
Luther - John J. Syrewicze
Macomb - Patrick J. Walsh
Mancelona - Edward L. McCarty
Manistique - Kevin K. Koski
Marinette (Wis.) - Keith Plude
Marquette - Michael J. Caster
Marquette - Todd E. Koski
Marquette - Brian W. Maki
Marquette - Charlie W. Morrison
Mason - Daniel P. Carmichael
Middleville - Steven P. Shutich
Midland - Gary R. Meredith
Midland - Jeffrey T. Servinski
Milan - Karen E. Draves
Milan - Larry D. Sanford
Monroe - Christopher H. Essex
Munising - Pete Kelto
Muskegon - Curtis L. Adams
Muskegon - Jeremy S. Goorman
Muskegon - Robert L. Graham
Newberry - Jason R. Depew
Niles - David Negron
Northville - Ronald R. Reinke
Norway - James J. Bal
Novi - Harold Butch Wingfield
Olivet - Jeff S. Smith
Ontonagon - Dr. Joseph A. Strong
Orleans - Michael K. Kapustka
Owosso - John T. Sandlin
Peck - William A. Burns
Plymouth - Pericles L. Chiatalas
Portage - Todd R. Gooding
Portage - Larry L. Wegener
Portland - Karen J. Dugan
Quinnesec - Robert D. Forstrom
Rockford - Brian L. Vogel
Rockford - Bruce F. Walterhouse
Romulus - Vincent B. Lewis
Royal Oak - James G. Demres
Saginaw - Barry L. Damzyn
Sanford - Dave A. Jezowski
Schoolcraft - Jeffry P. Morgan
Scottville - Matthew C. Miller
Shelby Twp. - Steven L. Wood
South Bend (Ind.) - James E. Arnett
Southfield - Raymond Kelser
Sparta - William Kotchka
St. Charles - Raymond F. Guzy
St. Clair Shores - Rick A. Fields
St. Joseph - Kenneth J. Baratta
St. Joseph - Richard L. Bloodworth
St. Joseph - Stephen D. Petlick
St. Clair - Ronald Churchill
Sterling Heights - Walter J. Kujawa
Taylor - Raymond C. Kuhr
Three Rivers - Robert J. Laverdure
Toledo (Ohio) - Tom M. Balas|
Traverse City - Bill Parker
Traverse City - John M. Sawyer
Troy - Robert L. Szmania
Vicksburg - James R. Boer
Vulcan - Alan W. Richards
Warren - Kenneth M. Stefanski
Washington - Jerome Angelo
Waterford - Ron H. Stafford
Waterford - Randy Welch
West Bloomfield - James M. Dworman
West Bloomfield - Brian C. Gurwin
West Branch - Michael R. Dematio
West Branch - David M. Gutierrez
40-YEAR OFFICIALS
Ada - Donald L. Slater
Battle Creek - Daniel L. Akins
Bay City - Charles A. Case
Bay City - William P. Heintskill
Bay City - Cindy L. Linton
Beaverton - Ross S. Martin
Blissfield - Patrick L. Seiser
Boyne Falls - Craig W. Oldham
Byron Center - Leroy M. Hackley Jr.
Cadillac - Kevin J. Hughes
Canton - James D. Gagleard
Caro - Mandy J. Knox
Cheboygan - Michael A. Grisdale
Coldwater - Ken Smoker
Comstock Park - Brian P. Macomber
Concord - Karen D. Anderson
Dearborn - Thomas P. Arsenault
Dearborn Heights - Algirdas P. Norkunas
Dearborn Heights - Paul Oshanski
Detroit - Kevin M. Hall
Detroit - Willie Hall Jr.
Detroit - Darryl C. Jones Sr.
DeWitt - Rob A. Stanaway
Dowagiac - Thomas W. Russom
Fennville - Lowell A. Winne Jr.
Fenton - Danny L. Harris
Fenton - Anthony M. Mora
Flint - Robert L. Farrar
Frankfort - Karen Leinaar
Fruitport - Jeff S. VanBeek
Gladstone - Michael F. Gobert
Gobles - Michael G. Long
Grand Haven - Patrick R. Hood
Greenville - Mark K. Schoenfelder
Grosse Pointe Farms - Margaret A. Gatliff
Hastings - Jason L. Sixberry
Holt - Jamie C. Evans
Howell - Janice B. Holda
Howell - Richard W. Humphries
Hurley (Wis.) - Greg Rigoni
Iron Mountain - Steve A. La Coursier
Ironwood - Dennis A. Mackey
Ithaca - James L. Gross
Jackson - Richard J. Eby
Kalamazoo - Mike L. Squires
Kawkawlin - William J. Jaynes
Lambertville - Mark J. Dushane
Lapeer - Robert W. Thomas
Lawton - Michael F. Garvey
Leesburg - Wallace J. Green Jr.
Linden - Gary R. Duke
Linden - Jeffery R. Prince
Manistee - John P. O'Hagan
Marlette - Fred Mroczek
Marysville - Patrick D. Sheehy
Mattawan - Robert M. Nicey
Mecosta - William O. Howes
Midland - Keith R. Netzley
Midland - Brian G. Roberts
Mt. Morris - Jeffery T. Flynn
Nashville - Tony M. Joostberns
Newaygo - Dean A. Duchemin
Oscoda - Duane W. Keck
Otisville - Frank R. Mar
Ottawa Lake - Jamie L. La Rocca
Plainwell - Lurinda A. Shrauger
Port Huron - Scott C. Tallmadge
Portage - Michael L. Bignell
Rochester Hills - Timothy J. Soave
Saugatuck - Ross J. Such
Saugatuck - Timothy J. Woodby
Sault Ste. Marie - David A. Blaskowski
South Lyon - Michael T. Schram
St. Clair Shores - Gary M. Gassen
St. Joseph - Gilbert J. Urban
St. Clair - David W. Baumgart
Stanton - Randy L. Reese
Sterling Heights - Edward S. MacKool Jr.
Stevensville - Fredrick J. Smith
Sylvania (Ohio) - William F. Bisbee Jr.
Taylor - Michael D. Mullin
Temperance - Carroll J. Selmek
Three Oaks - Michael J. Smith
Traverse City - Kenneth M. Allen
Utica - Carl W. Territo
Warren - Thomas J. Mastrovito
Washington - James A. Bade
West Bloomfield - Patrick B. Paul
Woodhaven - Michael A. VonLinsowe
Wyandotte - Michael J. Gniewek
45-YEAR OFFICIALS
Alger - Leroy A. Oliver
Alpena - Phil C. Schultz
Berrien Springs - Jamie L. Stacey
Big Rapids - Jill E. Baker-Cooley
Brighton - Thomas J. Mora
Brimley - Jerald P. Cook
Cadillac - William T. Bartholomew
Caledonia - Conroy Zuiderveen
Cheboygan - Lynwood Leightner Jr.
Clarksville - Jim D. Johnson
Concord - Charles T. Ewing
Daggett - Michael P. Lyons
Dearborn Heights - Kevin P. Kabacinski
Decatur - Patrick L. Boitnott
Delta - William H. Wiseman
Detroit - James E. Briggs
Fenton - Douglas M. Pastor
Flint - James V. Newell
Fremont - James M. Goorhouse
Galesburg - William W. Weese
Gaylord - Paul B. Holmes
Genesee - Douglas W. Tipton
Grosse Pointe Woods - Robert E. Zaranek
Harbor Beach - Steven M. Linn
Hillsdale - Bruce Caswell
Hudson - Fred C. Bowers
Hudson - Patrick W. Wollet
Hudsonville - Bob C. Wojcik
Iron Mountain - John R. Pucci
Jackson - Steven C. Town
Jackson - Chuck D. Walters
Kalamazoo - Willie B. Watson
Lake - Kathleen V. Hutfilz
Lake Orion - Michael J. Callahan
Lansing - Sam L. Davis
Lansing - Donald J. Yuvan
Madison Heights - Marie S. Bessler
Madison Heights - Richard L. Hillman
Manistee - Jo L. Arnold
Manistee - David A. Nemecek
Marshall - David N. Benham
Marshall - Linda K. Hoover
Marysville - Joel P. Venia
Mendon - Patrick J. Conroy
Midland - Ken P. Beaudin
Monroe - Barry Little
Niles - Michael J. Nate
Okemos - Jay Marcotullio
Portage - Richard M. Bird
Portage - Mike T. Hinga
Ravenna - Thomas C. Wright
Rochester - Brian E. York
Rochester Hills - Fred B. Castelvetere
Rockford - Timothy G. Erickson
Saginaw - Roberta A. Beyerlein
Sandusky - Alan DeMott
Scottville - Rodney D. Marshall
Shelby - Edmundo Flores
St. Clair Shores - Tom P. Frattini
St. Ignace - Donald P. Gustafson
St. Joseph - David J. Buck
Temperance - Randall A. Sehl
Toledo (Ohio) - Jon Everhart
Traverse City - Mark E. Stewart
Trenton - Frederick L. Bruley
Vicksburg - Timothy A. Baker
Wallace - Bruce A. Pearson
White Cloud - Tony A. McHattie
Whitmore Lake - David L. Wint
Zeeland - Marvin F. Hinga
Zeeland - Richard W. Lott
Zeeland - Eric D. Wills
50-YEAR OFFICIALS
Ada - Bryan D. Cullens Jr.
Adrian - Judith A. Walter-Kohn
Albion - Raymond Drysdale
Alpena - David M. Kuznicki
Ann Arbor - Jack L. Coffey
Battle Creek - Steven K. Higgs
Bay City - Thomas F. Cole
Berrien Springs - Timothy A. Krieger
Boyne City - Kirk D. Kujawski
Brighton - Bill T. Rubin
Brooklyn - Michael J. Timms
Byron Center - Andrew J. DeVries
Caledonia - Edward T. Hedgecock
Canton - Dennis J. Bostwick
Canton - Terry A. Wash
Clarkston - Eugene R. English Jr.
Clawson - Betty A. Wroubel
Davison - James L. Eastman
Dearborn Heights - Lou Giroux
Detroit - Lawrence D. Freeman
Detroit - Billy L. Waters
Dowagiac - Randy J. Melvin
East Leroy - James Alday
Fenton - Martin R. Covert
Grand Rapids - Robert G. Galvin
Grandville - Andrew J. Kovac
Grayling - Thomas A. Kemp
Grosse Ile - James R. Knopp
Grosse Pointe Farms - Mike C. Dempsey
Hemlock - Rudy Godefroidt
Holly - Paul W. Matson
Howell - Dennis M. Troshak
Hudsonville - Allan J. Owens
Jackson - Michael C. French
Kentwood - Betty J. Near
Lansing - Ken J. Sudall
Marysville - Mark A. Brochu
Mason - Victor T. Cena
Michigan Center - Charles D. Sprang
Middleville - Bruce F. Bender
Milan - Brad D. Susterka
Monroe - Eric E. Jenkins
Monroe - Joseph A. McCormick
Mt. Pleasant - Dale P. Brecht
Mt. Pleasant - James R. MacLean II
Muskegon - Craig W. Weirich
Negaunee - Steven R. Ayotte
Newaygo - Dave Baldus
Northville - Ann K. Hutchins
Ontonagon - Eugene Fiszer
Rives Junction - Dale A. Baum
Rochester Hills - Tom Delia Jr.
Rogers City - Gerald Purgiel
Royal Oak - Byron A. Photiades
Royal Oak - Carol A. Sheldon
Saginaw - Ronald L. Dressler
Saugatuck - Catherine Dritsas
South Haven - Henry L. Allen
Swartz Creek - Larry L. Schutt
Taylor - Terry H. Styer
Tekonsha - Daniel A. Washburn
Three Rivers - Richard L. Simon
Troy - Kenyon D. Shively
Warren - Hugh R. Jewell
Waterford - Frederick A. Cohen
Waterford - Burton Hurshe
Waterford - Thomas R. Sullivan Jr
Wayland - Norman L. Taylor
Whitmore Lake - Charles E. Lindsay
Wyandotte - Michael R. McMahon
55-YEAR OFFICIALS
Byron Center - Joe A. Zomerlei
Canton - Pamela G. Yockey
Custer - Edward C. Miller
Dryden - Louis W. Miramonti
Grand Rapids - Robert J. Rodenhouse
Kingsford - Joseph R. Reddinger
Lakeport - Donna H. Frohm
Lansing - Donald R. Murray
Lansing - Darwin S. Petersen
Monroe - Albert M. Fernandez
Muskegon - Larry T. Vaandering
New Baltimore - James C. Cleverley
Okemos - Tom Woiwode
Onsted - John M. Springer
Vassar - Harold (Dan) Johnson
60-YEAR OFFICIALS
Allegan - George R. Babcock
Boyne City - Gary L. Francis
Detroit - Geraldine Jackson
Grand Rapids - Frank E. Waskelis
Ithaca - Dean Parling
Niles - James G. Murray
Okemos - Thomas L. Minter
Swartz Creek - Phillip P. Long
PHOTO Debby Karabees-Betts, standing above the net, officiates the 2016 MHSAA Division 4 Girls Volleyball Final.