Payne Game Recalls Official's Legacy
September 9, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
At 4:30 p.m. before the first game of this high school football season, a small group of mid-Michigan officials met at Lansing’s Mount Hope Cemetery.
As has become their tradition, they paid respects to a friend gone too soon, told a few stories, then worked the game in his honor before winding down by rehashing more of the same memories of Tony Payne they recall at the start of each fall.
Payne, a Lansing Harry Hill High School and Ferris State University graduate, served as an MHSAA official for 23 years and also worked in the Big Ten, Mid-American Conference and NFL Europe before dying on April 21, 2006. He was only 44 years old, passing after a lengthy illness.
Each fall since, a group of officials mostly from the Lansing area but representing Jackson and Muskegon as well have gathered to work a “Tony Payne Game,” mostly to honor their friend but also to raise money in his name for a scholarship that could be awarded for the first time next year.
This year’s Payne Game was opening night, Aug. 28, at Haslett as the Vikings took on Walled Lake Central.
“Tony was a mentor to everybody; he pretty much epitomized what we try to do around here,” said Jeff Spedoske, president of the Capital Area Officials Association and one of many who learned under Payne’s tutelage. “When you accomplish something in officiating, get the privilege to be at that level, you try to turn around and help as many behind you as you can. That was him to a T.
“I can’t believe we’ve done it seven years. Every time I see that date that Tony passed, it doesn’t seem really that long ago.”
Joining Spedoske on the crew for this year’s Payne Game were Rob Stanaway, Bruce Keeling, Mark Coscarella, Craig Weirich, Mike Maisner and Tom Minter. That’s generally the group, along with Mike Conlin, who did not work this year’s game but was in attendance. All worked with Payne at some point during their careers, be it at high school games or as a member of his college crews.
Together, they represent a combined 270 years of MHSAA officiating experience, although for a few the Payne Game is the only high school event they work each year. Conlin, Keeling and Maisner in particular remain active officials in the Big Ten, and the other five all have vast experience at higher levels.
But as Spedoske noted, so did Payne – and how he used that knowledge is part of what the crew annually celebrates.
Payne remained an MHSAA registered official through 2004-05, most years for football, basketball and baseball and also once for softball. He officiated six MHSAA Semifinals in either football, girls or boys basketball, and championship games in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2001.
Conlin recalled a week when he and Payne worked a junior varsity football game at Leslie on a Thursday with two rookies – taking the opportunity to pass on their skills and experience in front of mostly players’ families.
Two days later, Payne officiated a Big Ten game in front of tens of thousands, not counting those catching the game on TV and the radio waves.
Stanaway’s first girls varsity basketball game was with Payne, a last-minute opportunity for the then-newer official. During the ride to the game, Payne quizzed Stanaway on rules, plays and handling people, then continued that support during the game and provided the “most honest and constructive feedback I have ever received” when the game was done, Stanaway said.
Within a couple of days, Stanaway was contacted by his assigner, who had changed all of his sub-varsity games for the rest of the year to varsity games – per Payne’s recommendation.
“Tony had gone out of his way to help me by contacting the person in charge and recommending me for ‘bigger’ games,” Stanaway said. “I thanked Tony over and over, and he only responded by saying that someday I would have the opportunity to help someone else, and when I did, I had better help them along.
“Tony's words are a driving force in my desire to be a part of the Capital Area Officials Association, added Stanaway, who serves as the CAOA co-director of basketball operations. “Tony has been a role model for me in teaching other officials about our avocation and supporting their officiating dreams. As I've watched new officials grow, improve, and achieve their dreams of working their first varsity game, their first tournament assignment, their first State Final or even advance to collegiate opportunities, I thank Tony for showing me not only how to help them, but why to help them.”
Conlin serves as assigner in the Capital Area Activities Conference and sets the game for the crew to work each year in addition to also working it most seasons. He and Payne went back to 1989, and Conlin hasn’t worked high school games regularly since moving to the Division I college level in 2000 – aside from the last few Tony Payne Games.
The CAOA gives a lifetime achievement award each year in honor of Payne, the association’s first treasurer.
“We work hard to keep Tony’s name out front,” Conlin said, “to make sure people don’t forget where he came from.”
While the crew always donates its fees from working the Payne Game to the scholarship fund, the biggest annual boost comes from the Art Don Tony Memorial golf outing at Arbor Hills in Jackson. Proceeds from the annual event will fund scholarships in three officials’ names: Payne’s for a student attending Lansing Community College, late Grand Rapids official Don Edwards’ for a scholarship at Grand Rapids Community College, and late Jackson official Art Willard’s for a scholarship to Jackson Community College. All three died during a two-year stretch.
The CAOA, with an initial donation from Alro Steel founder Al Glick and later contributions from the West Michigan and Jackson associations and crews Payne knew from college levels, has raised $75,000 – enough to make those three $1,000 scholarships endowed – and make it possible those scholarships could be given for the first time next year.
Comparatively, the money raised by the crew working the Tony Payne Game is only a small percentage. But the game is as much for that group of officials to work together in remembering Payne and then meeting together after at whoever’s house is closest to unwind and remember some more.
“It’s easily the most important game on my schedule in the fall, for me personally, and it’s fun to be able to work with those guys once a year,” Spedoske said.
“After the game we end up at somebody’s house, and that’s kinda what it’s all about. We end up telling a lot of the same stories over and over. It’s about remembering Tony and the times we had on the field and off the field with him, and keeping his memory alive.”
PHOTOS: (Top) The crew for this season’s Tony Payne Game at Haslett lines up for the National Anthem, in order from left: Rob Stanaway, Bruce Keeling, Jeff Spedoske, Mark Coscarella, Craig Weirich, Mike Maisner and Tom Minter. (Middle) Craig Weirich signals between plays. (Below) Tony Payne officiates a basketball during his career that stretched more than two decades.
Longtime Officials, Statistician Honored for Decades as 'Behind-the-Scenes' Heroes
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
February 23, 2024
BROWN CITY – Jerry Sauder thought he was going to be a presenter Thursday night, as his alma mater Brown City was honoring officials Curt Lowe and Joel Venia and school statistician Todd Vandewarker for their decades of service.
But that was simply a ruse by fellow official Tom Mailloux and Brown City athletic director Tony Burton to get Sauder there to join the ceremony and receive his own award for 50 years as an official.
With Sauder on the court, 175 total years of involvement with athletics were honored between the JV and varsity Unionville-Sebewaing vs. Brown City girls basketball games. Sauder spent 50 years as an official, Lowe and Venia 45, and Vandewarker has spent 35 years as a statistician, all across multiple sports.
“Tonight, we gather to pay tribute to those whose steadfast dedication has woven the fabric of excellence into the tapestry of Michigan high school athletics,” Brown City principal Brad Hale said to kick off the ceremony. “It is with profound gratitude that we extend our heartfelt appreciation to the unsung heroes behind the scenes – the pillars whose tireless efforts ensure that each game unfolds seamlessly, each moment etched with the spirit of sportsmanship and fair play. … Tonight, we shine a spotlight on a few whose commitment spans decades, illuminating the path for generations of athletes to follow.”
Sauder’s 50 years as an official included 25 as a Division I college basketball referee. He is currently working in an administrative role with Elite Officiating, overseeing officials in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. He’s officiated NCAA Tournament games and contests around the world after getting noticed at a camp at Western Michigan University.
“I’ve always said I’m the luckiest guy to put on a shirt,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to be selected to be given the opportunity. There’s a lot of guys that could have, but weren’t set up to do it at that time.”
During his time as a high school official, Sauder reffed MHSAA Finals for basketball and football. He also spent time officiating baseball and softball games.
He began officiating when his best friend Jim Seidell, a longtime coach and administrator in Brown City, convinced him to start. Sauder knows his path isn’t a common one, and that it’s not easy to convince people to get into officiating. But with perseverance, opportunities are available.
“There’s a dire need right now,” Sauder said. “We’ve got to do something because if we don’t, high school sports as we know it is going to suffer. … I was fortunate to have good people around me that mentored me. Kids start, they last a couple years and they walk away from it. They don’t pay enough money to get yelled at like people go at you now. I don’t blame the young people.”
Lowe, who officiated Thursday night’s JV game before the ceremony, got his start thanks to Sauder and Seidell. Also a Brown City graduate, Lowe’s 45 years of officiating include multiple assignments at MHSAA Football and Basketball Finals. He’s also been on the court for women’s college basketball games.
“Officiating is like family,” Lowe said. “I have met so many people – wonderful people. And, over 45 years, it’s been a ton.”
While he’s worked plenty of games in the Thumb, much of Lowe’s time as an official was spent in the Saginaw and Flint area, where he was able to officiate games featuring some of the state’s greatest athletes, including Mateen Cleaves, Draymond Green, Mark Ingram and the late Charles Rogers.
“Those were the best games, and Jerry got me in there,” Lowe said. “That was the best ball ever. It was just amazing to watch.”
Lowe’s crew Thursday night included a pair of younger officials who later officiated the varsity game with Mailloux. Lowe thinks it’s a great opportunity for athletes who want to stay connected to sports.
Venia’s start in officiating was more by happenstance. He was working the scoreboard for rec basketball games in his hometown of Marysville, and one day needed to fill in as an official. After reffing the game, he made $10 as opposed to the $5 he got for running the scoreboard, and made the move.
He’s still doing football games but is no longer on the basketball court or softball or baseball diamonds.
“It’s probably the contacts you make in the little towns,” Venia said about what has kept him in the officiating business. “I go down to the Macomb area and do that. In football, we always take five games up in the Thumb. I know so many people up here. With the kids, it keeps you younger, keeps you moving.”
Like Sauder and Lowe, Venia has officiated multiple MHSAA Football and Basketball Finals.
He played football, basketball and baseball in high school, and thinks that experience can be “tremendous” for future officials. But he was quick to point out that those who don’t have that experience can also thrive.
“I’ve worked with a couple guys that never played,” Venia said. “(Mailloux) never played football, but he’s a good football official. I mentored a guy that never played basketball, Jordan Stevens, who is the softball coach at South Dakota State. He never played basketball, never played football, but he was a very good official. I think it gives you an advantage, but by no means is it a barrier if you haven’t played.”
The person with the best seat in the house as Sauder, Lowe and Venia have run up and down the court or football field in Brown City has been Vandewarker, who was celebrated for his decades of service as a statistician.
When asked how he got started, he pointed at Burton.
“That guy suckered me into it,” Vandewarker said with a laugh.
Vandewarker was himself a Brown City athlete, competing in football, basketball and track. Over his more than three decades keeping stats, he’s seen several great Green Devils and opposing athletes – so many that he couldn’t narrow them down.
“A couple thousand (games),” he said. “I’ve seen some stuff, I’ve seen some good stuff. A lot of good players. Too many memorable ones to mention, I guess. I’ve seen the best of the coaches and heard everything they have to say. Best of the refs – I was in high school and Jerry Sauder was reffing my games.”
At that point, Vandewarker had to step away and start the pregame clock for varsity warm-ups. But when he came back, he had an idea of how long he may remain at the center of Brown City athletics.
“I always said as long as Tony and Cindy (Burton, Brown City’s assistant AD) were around,” he said. “But I don’t know. I’ll probably go for another 10-15, put a good 50 in. I think I got that in me, still.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) From left: MHSAA-registered officials Curt Lowe, Joel Venia and Jerry Sauder and Brown City statistician Todd Vandewarker stand together as they are celebrated Thursday at Brown City. (Middle) Vanderwarker receives his award for 35 years as a school statistician. (Below) Lowe refs the junior varsity game before the recognition ceremony. (Photos by Paul Costanzo.)