FBOA Members Contribute $595 Toward Memorial Scholarship
We recently and tragically lost one of our own in the high school athletic community. Derek Nestich, Athletic Director at Countryside High School, passed away on August 1, 2022. Members of the Fruit Belt Officials Association unanimously voted to contribute to a scholarship in Derek's name, to be awarded to a student at Countryside High School.
We're pleased to announce that our membership contributed $595 toward this
scholarship. A check was presented by FBOA president Dave Waaso at a recent
basketball game. Thanks to all who contributed.
Location Change for General and Basketball Meetings
Important: Meeting locations have now changed for both our three General meetings as well as our basketball meetings. These meetings will now be held at Upton Middle School, 800 Maiden Lane, St. Joseph, MI. All dates for these meetings remain the same and are listed correctly throughout the website. Meetings coming up in the next 30 days can be viewed in the sidebar of all pages, and a complete list of meetings can be found on our
Meetings page.
Now Available -- Pay Dues for 2022-23
Navigate to our Dues page to safely pay your
FBOA dues for 2022-23. You can pay securely using PayPal or any major
debit/credit card.
Go to our Dues page now
We Need You! (to become an athletic official)
Article by Ken Schmaltz, FBOA Recruitment Director
Not a week goes by where I do not run across a well-written article/piece
regarding the shortage of interscholastic athletic officials across our
country -- this is not just a problem in Michigan! Currently, there are areas
across our state being forced to cancel/postpone games due to not having
officials available to work athletic events. To do our part, Bridgman High
School has been the ONLY school in Southwest Michigan (Berrien, Cass or Van
Buren counties) currently incorporating the MHSAA Legacy Student Officials
Program. Over the past two years running this program, there has yet to be a
game we have worked in which we are not directly complimented and encouraged
by opposing fans and/or coaches. Further, I have taken our kids to other
local schools/venues where my colleague athletic directors in the area are
continually asking for my Legacy kids to come work their events.
As the Recruitment Director of the local Fruit Belt Officials
Association, I would highly welcome you to entertain the notion in
registering to become a MHSAA athletic official. Please feel free to either
contact me directly or simply just text MHSAAref to 77948 to get yourself
registered and to receive a gift certificate. Help is wanted and needed!
 |
| MHSAA recently honored Bridgman High School
legacy officials and the program coordinator at a Bridgman High
School basketball game. Pictured from left are: Brent Rice,
Assistant Director at the MHSAA, Haley Goff
(Volleyball - 2 years), Jackson Schmaltz
(Girls/Boys Basketball - 2 years), Henry Branch
(Girls/Boys Basketball - 2 years), Ken Schmaltz,
Program Coordinator and Bridgman Athletic Director, and Max
Warriner, representative from the FBOA. |
Navigating Our Site
Our website is designed to be as feature-rich and user-friendly as
possible. Much of the content is being pulled from our online database. If you have any issues as you
navigate, or have any suggestions for ways the site can be more beneficial
to you, please pass them on to our webmaster using this link. Below are some
of the site's features:
- Pictures in the upper right-hand corner of each page are all of FBOA
members in action. These pictures randomly change each time you visit a
new page or refresh the page you're on. Have a picture you'd like
included? Send it to us and we'll get it up!
- Upcoming meetings list along the right-hand side of the page is now
dynamic, and will show any meetings coming up in the next 30 days. Since
this is pulled directly from the database, it will always be accurate.
- Can't find what you're looking for? Check out the
Site Map link to see a complete listing of
all pages in the site.
- Our Photo Gallery page now has
thumbnails that can be clicked to show you a larger version of each
photo. Again, we are relying on our members to keep those action shots
coming!
- Member directory pages now have picture icons for sports worked
instead of the old "true" and "false" method used before. This should be
a much cleaner way to quickly see which official works each sport. (A
special thanks to
Kelly White,
web designer for the Kalamazoo Officials Association, for this idea and
how to implement it!)
- You can now pay your dues or donate to our new scholarship fund
directly from our website using PayPal. Check out this new feature on
the Pay Dues page and the
Student Scholarship page.
- We also provide content about the following:
- Becoming a member.
- Meeting information and requirements.
- How to get assignments.
Note: Please make sure to use the Info Update form to
keep our member database accurate. All member information seen on the site
comes from this database. If you don't get us the changes, they won't be
accurate on the site. Remember that this is completely separate from
changing your information in the ArbiterSports system.
About the FBOA
The Fruit Belt Officials Association is an organization serving high
school athletic officials in southwest Michigan. Our members referee and
umpire the following sports: football, basketball, volleyball, wrestling,
baseball and softball. The mission of our group is as follows:
- To provide training.
- To provide a forum for regular rules and mechanics study.
- To promote the positive image of officials in our community.
- To promote members' growth by engaging speakers of interest.
- To further our avocation by recruiting, training and integrating new
officials.
Our web site is designed to enhance this mission by providing quick
access to updated information about the FBOA, its members, area schools and
officiating links of interest, as well as to provide a live forum through
the bulletin board system. It is intended for FBOA members, school personnel
and anyone in the community interested in area sports and the way they are
officiated. Enjoy your visit!
Current Officers
Current Trainers
and Coordinators