Posted on by Tyler Hall

2023 Officials Honors Banquet
Thank you for joining us!

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The Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation and the Utah High School Activities Association cordially invite you to attend the Officials Honors Banquet to recognize and honor the following officials who have contributed significantly to sports in the state of Utah through a lifetime commitment to sports officiating.

Monday, January 23, 2023
Reception: 6 p.m.
Banquet: 7 p.m.

Little America Hotel
500 Main Street, Salt Lake City, UT
Banquet Tickets: $65 per person
Table of Ten: $650 per table

  • All tickets must be ordered online for the Officials Honors Banquet.
  • A confirmation email will be sent upon completion of your order.
  • Credit card payments accepted online (PayPal account not required) or checks can be sent by mail. Instructions for payments by mail will be provided when you submit your ticket order.
  • Upon receipt of payment, tickets will be mailed to the address provided with your ticket order.
  • Tickets ordered after January 8 will be held at “Will Call.”
  • Payments must be received no later than January 22, 2023 at 6 p.m.
  • Contact Fred Thompson (801-430-4697) or Jeff Cluff (435-619-7524) with any questions.

Class of 2023 Officials Hall of Honor 

Orley Bills

When it comes to officiating soccer in Utah, few if any can match the career of Orley Bills. The Sandy resident has influenced the sport at many levels. His works includes being a soccer referee since 1979 and the state referee administrator including work as an instructor and as a referee assessor. He has worked with the Utah High School Activities Association, Utah Youth Soccer Association, the Special Olympics, and as a professional soccer referee. Bills is a member of the Utah Soccer Hall of Fame and was the UHSAA official of the year. He also hosted the USYSA Region IV soccer tournament as well as the Utah Amateur Soccer Association Region IV tournament. Bills was a graduate of Hillcrest High School and attended the University of Utah and LDS Business College.

Gerard Collet

Gerard Collet probably didn’t have an inkling where watching his daughter running track and field in 1979 would take him. As he sat in the stands, he got the idea that he would like to be a starter at track meets. After 44 years of being a starter for youth, high school, college, international, able body, paralympics, Special Olympics, blind, and cerebral palsy meets, Collet is as passionate as ever. “I am still as excited today as I was when I got started,” he said. “To me, the five-year-old is just as important as an Olympic gold medalist.” Since moving to Utah in 2006, Gerard has become a common site at track meets. His efforts have earned him recognition from the Pacific Association, the NFHS Officials Association, and the National Track and Field Officials Committee. He was named the cross country official of the year in 2010 and the Track and Field Official of the year in 2013 by the NFHS. He and his wife Pauline live in South Jordan.

Kent Condie

Kent Condie was a familiar figure to a generation of high school and college athletes. His long career began in 1978 when he worked high school games starting in1980 in Idaho. Condie then moved to Utah where he continued to work high school football and basketball for another 30 years. He officiated 20 state championship football games and 20 state basketball title contests. His college official career allowed him to work as an NCAA Division I basketball official for more than two decades, officiating games all over the country. Highlights includes six Rotary Bowl games, three Top of the Mountain Bowl games, one NCAA championship quarterfinal game and two junior college national championships. Kent also worked indoor professional football. After he retired, he worked little league football and basketball, mentoring up and coming officials. He is a member of the Utah College Football Officials Association Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Utah chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. He graduated from BYU.

Cristy Crane

If you watched Utah high school basketball, volleyball or softball over the years, chances are you saw Cristy Crane officiate. She worked volleyball, basketball and softball games at the high school and college level for 27 years. The pioneering coach was one of the first women to work boys high school varsity games at the 5A level. She officiated five state volleyball championships, six state basketball title games and two state title softball tournaments. She served as co-president of the Salt Lake Volleyball Association for six years and was president of Red Rock Volleyball for two years. Crane, who now lives in Cedar City, was the Basketball Rookie Official of the Year for the 1988-89 season.

Teri Jackson

While Teri Jackson was a fine college and high school referee, she made her mark as a volleyball official. The Logan resident was a Utah high school volleyball official for 35 years and spent 33 seasons officiating Mountain West, Western Athletic Conference and Big Sky Conference volleyball matches. The Murray native also served as a volleyball official for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the Big West Conference, the WCC and the SWAC.

Cheryl Jameson

Indianapolis native Cheryl Jameson served as a certified U.S. Tennis umpire for college, high school and community tennis events. She was the chief umpire for the Utah Tennis Umpires Association and was a member of the USTA grievance committee. She was a referee for the national adult tennis championships and umpired several college conference tennis championships. She was a familiar figure at state high school and regional tennis tournaments. In April of 2021, the Ogden resident received the USTA Intermountain Section Glass Ball award for increasing the quality of tennis officiating.

Blake Jensen

South Jordan resident and caterer Blake Jensen earned a reputation as one of Utah’s finest baseball umpires and basketball officials. His 27-year career as an prep umpire saw him work seven state championships. He officiated basketball for 25 years and that included officiating four state championships. His career also saw him work as a baseball official for the Pac 12, WAC, Big West and the  Mountain West Athletic Conference. The Hillcrest High School and BYU graduate was the 2008 Utah Baseball Official of the Year. “My career highlights are creating numerous relationships with fellow officials and administrative personnel,” he wrote. He and his wife Lori are parents to four children. He owns Blake’s Gourmet, a catering business and food truck.

Richard Jones

Few people have enjoyed the long officiating career that Salt Lake resident Richard Jones has compiled.  His career included 48 years as a football referee, 12 years as a basketball official, and five years as a soccer referee. And that was just in high school, where he officiated 21 state football title games and nine state basketball championship games .Jones also officiated college basketball, football and baseball. His resume is filled with honors. These include a service award from the Carbon County Board of Education, an official of the year honor from UHSAA, the Joe Busico Award and the NFHS Officials Association’s football official of the year. Jones was president and arbiter of the Southeastern Utah officials Association, taught officiating classes at the College of Eastern Utah, served two terms as the Utah High School Football Officials President and served on the high school football and basketball board for a combined 16 years.

Larry Killips

Killips, who works for the Murray Parks and Recreation Department, spent 50 years as an official. His career saw him work high school basketball and football games, junior college basketball, Division I basketball, NAIA Division II basketball, NBA D League, CBA and NBA games. His long career saw him work six basketball championships, one football title game, seven junior college championships, two NAIA championships, CBA playoff games and finals, and Division I basketball. He was also active with Ute Conference Football. Killips was named Utah high school basketball official of the year for three years, worked a CBA all-star game and was honored by the National High School Football Foundation as a member of its hall of fame in 2022.

Bob Krommenhoek

Bob Krommenhoek, a native of the Netherlands who attended UCLA and BYU, officiated football for 49 years, basketball for 44 years, baseball for 30 years and softball for 15 years. That career saw him officiate scores of state championship games over the years. Krommenhoek received the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award in football in 2006 and the Lifetime Achievement Award in basketball in 2017, a high honor since those awards were selected by fellow officials. Self-employed, he is married to Victoria and is the father of nine children.

Eddie Lewis

As long as he can remember, football has been part of Eddie Lewis’ life. The fascination with the sport started when he played little league at the age of eight in California. He earned a football scholarship to the University of Utah and played professional football in Canada and Italy. When his playing days were over, some of his former Ute teammates encouraged him to try his hand at officiating. He soon gained a reputation as a fine official. He officiated in eight state champion games including three 5A games, one 4A contest and one 2A state title battle. He now lives in South Jordan with his spouse Jamie and works as a sales representative for the Hershey Chocolate Company. 

Phil Leonard

If you watched Utah high school football, basketball or baseball the last 50 years, there’s a good chance Phil Leonard officiated one of those games. In addition to officiating games, he also served as the arbiter for the Davis County School District for 39 years and as the assistant Utah High School Activities Association arbiter for baseball for 20 years. Leonard was named the outstanding Utah high school official five times and was the Outstanding Official of the Year in 1994 and 95. He received national awards as the baseball official of the year twice and was the Utah High School Umpire of the Year in 2007. He won numerous national and state awards. When he wasn’t officiating, Leonard was a member of the Davis County Sheriff office where he served as a patrolman, detectives sergeant, lieutenant and captain. Leonard, a father of seven, resides with his wife Linda. The Weber State graduate is currently working as the chase driver for Road Runner Auto.

Jon O’Dell

Long time Utah basketball referee Jon O’Dell has officiated many of the state’s biggest events. These included two 4A championship games and two 2A title contests. The Davis High and Weber State graduate served as a basketball official for the UHSAA for 14 years. He also was a junior college and NAIA basketball official.  O’Dell is a member of the Weber State Athletics Hall of Fame. He played basketball, baseball, tennis and ran track for the Wildcats and also played professional baseball. A retired pharmaceutical executive, O’Dell is a member of the Pharmaceutical Hall of Fame. He currently lives in Bountiful.

Duane Potts

Potts got his start officiating when he took a Snow College Class called Sports Officiating taught by Dan Slaugh. When he officiated his first game at Wayne County High, Slaugh was his partner. Potts became a regular official at that point, working basketball and baseball games. He began officiating football in 1983, finally retiring in 2017. Potts also served as a college umpire for both the Scenic West Athletic Conference and the Western Athletic Conference as well as a junior college and NAIA basketball referee. The recipient of the Utah High School Activities 2006 Male Official of the year officiated in 33 UHSAA state baseball championships, 19 basketball tournaments and 14 state football events. 

Brian Shelley

Holladay resident Brian Shelley became the youngest official to be assigned to work the 5A state high school boys championship in 2000. He officiated multiple Division I post season conference basketball tournaments in the Big Sky, Mountain West and WAC. Shelley was assigned to work in the men’s NIT tournament and served as a replacement NBA referee during the 2009 lockout. His career as an official spans 25 years. But his work did not end there. He has been involved in evaluating, mentoring and teaching hundreds of officials during his career. He helped develop technology training tools to improve officials skills. Shelley currently serves as a leadership team member with the Western Basketball Officials Consortium where he helps with pre-season training, recruiting, game grading, and rule interpretation.

Chris Singer

Murray resident Chris Singer enjoyed a long career as a top Utah high school and college basketball referee. The graduate of San Juan High School attended SUU and the University of Utah and did his post graduate studies at the University of Utah. The nurse practitioner worked seven boys’ state title games as well as the 1996 girls’ championship. His career also saw him work for the Mid Continent Conference, the Big West, the Big Sky, the WAC, the Pac West, the SWAC and the NAIA. He officiated numerous regional tournaments for those organizations.

Ken Sowby

After finishing a fine career as a high school athlete at Highland and graduating from the University of Utah, Sowby became a familiar face to Utah high school basketball fans. He worked 20 years as a referee in Utah High School State Tournaments. During that span, he was assigned to seven state championship games. He was a high school official for over 25 years. His work also included 10 years as a junior college official and 10 years as a Division I women’s official. Asked about special honors and achievements, Sowby said he would like to be known as a great friend and a good husband and father.