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Hi everyone-
I received the bad news yesterday that one of our fellow officials on our board (Board 49 - Southern Tier NY), Ed George, passed away unexpectedly. He was relatively young, too. I would say no older than 45.
I don't know if there's anyone on this forum who may have known Ed, but I just wanted to share a little bit about him as I had worked with him just about 2 weeks before he died.
I'm a first year official, and Ed was my partner for a girls JV game at a small Christian school in my area. Prior to that day, I had not met him, only talked to him briefly on the phone. I only had about a 10-minute ride to the game, but Ed came from his home which was over an hour away. As you can tell, Ed really loved officiating, and I believe this was his 9th season in stripes.
Ed was very positive. He was helpful and encouraging throughout the game, giving me tips and complimenting various parts of my game, too. There were some points in the game were things got a little screwy and I got a little flustered, but Ed was there with a big smile and relaxed demeanor and helped get things back under control.
I had to leave right after our game, but before I left Ed mentioned that he'd enjoy doing another game with me again sometime. For me, I don't think I could've heard a nicer compliment, this veteran official showing that he had confidence in my abilities as a rookie. I told him I hoped for the same.
Later in that week I called him to get some thoughts down for my evaluation sheet. He once again was very encouraging, and took the time out of his work schedule to talk about our game together and things I could work on.
Ed was such a positive and engaging individual, and you could tell this within just a few minutes of speaking with him. I feel I was incredibly fortunate to work with him, even though it probably was just no more than 2 hours we spent on the court together.
This Friday is Ed's funeral. He will be buried in his official's uniform, as that is what he was most proud of. Please keep his two young boys in your thoughts, as no doubt this must be an incredibly difficult time for them.
Thanks for listening.
Joe
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