OSSAA Communications
Van Shea Ivan
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Officials Association (OOA) will induct five new members to the OOA Hall of Fame on July 22 at 9:45 am in conjunction with the OOA Summer Conference at Choctaw High School.
Jim Watson of Oklahoma City, David Webbert of Broken Arrow, Lonnie Sanders of Fletcher, Sheree Riddell of Moore and Robert Stay (posthumously) from Sand Springs will bring the total of OOA Hall of Fame members to 124.
Watson, a former President of the OOA, worked over thirty years as a football, basketball and baseball official calling state championship contests six times in football and four times in baseball.
Webbert called basketball and football for 30 seasons. The former OOA President called state finals in basketball and football for OSSAA and also worked a NJCAA championship football final.
Riddell is the first non-official to be inducted in to the officials’ hall since the inception of the shrine in 1987. She has served the officials of the state of Oklahoma as the OSSAA and OOA assistant administrator since 2002. Her tireless efforts in the administration of enrolling and assigning officials have greatly benefited the OSSAA member schools.
Stay, a Sand Springs native who excelled in track and field while in high school, worked football, basketball and baseball and left a legacy of training young officials in northeastern Oklahoma over his 20- year career.
Sanders worked as a basketball official in southwestern Oklahoma for 24 seasons including two OSSAA state championship games.
Selection to the OOA Hall of Fame, which began in 1987, is made by the OOA Executive Board which meets each spring.