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North Dakota Officials Association announces 2023-24 HOF Inductees

NDHSAA NEWS RELEASE - OCTOBER 19, 2023

VALLEY CITY, N.D. – The North Dakota Officials Association (NDOA) announced the 53rd induction class to its Hall of Fame as determined at its Fall Board of Directors meeting. The NDOA has inducted 163 officials into its Hall of Fame since the inaugural class in 1965. Plaques commemorating all Hall of Fame members are housed in the North Dakota Athletic Hall of Fame, located inside the Jamestown Civic Center. Inductees are:

Dean Klier – Harvey

Dean Klier has been a registered official for 45 years in North Dakota high school boys and girls basketball and 36 years in high school football and is still an active official in both sports. Dean has served as a football workshop supervisor and served two terms on the NDOA Board and one year as NDOA President. Klier is also a member of the Lonetree Officials Association and serves as the assignor.

During his time as an official, Klier has officiated nine NDHSAA Class B Boys & Girls Basketball State Tournaments and two state championship games, 18 regional boys and girls basketball tournaments and numerous boys and girls district tournaments. Klier has also officiated four Dakota Bowl Football Championship Games along with 11 semifinal football games and numerous playoff games. Klier was also named the NDOA’s Girls Basketball Official of the Year in 2013.

Klier has also been a Collegiate Basketball Official for 26 years working in the Mon-Dak Conference doing many playoff games and seven national qualifying games. Klier also works as an NAIA (NDCAC, DAC, North Star, GPAC) basketball official having done playoff games.

In addition to his officiating career, Klier served as an educator and coach for Harvey Public Schools (1987-2013). Klier was an assistant football coach and was involved in two Dakota Bowl Championship games and served 10 years as Harvey’s Head Basketball Coach and holds the program’s record for most coaching victories. Besides teaching and coaching, Klier has been serving as the City Magistrate for 30 plus years.

Dean is married to his wife, Jaculin and they reside in Harvey.

Mike Elgie – Minot

Mike Elgie began officiating North Dakota high school football in 1974. He was initially recruited by Wes Luther, a longtime “white hat”, who was a coach and later Athletic Director at Minot State University. Mike was a lifelong Minot native graduating from Minot High School in 1973 and Minot State University in 1977 with degrees in Physical Education and Recreation.

Mike officiated football for 47 consecutive seasons with his last season being 2020. Mike loved officiating football. In his early years of officiating, he would typically work two games on a Friday. Many of the smaller schools did not have lights so he would work an afternoon game and then travel to another site and work an evening game under the lights. Mike worked over 1,000 football games in his career from junior high, sub-varsity, varsity, and high school football playoff games.

Mike worked 100-plus high school playoff games. Mike worked six NDHSAA football championship games of which four were Dakota Bowl football title games. The four games at the Dakota Bowl were at the highest football classification level. He also worked championship games on Hughes Field in Bismarck, ND, and Herb Parker Stadium on the campus of Minot State University. He was once selected the North Dakota Officials Association Football Official of the Year. Mike also worked for 20-plus seasons as a college football official with a crew out of Minot. He worked in the former NDCAC and DAC 10 conferences at the NAIA level and at the junior college level in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference.

Mike was an NDHSAA Officials Workshop supervisor and game scheduler for the Minot Football Officials Association for many years. He was a strong advocate for football officials being a mentor and teacher to many younger officials. His willingness to work sub-varsity games during the week provided opportunities for Mike to teach others the vocation. Mike would recruit new officials each year and help them get started. One of Mike’s proudest moments, and highlight of his officiating career, was being able to officiate football games with his two sons on the crew.

Mike unexpectedly passed away in 2020 and is survived by his wife Tammy Elgie, his son Zac (Liz) and two grandchildren (Jaxen Michael and Charli Kay); and son Luke (Katie).

Randy Piatz, Bismarck

Randy found his passion for officiating wrestling by way of a bad knee while wrestling for Valley City State. He then started to officiate during the 1988-89 school year.

He found himself thrown into the fire in his second year as the main official in Valley City decided to retire. He found himself working heated duals in the very competitive North Star Conference. When he thinks back to the first few years and how he was tested, he wonders how he made it to 35 years.

The best advice Randy received was from former NDHSAA Assistant Director, Dave Carlsrud: “The best official is the official that goes unnoticed. When the fans leave the gym and discuss the intense competition they just witnessed, they talk about the wrestling and not the official.”

Over the next 35 years, Piatz found himself working some of the toughest tournaments & duals around North Dakota. Occasionally going into South Dakota and Minnesota. He was looking to retire a few years ago, but kept working to help mentor some younger officials.

Randy has worked 500-plus events over the years. This included the honor of 24 North Dakota High School Wrestling State Tournaments, 37 individual and region dual tournaments in both the Class A West Region along with Class B Regions 1 and 4.

Along with his high school career, Piatz also officiated three NAIA national collegiate tournaments, many NDCAC, District and Regional tournaments along with many duals. He has worked all levels of wrestling from youth through NCAA, Division I college wrestling.

As a high school wrestler, Randy placed at the NDHSAA State Tournament three times winning a state title in 1984.

Randy is married to Pam. They have two children, Brandon & Connor. Brandon is married to Quin. They have given Papa Piatz his greatest joys Calum & Brooks.

Randy would like to thank all those who have had a hand, large or small in his career for the last 35 years. The people he has met and become friends with means more to him than you will ever know. His most heartfelt thanks goes out to all his fellow officials, who stood by his side wearing the stripes. You will not be forgotten, nor will the memories or the many great stories.

William Archer Galloway VI, Park River

Officiating runs in the family of Bill Galloway VI whose father (William Galloway V) and grandfather (William Galloway IV) were longtime officials and are also enshrined in the North Dakota Officials Association Hall of Fame.

Galloway served as a basketball official for 33 years and a volleyball official for 22 years. Galloway retired from officiating basketball following the 2017-18 school year. He continued to officiate volleyball through the 2020-2021 school year.

During his time as an official, Galloway worked many district and region tournaments. Galloway also officiated four NDHSAA Class B Boys Basketball State Tournaments (2002, 2005, 2009, and 2010) and eight NDHSAA Class B Girls Basketball State Tournaments (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2016, and 2017).

During his 12 State Tournaments in basketball, Galloway worked the Championship Game on five occasions – Class B Boys in 2009 and 2010 and Class B Girls in 2006, 2012 and 2017.

Galloway began officiating volleyball the year it was sanctioned by the NDHSAA.

Galloway is married to Donna and resides in Park River.

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