13 Leaders in High School Activity Programs to Receive 2023 NFHS Citations

Thirteen leaders in high school activity programs across the country have been selected to receive National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Citations.

An award designed to honor individuals who have made contributions to the NFHS, state high school associations, athletic director and coaching professions, the officiating avocation and fine arts/performing arts programs, the NFHS Citation is one of the most highly regarded achievements in high school athletics and performing arts.

Citations for state high school associations, coaching, officiating and performing arts will be presented June 30 at the annual NFHS Summer Meeting in Seattle, Washington.

Eight of the 13 award recipients represent NFHS-member state high school associations, while the other five represent NFHS professional organizations for officials, coaches, music leaders and speech/debate/theatre directors.

The eight 2023 state association Citation recipients are Larry White, Section 1, retired executive director, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA); Darren Bilberry, Section 2, assistant commissioner, Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA); Ernie Yarbrough, Section 3, assistant executive director/coordinator of officials, Georgia High School Association (GHSA); Todd Tharp, Section 4, assistant director, Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA); Jennifer Schwartz, Section 5, associate director, Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA); Mike Whaley, Section 6, associate director, Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA); Roger Blake, Section 7, retired executive director, California Interscholastic Federation (CIF); and Andy Barnes, Section 8, assistant executive director, Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

The 2023 Citation recipients representing the NFHS professional organizations are Harold “Pinky” Primrose, NFHS Coaches Association, retired coach/leader, high school baseball, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Mark Dreibelbis, NFHS Officials Association, retired associate commissioner, North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA); Jennifer Brooks, NFHS Music Association, director of music, David Douglas School District, Portland, Oregon; Jamelle Brown, NFHS Speech/Debate/Theatre/Academics Association (speech and debate), speech and debate coach, Sumner Academy of Arts and Science, Kansas City, Kansas; and Rebecca Meyer-Larson, NFHS Speech/Debate/Theatre/Academics Association (theatre), theatre director, Moorhead (Minnesota) High School. This is the first year that a separate Citation has been awarded to theatre educators.

Following is biographical information on this year’s Citation recipients:

STATE ASSOCIATIONS

**Larry White, New Jersey
**Section 1

Larry White retired as executive director of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) in June 2020, which ended his 2½ years as executive director and 15 years overall on the NJSIAA administrative staff.

White began his tenure as executive director January 1, 2018, and retired in the summer of 2020 after leading the NJSIAA through the early months of the pandemic. He was the NJSIAA’s first African-American executive director and the organization’s eighth overall leader.

White joined the New Jersey association staff in 2005 as an assistant director and served in a variety of capacities during his 13 years in that position. He supervised the officials associations, and he was responsible for eligibility and transfer compliance, and Controversies Committee hearings.

Among his other responsibilities as assistant director, White was the director in charge of several sports, including boys and girls basketball, baseball, boys volleyball, boys and girls bowling, and gymnastics.

Prior to joining the NJSIAA, White was a vice principal in the Pine Hill School District in New Jersey and a teacher in the Monroe Township School District. He also coached high school baseball, golf and tennis, and he was a high school basketball and college baseball official.

At the national level, White contributed his time to several NFHS committees, including the Officials Committee (2103-17) and the Basketball Rules Committee (2016-2020). He also served a brief time on the NFHS Foundation Board of Directors.

**Darren Bilberry, Kentucky
**Section 2

Darren Bilberry has served as assistant commissioner of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) since February 2007. His primary duties include student eligibility, Title IX education and managing various sports and activities.

During his time at the KHSAA, Bilberry has managed the sports of soccer, swimming and diving, softball and field hockey, along with the sport activities of bass fishing and bowling.

Prior to his 15-year association with the Kentucky state association, Bilberry was involved in athletic administration at the collegiate level. He was a part of the staffs at Southern Illinois University and Auburn University before returning to his alma mater, the University of Kentucky, to serve in the Kentucky athletic department.

Following his time in intercollegiate athletics at these three universities, Bilberry spent four years in secondary education as a special-needs teacher and assistant football coach before joining the KHSAA.

After graduating from Fort Knox (Kentucky) High School, where he participated in football, basketball, and track and field, Bilberry earned a football scholarship to the University of Kentucky and was a three-year letterman and earned Academic All-Southeastern Conference honors. He went on to earn his master’s from Kentucky as well as a master’s in education from Georgetown (Kentucky) College.

In addition to his work at the KHSAA, Bilberry has devoted time to the NFHS in his sports of expertise. He has been a member of both the NFHS Soccer Rules Committee and the NFHS Swimming and Diving Rules Committee.

**Ernie Yarbrough, Georgia
**Section 3

After coaching at the high school and college levels for 18 years, Ernie Yarbrough joined the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) on a full-time basis in 2001. He began his work with the GHSA in 1992 as the basketball rules interpreter and in 1997 as the softball rules interpreter.

In his 22nd year with the association and currently serving as assistant executive director and coordinator of officiating, Yarbrough directs the sports of slow-pitch and fast-pitch softball, girls flag football, basketball, lacrosse and golf. He created the GHSA Contest Officials Handbook and Accountability Program and the GHSA Developmental Camp program for GHSA contest officials.

A native of Owasso, Oklahoma, Yarbrough graduated from California State University, Pomona. After several years of tryouts with professional football teams, Yarbrough turned his attention to coaching. He coached football, basketball and softball at high schools in California and Georgia for eight years, and he coached football and women’s basketball at Whittier College, Cal State-Pomona, Emory University and Atlanta Christian College for 10 years.

Yarbrough also has extensive involvement in officiating and fast-pitch softball. He was a high school and college basketball official for 32 years, and he officiated high school state championship games in three states – Oklahoma, California and Georgia. He also has been involved with fast-pitch softball for more than 50 years as a player, coach and administrator.

As a result of his involvement with softball, Yarbrough was inducted into the Georgia Softball Hall of Fame in 2016, and he coached the USA Girls Junior National Team to a gold medal at the 2019 Pan American Games.

Earlier in his career, Yarbrough was a player personnel scout in the National Football League for 13 years. Nationally with the NFHS, Yarbrough has been a member of the Basketball Rules Committee, Softball Rules Committee and Boys Lacrosse Rules Committee.

**Todd Tharp, Iowa
**Section 4

Todd Tharp has served as assistant director of the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) for more than 17 years, joining the association in August 2005. During that time, he has served as the sport administrator in baseball, basketball, bowling, football and soccer. In these sports, he has handled rules interpretations, conducted rules meetings, developed postseason pairings, organization state tournaments, and evaluated and assigned officials.

Tharp also serves as the IHSAA health and wellness coordinator, working with state and local medical communities to provide resources, guidance and training for schools, coaches and athletes. He also is responsible for eligibility and works closely with the Iowa High School Athletic Directors Association (IHSADA).

As a licensed instructor, Tharp regularly teaches NIAAA (National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association) Leadership Training classes at the state conference and the NFHS/NIAAA National Athletic Directors Conference. He also has developed and conducts three IHSAA New Administrator Workshops each year.

Tharp earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa and his master’s from Iowa State University.

Before he joined the IHSAA administrative staff, Tharp was a teacher, coach and administrator in several Iowa schools for 16 years, including Alden, Arlington Starmont and Le Mars. During that time, he was a member of the ISHADA Executive Board, and his experience in these roles has provided a valuable perspective in his work at the IHSAA. He also was a football, basketball and baseball contest official for 20 years.

Tharp has been involved with the NFHS in several capacities, most recently as chair of the Football Rules Committee. He also has served on the Soccer Rules Committee.

**Jennifer Schwartz, Section 5
**Nebraska

Jennifer Schwartz’s career at the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) spans more than two decades after she joined the staff in 2001 as an assistant director. During that time, Schwartz has administered numerous sports and activities, including volleyball, soccer, swimming and diving, debate and journalism.

In 2019, Schwartz was promoted to NSAA associate director, tasked with overseeing the association’s legislative process, coordinating NSAA district meetings and the NSAA Class Caucus. Additionally, she currently assists with eligibility and hardship rulings and negotiating NSAA championship contracts. She also handles activities at the middle school level.

Earlier this year, Schwartz was named NSAA Interim Executive Director and will begin serving in that role in July. She will be the second female to lead the association in its 110-year history.

In announcing Schwartz as the interim executive director, Bob Drews, chair of the NSAA Board of Directors, made the following statement: “Jennifer Schwartz’s experience and knowledge base of the NSAA will accomplish those goals (providing the NSAA with best leadership possible). We are grateful for the fact that she is willing to lead the association into next year and through this period of transition.”

Before joining the NSAA, Schwartz taught and coached volleyball at Arlington High School in Arlington, Nebraska, and was assistant athletic director at Omaha Westside High School.

Nationally, Schwartz served on the NFHS Strategic Planning Committee and coordinates NFHS Coach Education initiatives in Nebraska.

Mike Whaley, Section 6 Oklahoma

Mike Whaley is currently serving as associate director of the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association. After a 30-year career as a coach, teacher, and school administrator in the public schools of Oklahoma, Whaleyjoined the OSSAA staff in 2009.

After coaching stops in the Oklahoma schools of Sand Springs, Mangum, Blanchard and Westmoore, Whaley came to the OSSAA in 2009 as director of officials and director of baseball. In 2017, he became the OSSAA’s associate director and administrator for the sports of track and field, football and basketball.

Whaley has served the NFHS on the Football Rules Committee, the Officials Advisory Committee, the Track and Field Rules Committee, and the Baseball Rules Committee. He is a member of the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Officials Association Hall of Fame.

**Roger Blake, Section 7
**California

In 2019, Roger Blake retired after a 43-year career in secondary education, the final 21 years with the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). From 2012 to 2019, Blake was the eighth executive director of the CIF.

During the two decades he worked at the CIF, Blake held leadership positions as director of education and training (1998-2001), assistant executive director (2001-07) and associate executive director (2007-2012).

As executive director, Blake vigorously promoted the values of education-based athletic and activity programs and helped expand opportunities for boys and girls statewide. Blake led the organization’s focus on risk minimization in sports with an emphasis on education and training of coaches and rules modifications. In 2013, the CIF began a partnership with California Special Olympics and the U.S.A. Paralympic Committee to expand and increase opportunities for students with disabilities that now includes participation in state championship competitions.

From 2007 to 2011, Blake chaired the NFHS Coach Education Committee and was on the national teaching faculty for the NFHS Learning Center’s Fundamentals of Coaching course. He also served on the California State Athletic Directors Association (CSADA) Board of Directors from 1996 to 2007.

A 1976 graduate of California State University, Fullerton, he began his teaching and coaching career at Sonora High School in 1976-77 and then at Cajon High School in San Bernardino in 1977-78. Blake then spent 24 years in the Lake Elsinore Unified School District as a teacher, coach and administrator prior to joining the CIF staff.

Among his honors, Blake was CSADA Southern Section Athletic Director of the Year in 1993 and earned the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) Award of Merit in 1999.

**Andy Barnes, Section 8
**Washington

Andy Barnes has been assistant executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) since August 2006 after joining the WIAA staff a year earlier as production coordinator. During his time as assistant executive director, Barnes has been responsible for the sports of football, basketball, swimming and diving, golf, and tennis.

Among his other duties, Barnes interprets rules and regulations for WIAA sports and activities, oversees WIAA out-of-season rules and regulations, negotiates contracts for state tournament sites, schedules and manages state tournament officials, manages the association’s classification process, supervises WIAA state tournament staff and manages budgets for state tournaments and special events.

Outside of his tournament responsibilities, Barnes facilitates WIAA fall workshop meetings, coordinates WIAA rules clinics offerings and works directly with WIAA leagues, district boards and district directors.

Prior to joining the WIAA in 2005, Barnes served in a variety of roles with Washington State University, the Pullman (Washington) Parks and Recreation Department, and the Seattle Seahawks. He also served an internship with the WIAA in 2004.

Barnes, who graduated from John Rogers High School in Puyallup, Washington, earned his bachelor’s degree in sport management in 2004 from Washington State University. He was a part of the Cougars golf team in spring of 2003.

Nationally, Barnes earned his coach certification with the American Sport Education Program in 2002, and he currently is a member of the NFHS Football Rules Committee.

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

**Harold “Pinky” Primrose, Iowa
**NFHS Coaches Association

Harold “Pinky” Primrose has dedicated more than half a century to Iowa high school baseball. His coaching career took off at Lisbon (Iowa) High School in 1956, and he later coached baseball at Norway (Iowa) High School and Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Washington High School. In 1974, Primrose was inducted into the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association (IHSBCA) Hall of Fame.

Primrose coached six years at Norway High School and compiled a 165-50 record. While there, he also was head basketball coach, athletic director and acting principal for two years. His career accelerated at Cedar Rapids Washington, where he posted a 712-385 record during his 23-year tenure (1964-87).

Overall, during his 33-year coaching career, Primrose’s teams won one Iowa state championship (1966), were Mississippi Valley Conference champions four times and won numerous district and sectional championships. Beginning in 1981 and continuing throughout his days at Cedar Rapids Washington, Primrose doubled as the baseball coach at Coe College, an NCAA Division III school in Cedar Rapids.

Primrose’s involvement in baseball expanded in 1964 when he began his current role on the board of directors of the Cedar Rapids Professional Baseball Team, and he led the organization as president from 1973 to 1984. Primrose was chosen American Baseball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year in 1980 and was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1987.

During this time, he also served as founder, president and executive secretary of the IHSBCA from 1969 to 2008 and president and executive secretary of the Cedar Rapids Athletic Officials Association. Primrose received the NFHS Outstanding Service Award in 2001 for his contribution to interscholastic athletics.

Primrose also was an associate scout for the Baltimore Orioles (1965-66), and the Kansas City Royals from 1990 to 2012. His expertise in both coaching baseball and officiating all sports in the area have led to “Pinky’s” reputation as a hometown hero.

**Mark Dreibelbis, North Carolina
**NFHS Officials Association

Mark Dreibelbis retired last year after a distinguished and varied career in education at both the high school and college levels. Beginning his career in 1977 as an elementary school teacher, Dreibelbis moved to the collegiate level for more than 20 years before his 17 years as associate commissioner of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA).

As NCHSAA associate commissioner, Dreibelbis was the rules clinician for the sports of football, basketball, wrestling, softball, soccer, volleyball, lacrosse and baseball. He also was the NCHSAA supervisor of officials, director of Student Services, Leadership and Sportsmanship programs; and the National Certification Trainer for the NFHS Coach Education curriculum.

Dreibelbis spearheaded efforts for diversity, equity and inclusion in his roles at the NCHSAA. Dreibelbis assigned the first female player for an NCHSAA boys basketball and football state championship game, and he assigned the first all-female crew for an NCHSAA basketball, soccer and volleyball state championship game, and mandated diversity representation in all state championship assignments.

Nationally, Dreibelbis served on the NFHS Basketball Rules Committee and the NFHS Football Rules Committee. He also chaired the NFHS Football Equipment Committee. In 2014, Dreibelbis was named NFHS Coach Educator of the Year, and he is a NFHS Certified Interscholastic Coach.

Before joining the NCHSAA, Dreibelbis spent 22 years at Appalachian State University in a variety of roles, including the NCAA compliance officer for the school.

Dreibelbis was also an accomplished basketball and baseball official. He has 30 years’ experience as a basketball official and has officiated 14 NCAA postseason tournaments and six NCHSAA State Basketball Championships. Among his other awards, Dreibelbis received the NFHS State Association Citation in 2021, the NCHSAA Golden Whistle Award in 2018 and the Distinguished Service Award from the North Carolina High School Athletic Directors Association in 2016.

**Jennifer Brooks, Oregon
**NFHS Music Association

Jennifer Brooks’ passion and excitement for music is contagious. She began her career in 1996 as a band and choir director for Banks (Oregon) Junior and Senior High School before moving to the David Douglas School District in Portland, Oregon, in 1998, where she currently works as the director of all music in the K-12 schools.

Brooks, who received her bachelor’s in music from Lewis and Clark College (Oregon) and her master’s from Portland State University, has guided ensembles in her district to a number of top finishes in the state band and orchestra competitions, including five runner-up finishes in the Full Orchestra Division.

Brooks has an impressive resume of honors including a Grammy Enterprise Award in 2012 and a Grammy Signature School Award in 2011. She has served on several Oregon School Activities Association committees and has helped create a number of NFHS Learning Center courses, including Fundamentals of Interscholastic Music, Understanding Copyright and Compliance, Interscholastic Music Event Management, Band Safety, and Music Adjudication.

Brooks currently lends her expertise to the Oregon Band Directors Association (OBDA) Band and Orchestra Adjudicator Certification Committee. She served two terms on the NFHS Music Committee, including a term as chair from 2016 to 2019, and she was president of the OBDA (2012-14) and Oregon Music Educators Association (OMEA) District II president (2000-02).

Throughout the nation, Brooks’ reputation precedes her as a well-rounded, respected and ambitious leader in the music industry. She is known to do whatever it takes to impact both her students and community, according to her colleague Amber Cowgill. Cowgill notes that Brooks felt called to work in a school district where many children come from a lower socioeconomic background, and she holds everyone to the highest standard, pushing them to be their best and overcome challenges.

**Jamelle Brown, Kansas
**NFHS Speech/Debate/Theatre/Academics Association (speech/debate)

“When I was a kid, I loved playing school. During summer breaks, while my sisters and neighborhood friends found joy in playing outdoor activities, I was in my basement playing school with my classroom of imaginary students,” Jamelle Brown said. Brown made her dream a reality when she became a teacher at Wyandotte (Kansas City) High School in 1998.

Brown has since held a variety of positions at Sumner (Kansas City) Academy of Arts and Science, where she currently teaches classes on public speaking, theater, speech and debate. Brown is also the head coach of the competitive speech and debate teams and the co-facilitator of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). She knows that educating students on speech and debate is her life calling, and she leads with the belief that representation matters.

Brown’s speech and drama teams have been highly successful in Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) state competition. Her speech and debate teams have won eight KSHSAA state titles, including six consecutive titles from 2012 to 2017. She also coached the 2015 Kansas state debate champion and had five National Catholic Forensic League National Tournament speech finalists.

She has served in numerous leadership roles to implement local and national DEI solutions including National Speech and Debate Association’s Women’s Caucus leader. She served on the NFHS Speech Committee and has been a presenter at the NFHS Performing Arts Conference. Brown has hosted the KSHSAA regional debate tournaments several times and is a member of the Kansas Speech and Debate Association.

Brown’s long list of honors includes Three Diamond NSDA Coach, the 2020 National Association of Urban Debate League Coach of the Year, KSHSAA Heart of the Arts Award in 2014 and induction into the Kansas Debate Coaches Invitational Coach Hall of Fame in 2020.

Brown calls students to live by the motto “Fear is NOT an Option.” She sees importance in teaching young people the value of both winning and losing, and the virtue in hard work and participation. Brown considers speech and debate to be an outlet for students to contemplate current events and engage in dialogue about one’s role in society.

**Rebecca Meyer-Larson, Minnesota
**NFHS Speech/Debate/Theatre/Academics Association (theatre)

As director of the Moorhead (Minnesota) High School theatre program, Rebecca Meyer-Larson has led students to perform on local, regional, global and Broadway stages. Over the past 30 years as an educator, she has created a respected learning environment that encourages young people to explore their love of the arts and focus on social justice and human rights issues.

Since 1991, Meyer-Larson has served as language arts teacher, theatre director and speech coach at Moorhead High School. During this time, she also directed the Trollwood Performing Arts School in Moorhead from 2000 to 2008, where she developed and led an arts-integrated middle school theatre program. While at Trollwood, she coordinated grants to support other artists and educators in creating curriculum and establishing standards to measure student success.

Meyer-Larson has led the Moorhead High School speech team to the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) State Speech Team Championship five of the past six years. Overall, she has coached 29 state champions and 232 medalists. She has coached National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) national speakers in several categories, including 16 national finalists.

During her 32-year career, Meyer-Larson has received several honors including two U.S. Presidential Scholars Program Teacher awards, NFHS Outstanding Educator State Award and Spotlight Education Theater Educator Award, five Diamond Coach in the National Speech and Debate Association and the 2019 Minnesota State High School League AA Coach of the Year.

Meyer-Larson founded Act Up Theatre, a company that partners with community social service agencies to produce contemporary musical theatre focused on advocacy. This mission was further articulated in her Ted-X talk where Meyer-Larson encouraged audiences to use the arts to instigate for social change. She teaches with the philosophy of igniting the spark in every student, demonstrating the strength of individuality, and celebrating our common humanity.