Elizabethtown’s Joe Luther has been named the 2016 recipient of the Dick Knox Distinguished Service Award for Soccer from the Southeastern Soccer Officials Association.
Luther has officiated high school soccer for 30 years. “I was first licensed as a soccer official in 1986 in Ohio,” he recalls. “I was calling games before then.”
In 1989 Luther and his family moved to North Carolina, and he has been instrumental in getting soccer started in Bladen County. “I officiated at all youth levels for the United States Soccer Federation (USSF),” he said.
A golden whistle is mounted on the plaque that reads: ‘Joe Luther – Presented in recognition of devoted service to and involvement with young student athletes of our state. Your years of service and dedication are recognized and deeply appreciated. The lives you have touched during your career are a tribute to the positive influence of high school athletics.’
The award is named for Dick Knox – an outstanding high school official who joined the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) in 1984 and served as supervisor of officials and deputy executive director. He is a member of the NCHSAA Hall of Fame.
Luther continues to officiate high school and other levels of soccer even though he retired as Chief Financial Officer for Squires Timber Co. three years ago. “I am in better shape now than I was when I was working because I am outside more,” he said. “In an average high school soccer game, an official will run between 3 and 3.5 miles – a GPS calculated that officials have run as much as 6.7 miles in a game.”
Luther has also umpired Dixie Youth Baseball and recreation softball during his career. He umpired recreation softball this past season.
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