On Monday, the North Dakota Officials Association (NDOA) announced a group of five officials who will be the 52nd class inducted to its Hall of Fame. Since the inaugural class back in 1956, the NDOA has inducted 159 officials.

Among the group of five finalists is a local official, Lynda Bertsch, who established herself as an official in volleyball starting in 1983. Still active in the sport, Bertsch can be found officiating multiple high school matches each week.

Throughout her time as an official, Bertsch served as an NDHSAA Volleyball Officials Workshop Supervisor for many years and currently plays a role in scheduling a variety of volleyball contests and tournaments and serves as an assignor for volleyball officials in the Minot area.

Additionally, Bertsch was selected to officiate 26 NDHSAA volleyball state tournaments, broken down to 21 Class B state tournaments and five Class A state tournaments. She has also received the National Federation of Interscholastic Officials Association Distinguished Service Award in 1991 and the North Dakota High School Coaches Association’s Special Recognition Award in 2022.

Along with Bertsch, Mike Nider (Mandan), Stephanie Smith (Bismarck), Tim Campbell (Fairmount), and Mitch Parker (Fargo) will all be inducted for their dedication to officiating.

Nider began his officiating career in wrestling in 1985 and added football to the mix in 1989. He officiated over 12 state tournaments and 20 regional tournaments in wrestling at the high school level, and officiated University of Mary, Jamestown College, Dickinson State tournaments and an NCAA Division II tournament in Fargo.

In football, Nider officiated over 20 playoff games, as well as sub-varsity and middle school games. Retired from officiating in 2020, Nider continues to work the state track and field meet and currently serves as the North Dakota State Deputy Umpire in Chief for NDUSA Softball.

Smith’s establishment in the volleyball field began when she was a part of the first ever North Dakota State Volleyball Championship team at Century High School in 1984. During the 1986-87 season, she began her career as a volleyball official.

Aside from high school volleyball, Smith has officiated at the NJCAA, NAIA, and NCAA Division II levels. She also served as a workshop supervisor for NDHSAA Volleyball Officials, acting as a mentor until she retired in 2018. She was selected to officiate 18 NDHSAA state tournaments and roughly 30 regional tournaments.

On the basketball court, Campbell officiated 18 NDHSAA state tournaments for boys and girls, with six of them being championship games. Region and district tournaments were also on the schedule for Campbell, who officiated those in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota.

He began his career in 1983 and continues to work in the field. He currently serves as the Southeast area officials workshop supervisor and helps the assignor for the Tri-State Officials Association.

Officiating in basketball and football, Parker has 35 seasons of North Dakota high school athletics under his belt, where he has been a part of 11 state tournaments and over 25 region and district tournaments. In addition to high school basketball, Parker has officiated collegiate basketball for over 15 years in five different conferences.

He was an active member of the Red River Valley Officials Association, where he sat on the Board of Directors for three terms and did the same terms on the North Dakota Officials Association Board of Directors.

The NDOA Hall of Fame inductees will be honored during the 2022-23 school year at a variety of state tournaments. Each member will determine where and when they would like to receive their Hall of Fame honor and award plaque.