RACINE, Wis. — Recipients for the 2025 NASO Awards have been announced. All three awards will be presented at the Celebrate Officiating Gala sponsored by Fox 40 International on Tuesday, July 29, 2025 as part of the NASO Sports Officiating Summit in Montgomery, Ala.
Gold Whistle Award®: Dr. Debbie Primeaux Williamson, Pearland, Texas, is the Coordinator of Women’s Basketball Officials for the Atlantic Coast Conference, American Athletic Conference, Atlantic 10 Conference, Big East Conference, Big South Conference, Coastal Athletic Association, The Ivy League and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Mel Narol Medallion: Southeastern Conference Football Officials Association represents, educates, trains and celebrates football officiating for the conference. The group of over 100 individual officials joined NASO group membership the first season it was offered to college football groups prior to the 2011 season and has been enrolled every year since.
Inspire Award: Sgt. Patrick Kepp, Bethesda, Md., is a college football official and Montgomery County (Md.) Police Sergeant. He was struck in 2023 while on duty deploying stop sticks during a chase of a drunk driver near Washington D.C. He returned to law enforcement work and college football replay duties after amputation of both legs.
For additional details and to learn more about the award recipients, visit sportsofficiatingsummit.com/awards.
The Gold Whistle Award, the highest honor in officiating, has been awarded annually since 1988 and recognizes an individual or organization who has made significant contributions to the betterment of officiating, demonstrated a high degree of integrity and ethics, has a consistent record of presenting officiating in a positive light and has exhibited a service-above-self attitude.
The Mel Narol Medallion recognizes an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to the betterment of NASO. These activities include organizational leadership, education, training, promotion of officiating and other events. The award is named for Mel Narol, a longtime legal columnist and consultant to NASO, who died in 2002. Narol received the award posthumously in 2003, when the Medallion was named in his honor.
The NASO Inspire Award is presented to those, who by their actions, bring about inspiration, pride and a confirmation of the values cherished by the officiating community. Candidates can be those who are exemplary in their roles of training, educating and supporting sports officials or can also be those who, while not from within the officiating community, confirm the values of the highest ethical standard, integrity, fairness and impartiality.
Fox 40 International is the premier producer of officiating whistles. The complete line of Fox 40 products includes whistles for all uses, whistle attachments, Fox 40 gear, pro coaching boards, mouthguards and marine & outdoor products. Fox 40 continues to invest in new technology, designs and machinery, resulting in many new products being launched each year. Fox 40 has sponsored the Celebrate Officiating Gala and the Gold Whistle Award for more than two decades.
Contact: Joe Jarosz
Associate Editor
Referee Magazine/National Association of Sports Officials
jjarosz@referee.com
About the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO)
NASO, based in Racine, Wis., is a not-for-profit educational organization and is the world’s largest organization for sports officials at every level and all sports. 32,000 sports officials from around the world belong to NASO, enjoying member benefits and supporting an organization that advocates for sports officials and that helps them maintain the highest level of officiating skills. Founded in 1980, NASO is governed by a 12-member board of directors coming from numerous sports and organizations. For more information, visit the NASO website at NASO.org.
