"I have been a card carrying member of Ultimate Officials (UO) since the beginning and I wanted to make a quick statement about what it's done for me. 

In a word, it's Awesome.  I have only been officiating for four years - starting when I was 36. I realized quickly that I was behind relative to most officials out there - and I didn't want to work Peewee B games for the rest of my life.  Thanks to my involvement in UO, I have been exposed to some fantastic opportunities which I would not have seen without J.B. and my UO experience. It's also a great group of guys that lean on each other for situation help, work-out motivation, rule interpretation - and we get together socially quite a bit as well. 
It's not just 'old guys' like me. We have a lot of young guys in college who are working in the USA Junior program and are climbing the ladder to work at some of the highest levels in the officiating world, as well as guys in their upper 20s and 30s working high school and college games. It's guys from various stages in life and officiating - the common thread being our love for the game and our desire to be the best.

You may be thinking you can't afford it. Let me tell you - if you work hard, you will be exposed to more opportunities than you would have seen without UO and the extra game fees will more than cover the charge. In reality, you can't afford NOT to be part of it. 

It's not for everyone.  If you ref just for the money and don't really care about the game or becoming a better official - then don't bother.  However, if you are hungry and want to work more games and better games, then do yourself a favor and talk to J.B. about it.  You will be glad you did! "

Mike Diebold