Last night many officials heard the news of Sally Bell’s retirement.  For those of us who know her, have worked for her, and possibly worked with her on the floor, we are deeply saddened to have such a wonderful person walk away from the position of leadership.  For those of you who have not had the pleasure of meeting Sally, you are missing one of the greatest people in the game.

Sally is a living legend who continues to treat our game and our people with respect, kindness, and understanding.  It is a lost art it seems sometimes.  Sally is praised by  SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, who said “Sally Bell has been an effective and tireless leader of the SEC Women’s Basketball Officiating Program, and she worked hard to ensure that the level of officiating in the SEC matches th excellence that is expect4ed for the premier women’s basketball conference in America.”  Many of Bell’s accomplishments are highlighted in this article from Hoopfeed.

What I wanted to share with my refwriter friends today is that Sally Bell rose all the way to the pinnacle of officiating both on the floor and off the floor.  And Sally is loved as much today as she was when she was just one of us, worked hard, trying to get more games, and traveling the country in planes, trains and automobiles.  I use Sally as my mentor and personal reminder to treat the game well, treat others even better, and be an everyday legend of kindness.

Thank you Sally for being a living legend for all of us to admire and strive to emulate.

If you know Sally – go ahead and tell me one of your memories of her or how she has helped you in life.