Hello Everyone, It saddens me to have to report that William Archie Ard, one of our senior officials passed away on April 25. Archie was a devoted Gamecock fan and supporter. He was very committed to USATF SC and also branched out to USATF championship meets outside of SC. If you worked on the track in SC you had an opportunity to work with and learn from Archie. He may have been an umpire, a chief umpire, or a running referee. He was always there for us in SC for our Association or Regional meets to handle track positions including starting when needed. In fact, he was willing to jump in whenever he could help and he worked with me on horizontals when we were short-handed. Unfortunately, he took ill in late 2021, before he could complete recertification and was unable to continue officiating. Archie always greeted you with a smile. No task was beneath him. You would see him getting starting blocks, setting and removing hurdles, or helping out in a field event. You were well prepared if you were trained by Archie. I was fortunate to have his input on the certification committee where he helped with decisions on official's upgrades. Archie was clearly missed as an official but also as a decent ethical person. -- Norman Venyah SC Association Certification Chair Master Level Official (written April 26)