EBUA is honored to be partnered with B2B and extremely grateful to be participating in giving back to those that have sacrificed their lives to defend our freedoms.
I am sure that many of you are very familiar with Mike Pereira from the NFL on Sunday afternoons on FOX Sports. What you may not be aware of, is that Mike is very involved in helping our Veterans as they return to civilian life from their military service. It is a fantastic program called the Battlefields to Ballfields Foundation.
Mike very generously, offered to work with us to extend our gratitude and appreciation to our former and current military service men and women by providing them the opportunity of becoming an EBUA umpire.
Word of mouth is the number one vessel in getting other people interested in attending our Umpire class in March which is held in in Peekskill. As an incentive, any member of the EBUA who recruits one or more of these brave men and women will also have their dues paid for as a way of saying thank you for providing this opportunity to our Veterans.
The Foundation will pay for the uniforms and dues for the 1st year and will also cover the dues that are required for the 2nd and 3rd year. Battlefields to Ballfields will also pay for a NASO membership which includes extra training materials, insurance, a subscription to Referee Magazine and much more. Visit NASO for all of the information pertaining to the benefits. The EBUA will then provide a mentor that will assist them as they move up the ladder in officiating. As of now, we can accept up to ten Veterans in this program.
If you recruit a Veteran, have him or her fill out an application here. Make sure when they fill it out, they include the name of the person who recruited them and also include EBUA on the application.
We are honored to work with Mike and his Battlefields to Ballfields Foundation and you can learn more about it by visiting www.battlefields2ballfields.org.
Please share this with anyone you think might be interested or send us the contact information of any Veteran you would like to recommend for this program who desires to become an EBUA umpire. If you have any questions, please send Gary an email at gary@EBUAUmpires.com
EBUA proudly supports the heroic Men and Women who serve and have served our country proudly while risking their lives to defend our freedoms and way of life. We are very thankful and appreciate them for their bravery, courage and dedication to making and keeping America the greatest country in the world. God bless the USA and may God bless our Military Men and Women.
Bravery is doing something without the presence of fear......Courage is doing something despite the fear.
Kenneth served in the US Navy from1989-1990 in Great Lakes. He was an Aviation Boatswains Mate on the USS Forrestal. After his service, he worked for the NYC Hospital Police Department from 1992-1999 in Kings County. He was also a 1st Responder not only on 9/11, but also during the WTC Bombing in 1993. He then became a NYS Firefighter assigned to Engine Squad 3 in the Bronx, became a NYS REGIONAL HAZMAT TECH & a USDHS CBRN HAZMAT TECH (Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear.) He then finished his career with the DHS Police Department where he was force to retire in 2019 from a line of duty injury.
Alex joined the Navy out of High School at 17 years old. He attended Boot Camp at Great Lakes Illinois and then went to HT A school in Philadelphia. He reported to his 1st ship in 1991 on the USS Enterprise during the first Gulf War. During that tour, he wanted to become a Military Police Officer. He's been stationed in Rota Spain,Naples and Sardina Italy. After 9/11, he worked at ground zero and then went to the Middle East as a Military Police Officer. He is currently the VFW Commander in Yorktown and is on the VFW National Board.
Jason served in the United States Navy from May of 1996 to April 2000. He attended boot camp and “A” school in Great Lakes, Illinois and was selected for honor duty onboard The USS Constitution “Old Ironsides” which is the oldest commissioned war ship in the world and is most famous for it's role in the War of 1812. He was also part of the crew that sailed the ship under its own power with only wind and sails for the first time since 1881 on July 21, 1997.
Josh joined the military while he was in high school on March 29th 2011. He joined the Military as a 35G (Geospatial Intelligence Imagery Analyst). After graduating, he left for BT on July 18th that summer. He has learned a ton of life lessons that have made him the man that he is today. Josh is currently transitioning into civilian life as an officer with the CCPD.
Earl did his basic training in Fort Jackson, SC and then was stationed in Panama from 1986-1988. He was there during the conflict with Manuel Noriega and was in the 1st of the 508th Airborne Infantry. He left the Military in 1989 as a PFC and joined EBUA in 2018. He also works as an Umpire for the New York State Baseball Umpires Association as a member of the WCBUA for BOCES.
Emilio served in the US Air Force from 2004 - 2014. He entered as a Military Police Officer and was deployed to Tikrit, Iraq, Camp Fallujah, Camp Victory, FOB Grizzly and Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. He was a member of Operation Iraqi Freedom and was also tasked with completing combat related missions in accordance to Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation New Dawn. Afterwards, he became a Sergeant and was stationed at the Incirlik AB in Turkey. He was initially a Quick Reaction Force Member and worked his way up to become a Protection Level-1 CCTV Monitor.
RACINE, Wis. — Mike Pereira, NFL and NCAA football rules analyst with Fox Sports, has been selected by NASO as the recipient of the 2019 NASO Mel Narol Medallion. Pereira joined Fox after serving as the NFL vice president of officiating. He also had a long and successful career officiating in NCAA Division I football and the NFL.
Pereira will be honored with the Medallion at the Celebrate Officiating Gala on July 30 at the NASO Sports Officiating Summit in Spokane, Wash.
“As my officiating career progressed, I found myself more and more able to give back to football officials and the officiating profession. That’s meant a lot to me,” Pereira said.
Most recently, Pereira has focused his energy on helping U.S. military veterans land positions as sports officials, in his “Battlefields to Ballfields” (B2B) program. The effort is designed to promote officiating as a field for veterans re-entering the U.S. workforce.
“Mike is one of the most unique people you’ll meet in the world, inside or outside officiating,” said Barry Mano, NASO president and founder. “He stands up for officials, working on issues that help us develop and get better.”
Pereira has stepped up as a signature contributor to NASO’s new Legacy program, where supporters can contribute to NASO through a will or trust. “That’s leadership,” Mano said. "Mike made his contribution a priority, and that sends a positive message to others that the Legacy program is important for NASO’s mission in the years ahead.”
Pereira is also a former chair of the NASO Board of Directors.
Pereira officiated for two years in the NFL before moving into the league’s office and spending 12 years as either a supervisor of officials or the vice president of officiating. In addition to his collegiate officiating, he served as supervisor of officials for the Western Athletic Conference. He joined Fox Sports as a rules analyst in 2010.
“Mike stands up for officials both on and off the field. He has been preeminent in walking the fine line of informing his viewing audience about the rules and officiating, and not alienating the very officials he is speaking about. That is a learned skill and he has shown he is the very best at doing that,” Mano said.
Pereira’s B2B program is an extension of his continuing contributions to the sports officiating industry. Coaching and finances are invested in veterans seeking to become sports officials.
“I was a mediocre athlete but found my niche as a football official,” Pereira said. “Once I got a few games under my belt, I knew it was something special for me. Now I want to make sure others have the right opportunities to succeed on the field or court. It’s a tough job and getting tougher every day. We have to provide the best and most up-to-date tools available to bring new officials into the system and ensure they stay with it.”
The 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 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.
Past Medallion recipients include:
Many veterans face an uphill battle when they return as they figure out how they will integrate back into society. This has become the impetus for a new foundation, “Battlefields to Ballfields."
