Congratulations to the Roy Gardner Award Winner: Jay Slater
Jay Slater of Sullivan is the winner of the 2020 Roy Gardner Award.
Slater is a 1976 graduate of Shakamak High School, where he played basketball and baseball. He later attended Heritage Environmental Institute.
Slater started his officiating career during the 1986-87 basketball season. Over 34 seasons, he has had the opportunity to work four boys’ basketball State Finals (2008, 2011, 2014 and 2017) and four girls’ basketball State Finals (2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016). He also worked two Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Classic tournaments – the girls in 2003 and the boys in 2004.
Slater also is a football and baseball official. In football, he has officiated in two IHSAA championship games (Class 5A in 2014 and Class 6A in 2018) as well as the 2019 Indiana North-South All-Star Classic. In baseball, he has been voted the top district umpire five times by high school regional baseball coaches and has called officiated in seven State Finals games (2007, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019).
Slater also has officiated at all levels of college baseball for the past 18 years and in the American Legion program. His previous American Legion tournament assignments include 24 years of state sectionals, 18 years of state regionals and six years of American Legion State Finals. He umpired in the Great Lakes National American Legion Regional seven times (2008 in Chillicothe, Ohio; 2010 in Mattoon, Ill.; 2011 and 2012 in Midland, Mich.; 2013 and 2014 in Terre Haute; and 2015 in Alton, Ill.).
Slater is a member of the Wabash Valley Officials Association. He previously served as a board member and president of the association. Slater has served as the baseball chair for the past 15 years and lead clinician for the past 12 baseball clinics. He credits his success to the great group of officials he has worked with and learned from over the years.
Professionally, Slater has worked for Sony in Terre Haute for more than 29 years. He currently is the Safety and Environmental Specialist at Sony.
His hobbies include playing drums for his worship team at Abundant Grace House of Prayer in Sullivan and supporting his favorite sports teams – the Indiana Hoosiers, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Bears.
Slater notes that he would not have been able to accomplish what he has in officiating without the love and support of his wife, Cindy. The couple has two adult children – Heather and Ashlee. They also have seven grandchildren – Kate, Addie, Ridge, Sadie, Charlee, Lexi and Quinn.
