By Terry Lawton
Sue Lemaire was elected into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke, Massachusetts, with an upcoming induction on October 19. Sue is a 1966 graduate of San Gabriel High School and 1970 graduate of Fresno State University. She received a MS from Long Beach State in 1983. Sue taught sixth grade physical education in the Walnut Valley Unified School District until her retirement in 2010 and currently resides in Walnut, California.
Sue began her distinguished career with her International Indoor Volleyball Referee rating in 1982 and her International Beach Volleyball Referee rating in 1993. She was the first woman in the world to receive her certification with the FIVB volleyball governing body. This led to her assignment at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games in beach volleyball, which was also the first time women were assigned to officiate volleyball matches in any Olympic Games. Sue also officiated beach volleyball during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Over the course of her career, Sue officiated many matches for the USA Men’s and Women’s national volleyball teams and traveled to Europe, Japan, China, Russia, South America to work matches at the international level.
In Southern California, Sue was active locally working high school CIF matches in the Southern Section (covering San Gabriel Valley) and Los Angeles City Section. She served in many positions for the local San Gabriel Valley officiating units, was the National Federation State Representative for California, and served on the National Federation Rules Committee.
Sue also was a recognized leader at the collegiate level. She served as the Rules Interpreter for NAGWs, which governed women’s collegiate volleyball, and was on the USA volleyball rules committee. Sue officiated many Championship Final Four matches for AIAW and NCAA. Sue worked many years for United States Volleyball officiating championship matches at the adult and junior level.
During her career, Sue was recognized with many prestigious professional awards: Professional Association of Volleyball Officials Hall of Fame, USA Will Peck Emeritus Award, USA Karen Johnson Humanitarian Award, USA Golden Whistle Award, USA Leader in Volleyball Award, and the Fresno Hall of Fame, among others.
The City of Walnut will be honoring Sue on July 24 with a City Proclamation.
