In Alaska, Jack Renn (1939 – 2019) served as an on-field football official from 1981-2015 in local and state games and tournaments and then kept the clock from 2015-2017. Jack recruited his wife, Nona, as the first female chain gang official for Alaska high school football. Jack helped initiate girls’ flag football in the Anchorage School District, including training coaches. For over 25 years, Jack kept score/clock at high school basketball games and Alaska Special Olympics State Basketball Tournaments, all with Nona by his side. He was also an umpire for softball. Jack’s impact was felt off the field and courts as well. He was the longest-serving president of the Anchorage Football Officials Association, which he was involved in for more than 30 years. When he stepped down as President of the AFOA, his fellow officials noted that “through steadfast leadership and countless mentorships, you have raised the standard for us all by personal model.”
To this group, Jack was fittingly known as “The Rock.” In memory of Jack and in honor of the decades of service he and Nona gave to high school sports, Nona is creating this fund to help Anchorage school football teams succeed now and in the future.
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