David Briseno of Clovis, New Mexico, and Gary McGriff of Cullman, Alabama, have been selected as national award recipients by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Officials Association.

Briseno, who has been involved in officiating in New Mexico since 1984, is the recipient of the National Active Official Award, and McGriff, who has been involved in officiating in various capacities for 30 years, is the recipient of the National Contributor Award. Briseno and McGriff will receive their awards at events within their states.

Briseno officiated basketball from 1984 through last year and has been a football official since 1985. He also officiated baseball for 19 years and softball for 12 years. He served on the New Mexico Officials Association Board of Directors in 2003 and 2004 and was a member of the New Mexico Activities Association Officials Commissioner Committee from 1996 to 2006.

At the national level, Briseno was a member of the NFHS Officials Association Board of Directors from 1998 to 2002, and, in 2005, he served on the NFHS Strategic Planning Committee.

Among his honors, Briseno was chosen as an official at state championship games/tournaments in football, basketball and baseball. He was selected New Mexico Baseball Umpire of the Year in 2004-05 and New Mexico Football Official of the Year in 2013-14.

“David Briseno epitomizes what it means to be a high school official,” said Dana Pappas, commissioner of officials at the NMAA. “His reputation as a consummate professional and an advocate for interscholastic athletics and interscholastic officiating is far-reaching.”

McGriff officiated four sports, including basketball for 18 years, and has continued his involvement in officiating by serving as district director for basketball (12 years) and track and field (five years).

In addition to his on-the-field accomplishments, McGriff has been a photographer at all Alabama state championships for the past 15 years, and he developed the official’s software program for the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA). He wrote the software program and has continued to develop the program to cover registration, testing, training and recordkeeping of officials in all sports.

In addition to the software program for the AHSAA, McGriff developed the same program for the Mississippi High School Activities Association, the Los Angeles area baseball associations and the Dixie Youth Baseball programs in the Southeast.

“Few people have made the impact Gary McGriff has had on officiating in the state of Alabama,” said Steve Savarese, executive director of the AHSAA. “A visionary, always providing opportunities for our officials to grow technologically, Gary continues to be a state leader with regard to communication, not only between officials, but most important our Association.”