Mike Gillespie

Gary L. Whelchel Officials Recipient

Mike has been a three-sport official with AIA for 18 years and is the Area Commissioner for all schools north of Anthem and along the Colorado River Area. He is responsible for training and scheduling officials for all team sports. He graduated from Apache Junction High School and moved to Flagstaff to attend Coconino Community College. He finished up with numerous classes at the National Fire Academy in Maryland and became a fireman/paramedic.

He retired from the Summit Fire Department after 27 years and continued fighting wildfires for 35 years. He is currently a member of the Southwest Area Incident Management team as a Safety Officer

Mike has been married to his wife Maria for 27 years. They have 3 grown children and 7 grandchildren. In his spare time when he isn’t officiating or fighting fires he enjoys fishing and family time.