Former NFL referee Art Holst entertains hundreds at manufacturers association annual dinner

By Tarryl Jackson
Jackson Citizen Patriot
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Many in a crowd of 350 people laughed as former National Football League referee Art Holst recounted numerous run-ins with coaches and players in his 15-year career.

One run-in with a football player resulted in Holst being knocked unconscious for at least two minutes in a 1975 Buffalo-New Orleans game. When he got back to his feet, he joked that was the first time he was applauded by a crowd.

Holst was the keynote speaker Monday night at the 75th annual Jackson Area Manufacturers Association meeting at the Country Club of Jackson.

He talked about being up for the challenge of change, fitting discipline into excellence and being loyal to ones company. He said companies are doing things that they never would have dreamed of many years ago.

‘Your business has been changed by this recession,’ Holst said. ‘You are more diversified than you have ever been.’

Along with his work in the NFL, Holst was also a top salesman in the building materials industry for 10 years. He was administrator of the Forest Park Foundation for 12 years and an infantry captain in World War II, where he had to learn how to educate, train and motivate troops to react to challenging times.

He is also author of ‘Sunday Zebras.’

‘That is pretty amazing for a guy who is over 80 years old,’ said Bill Rayl, executive director of JAMA.

Several awards were also given out at the meeting, including Ronnie Johncox of Technique Inc. in Jackson as Manufacturer of the Year and the late Carl Linenfelser of Brooklyn Products with the Heritage Hall of Fame Award.

Officials also noted some of JAMAs accomplishments in 2011, including adding 24 new members and having more than 150 active apprentices in the Academy for Manufacturing Careers.