Joseph Paskewich is one of the founding fathers of the New London Board. President in 1955, he helped the fledgling organization recruit many young men into the officiating ranks. Later, he was instrumental in renaming the group to the Eastern Connecticut Board of Approved Football Officials. To show his worth to the organization, he served on the Better Officiating Committee from 1960 until 1988. To indicate the dedication he and many hundreds of other officials had during these times, he recalls his game fee would "not even pay for a night on the town." Known as a stern assigner, he would be known to stare down a young official if he needed a timer on a game. The eyes wouldn't leave the "volunteer" until he did in fact offer his services. Those who did come up the ranks know that getting a game was not a given. People were expected to "pay their dues" before they were put into the cauldron of a varsity assignment. Those who did well got another game; however, those who did not had to wait another season. A stickler about appearance, his crew played a practical joke on Paskewich following a playoff game - they hid his hairdryer. It didn't make for a pleasant ride home. Paskewith was assigned to 10 ClAC state games and had four Nutmeg Games under his belt. He worked four seasons with the Atlantic Coast Semi-Pro League as a referee. Besides football, Joe was a basketball official and baseball umpire for more than 30 years.