Gary Burke was born and raised in New Waterford. He graduated from St. Agnes School in 1961 and completed Grade 12 at Central High School in 1962 in New Waterford. He attended St. Francis Xavier College in Sydney and graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in 1965.

Gary began his teaching career at St. Agnes in 1965 before moving to Central High School where he taught Physical Education from 1965-1970. In 1970, Gary proceeded to Breton Education Centre when it opened and taught Physical Education until 1996, completing 31 years of teaching.

Gary was actively involved in sports from a young age and played both high school basketball and soccer while attending both St. Agnes and Central High School. He also coached high school basketball and soccer at Central High school during his tenure there. 

Gary became interested in and began refereeing in 1965. This marks the 41st consecutive year of refereeing in the local area. He has refereed at almost every high school provincial tournament held locally. He also refereed for many years in the men’s and women’s small college leagues prior to the opening of Cape Breton University. Gary refereed. A.U.S. women’s games at Cape Breton University for fifteen years and has refereed at the Coal Bowl since its inception 25 years ago. He has been the assigning official for Coal Bowl for 21 years. Gary has served as chairman of the local officials board for nearly 20 years and has been treasurer for the past 23 years.

Gary was a charter member of the Coal Bowl Board of Directors. He received the Coal Bowl Gold Medal Award for Outstanding Services in 1988. In 1990, he was awarded the Canadian Association of Basketball Officials 25 years of Service Award. In 1995, he received the Nova Scotia Basketball Officials 30 years of Service Award and was presented with a life membership from the Nova Scotia Basketball Officials Association in 2003, being one of only four to ever be awarded this honour.

Gary states “I have enjoyed each and every year | have been a basketball official and associated with this great game. My involvement with basketball has given me the opportunity to meet hundreds of people over the years. Many of these people, including players, coaches and fans have become good friends of mine and all have proven to be great individuals. | sincerely encourage young players who want to remain active in the game, to look at officiating as a means of staying involved and having a very enjoyable experience.”

Gary is married to the former Sita MacMillan and has four married daughters and eight grandchildren. It is with great respect that the Coal Bowl Board of Directors name Gary Burke a Division Chairperson for Coal Bowl 2006.

Nick Morash was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He attended St. Francis School, St. Patrick High School and St. Mary's University. As of January 2006, Nick has just completed 30 years of service as a Firefighter/Engineer for the Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Department.

At age 11, Nick was introduced to the game of basketball by Frank Baldwin at the Canadian Martyrs Parish Centre in Halifax, who is no stranger to the Coal Bowl and whom the Coal Bowl Sportsmanship Award is named after.

Nick coached for eight years in the 1970's at St. Agnes Parish (Halifax) where the Juvenile Steeler teams won numerous City, Provincial and Maritime Championships. During the 1980-1990 period, Nick coached at Halifax West High School. Many prominent players, such as CIS All Canadians’ Brian Thompson and Will Njoku (a second-round NBA draft choice) played for Nick. During this period, Nick also coached Nova Scotia to a silver medal at the 1980 National Junior Championships in Hamilton, Ontario. Nick coached and represented Nova Scotia at the 1981 Canada Winter Games in Thunder Bay, Ontario. In the 1980’s, Nick Morash was honoured twice with the Basketball Nova Scotia’s Coach of the Year Award.

Nick's officiating career extended from 1973-1980 and from 1990 to present. He is 2 supervisor of 120 officials for the “Metro Area Basketball Officials (MABO)’ in the Halifax area.

Nick has been a member of the Atlantic University Sport Officials Board for 10 years. He has officiated at the A.U.S. Men’s Championships and was the MABO Official of the Year for 2002 and 2003. Nick was selected to officiate the CCAA - Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association National Championships in Truro twice - men’s in 2002 and women's in 2003.

Coal Bowl has sustained and progressed over the past 25 years for many reasons. One of the most important being the reputation and integrity of the game itself which is due mainly to the quality of officiating over the years. Coal Bowl has been blessed with a blend of local and off island referees that have maintained the respect of the players, coaches and fans. Nick Morash is a great example of an “off island” official who has been at Coal Bow for 15 straight years. He also coached here in 1986. Nick would like to thank other “off island” referees such as John Fanning, Kevin Fraser, Reg Caufield and Doug Wortman for their positive influence on his officiating and for their many contributions to Coal Bowl since its inception. “l feel honoured to be representing all “off island” officials with this award.”

Nick lives in Halifax with Randi, and son John who played at Coal Bowl in 1997 for Prince Andrew. It is with great respect that the Coal Bowl Board of Directors name Nick Morash a Division Chairperson for Coal Bowl 2006.