Section V Athletics

        Bruce Johnson was an active participant in Section V Athletics from the 1970s until his untimely and tragic passing in the summer of 1998. He was an athletic administrator and coach at York Central School and was instrumental in giving women’s basketball its own identity as a sport.

        Perhaps his greatest talent exhibited itself in dealing with the financial affairs of the Section. He was first appointed treasurer in August of 1985. The late 1970s and early 1980s was a time when sectional, regional, and state tournaments were expanding.   He cautioned the section that, with tournaments expanding, and expenses rising, revenues would need to follow suit. Unfortunately, revenues decreased during this period of time. It fell to Bruce and his committee to do short term and long term planning to reverse this trend. The financial woes of Section V were serious and very troubling. Bruce instituted several revenue generating initiatives that ultimately led the section back to financial solvency. He actively and vigorously worked with sport coordinators to create corporate sponsorships to help defray the costs of our tournaments. He and his committee made suggestions regarding ticket prices while being conscious of affordability for Section V families. Bruce was extremely cautious regarding the expenses created by sport committees without some thought being given to whether or not the additional expenses were warranted. He created a “trigger system” whereby dues would be charged to member schools if the sections net worth fell below a certain level.  By the same token, if the sections net worth rose above a certain point, then no dues would be charged. Under his leadership, a flat rate was established per sport for schools to participate in our tournaments. The measures he recommended to the section resulted in the fact that no dues were charged to member schools throughout the late 1980s and 1990s.

        Bruce was always the voice of reason when it came to fiscal matters. Whenever there was a request to expand a tournament, or spend major sums of money for a particular initiative, we could always count on Bruce to question how these expenditures would be paid for. If the expenses were warranted, it fell to Bruce and his committee to determine where the revenue would come from. Fiscal responsibility under Bruce’s leadership became a much more important part of how we operate. The lessons he taught us continue to permeate how Section V is responsive to the needs of our schools, our student athletes and our fans.
  
         Bruce Johnson served as one of the founding fathers of the Genesee Valley Umpires Association. During his time with the GVUA he served as the Association Secretary/Treasurer from 1966-1973. 
    
        Bruce was a veteran of the Army Air Corps during WWII and the post war occupation of Japan. Upon returning home he enrolled in Cortland State University (class of 51) where he lettered in football and basketball. In 1955 Bruce moved to York Central School where he served as Athletic Director as well as coaching football, basketball, swimming and track. He also served as the Section V Eligibility Officer and Treasurer of the Section V Executive Council.
    
         Bruce passed away on July 30, 1998 and was survived by his wife Nancy of 48 years. Bruce and Nancy are very proud of their children Steven, Scott, Dan and Lynn.