Joe & Joanie Williams, Commissioner & Registrar, Delta Region, USA Volleyball
Joe Williams was elected as commissioner of the Delta Region in 2004 and Joanie Williams was named Registrar/Office Manager.The Delta Region office has been moved from Waycross, Georgia to Jonesboro, Arkansas, following the retirement of the long-time commissioner & registrar team of Carl & Barbara Roberts.
He added, “Carl & Barbara Roberts have touched the lives of many people in their decades of service to USA Volleyball, the Delta Region and Special Olympics.The stability they provided to the sport of volleyball in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee was done without personal financial gain and often at significant personal expense.Many athletes who competed at Junior Olympic Nationals or the U.S. Open have no idea that Carl & Barbara stepped in to handle details that would have created major problems for teams.We all owe them a great debt of gratitude.”
Williams has been involved in USA Volleyball since 1977, initially coaching a women’s team and later playing on men’s teams, including seven trips to the U.S. Open National Championships.He and wife Joanie founded the Jonesboro-based Arkansas Juniors program in 1984 and continue to coach in that program today.He joined the Delta Region Board of Directors in 1985 and was a recipient of the Robert Lindsey Meritorious Service Award.He was presented the Outstanding Service Award by USA Volleyball in 2001.He served the Delta Region as Junior Chair and Vice-Commissioner for the past few years.
He was part of the inaugural cadre of IMPACT (Increased Mastery & Professional Application of Coaching Techniques) instructors trained by USA Volleyball at the U.S. Olympic Training Center and has conducted volleyball coaching clinics in five states.
He was the volunteer interim head coach of the NAIA Lyon College volleyball team in 1999 (“They needed a coach, and it was only an hour away,” Williams said) for about seven weeks, leading the team to a winning record before a full-time coach was hired.A volleyball official since 1983, Williams officiated hundreds of NCAA matches and was selected to officiate the semi-finals of the NJCAA National Championships in 2001.Now retired as an official, he currently announces home volleyball matches for Arkansas State University.
President of a local bank since 1999, Williams is a Certified Public Accountant with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and an MBA from Arkansas State University.He also holds an undergraduate certificate from the Mid-South School of Banking at the former Memphis State University, a graduate banking certificate from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and is a graduate of the National Commercial Lending School at the University of Oklahoma.
Current civic activities include the Jonesboro Rotary Club, former president & board member of the Jonesboro YMCA, former president of PACES, Inc. (providing pre-natal and parenting skills for pregnant teenagers) and a member of the Jonesboro Chamber of Commerce.He is a board member of Arkansas Glass Container Corporation.Williams has been active with the American Heart Association, Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the Jonesboro United Way.
Joanie and Joe Williams have been married since 1975 and are members of Temple Baptist Church in Jonesboro.
