FRED WENDELBOE
At-Large Rep (Appointed)

Fred Wendelboe has spent the better part of his life promoting the sport of volleyball.  He was introduced to the sport while serving his country in Vietnam.  When he returned to the states, he continued to play and formed the Triad Volleyball Club in Winston-Salem.  North Carolina was part of the Southern Region at that time which was comprised of Georgia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina.  He served as state representative on the Southern Region Board from 1979-1981.  In 1981, Fred successfully lobbied USA Volleyball in the formation of a new Region called the Carolina Region which would include both North and South Carolina (South Carolina split into its own region in 1987).  Fred became the first Commissioner of the Carolina Region, a position he held until 1997.  Also in 1981, Fred became the Women’s Volleyball Head Coach at Wake Forest University.  He held that position until 1986 when the university decided to drop the sport (it was reinstated in 1996).  When the Carolina Region Board restructured in 2008, Fred was elected as President and served until 2012.  He currently serves on the Carolina Region Board as Past-President.

Fred formed one of the first Junior teams in the state under Triad, when the number of adult players outnumbered juniors 3 to 1.  Through his leadership, the Carolina Region membership is now over 12000 members and juniors outnumber adults 9 to 1.

Fred was also an accomplished referee.  He received his National rating in 1983 and received the Silver Whistle award from USA Volleyball as the best referee in his class.

Not content to limit his support of volleyball to just North Carolina, Fred is also heavily involved with USA Volleyball at the national level.  He was elected to the USA Volleyball Board of Directors in 1992 and served on the board in various positions, including on the Executive Committee as Secretary, through 2008.  He served as Vice-President of the Regional Operations Division from 2001-2004 and was the Chairman of the USA Volleyball Foundation from 2006-2009.  He has accompanied the USA National teams as Head of Delegation to numerous competitions throughout the world.

Fred has received many significant awards throughout his volleyball career.  The Regional Operations Division of USA Volleyball awarded him the Dr. Neville A. “Doc” Booth Commissioner’s Award in 1992.  In 1994, he earned a Robert L. Lindsay Meritorious Service Award from the Carolina Region and the George J. Fisher Leader in Volleyball Award from USA Volleyball.  USA Volleyball awarded him the Wilbur H. Peck Referee Emeritus Award in 2007 and in 2011, Fred received the highest honor USA Volleyball bestows, the Dr. Harold T. Friermood “Frier” Award.