Denise Penzkofer has lived a favorite quote as she credits a lifetime of encouragement by her circle of support: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”  – Maya Angelou

Denise’s mother was a defining influence, instilling the will to never be afraid of working hard to reach her goals while always putting forth the best effort in order to succeed. A single mother working to provide, Denise’s mom was unable to attend the majority of her sporting events, but she was always an ear to hear accomplishment and failures.

What have been the goals during Denise’s life journey? A life involved with the game of volleyball. After graduation from Maryville College, she wanted to continue to contribute and be involved in the game with coaching being her first ambition. Later she realized that officiating was also an opportunity to be around the game of volleyball. Officiating and her job in the restaurant industry had constant timing conflicts so, she changed careers to focus on volleyball.

Denise Penzkofer and wife, Andrea Butler

When she was hired fulltime at Pellissippi State Community College, her volleyball career took off and she credits Pellissippi State as a primary reason for the opportunities she has been able to pursue. They not only allowed me to pursue my endeavors but encouraged and gave me opportunities using it as a professional development activity.

Denise’s mom passed away in 2017, but continued support has come from those closest to her. Her wife, Andrea Butler, called her biggest supporter, has encouraged Denise in every step of her journey.

Others have encouraged, given honest advice and remained in Denise’s valued circle. Her assignors and peer mentors have continued to give her opportunities officiating high level matches and conference tournaments while providing valuable feedback as she lives her favorite adage: There is no such thing as failure, only feedback.

Denise and mentor Barbara Vaughn

One example of how valuable her mentors have been came in Denise’s first year as a National PAVO official. After several conference coordinators added her to their roster, she recalls a match that didn’t go well to the point she was chased to the locker room by the head coach. Her co-official, Barb Strome, reassured Denise that she was capable to officiate at this high level, but it was the call to one of her mentors, Cathy Clay, that reassured Denise she was certainly capable and this was only one incident.

Denise continued to officiate and years later, she officiated again with Barb Strome at a NAIA National championships. Much improved and confident, Denise told Barb she had seen her at her worst and best in two years. Denise says, “It would have been so easy to tell myself you just don’t have the skills, but these mentors encouraged me to continue and I will never forget them for their kindness.”

In 2000, she applied for my PAVO (Professional Association of Volleyball Officials) national rating, the highest rating you can earn for PAVO. She had to travel to Wichita, Kansas, and officiate under the watchful eyes of the national rating team, the top positions within volleyball officiating. She says that high pressure environment was not only to see if she possessed the skills but to see if she was able to handle the pressure of these big matches.

Denise uses the Wichita memory when she mentors up-and-coming officials, reminding them it’s not only the skills of officiating but handling the mental pressure as well.

She achieved her national patch that year and the next season began officiating in the SEC, Southern Conference, Big South, CUSA, later adding Sun Belt, OVC and ASUN. She has officiated multiple DI conference championships, DII, DIII and NAIA conference championships, NAIA National Championship, and NCAA I and II championships as well.

Being satisfied with a position in life has never occurred to Denise, as she has continued to achieve higher levels of influence in her beloved sport. She became the PAVO board chair for the East TN Collegiate Volleyball Association which recruits, trains and certifies officials, scorers and line judges.

Exemplifying the impact of her own mentors, Denise works as an assigner and trainer for the local high schools in East Tennessee. She says mentoring officials has been a favorite part of her volleyball career. “I get excited when I see officials grasp officiating concepts and succeed at higher levels.”

Encouraged by one of her mentors, Melinda Voorhies, Denise was chosen as the first NCAA DIII National Coordinator for Volleyball Officials in 2020, and has assisted the NCAA with recruitment, training, mentoring and selecting the championship officials and line judges for DIII championships.

East Tennessee Collegiate Board of Officials

In 2022, PAVO asked her to be the primary assignor for the National Invitational Volleyball Tournament. She now works with PAVO and the NIVC to schedule championship officials and line judges for this exciting championship.

In 2024, Denise says, “I was humble, shocked, and excited to receive PAVO’s Excellence in Service Award.” From the PAVO website, “The Excellence in Service Award has been established to honor those who give so generously of their time.”

So many involvements with the volleyball world, have led to an imbalance between work-life and personal life. However, she realized she was teaching her Pellissippi State students about the importance of a balance but was not practicing. Denise changed that balance last year by officiating less and rejuvenate herself by spending time with family and playing pickleball.

Her future plans will increase that work-life balance as Denise retires from collegiate volleyball officiating and several leadership positions. She will continue to mentor locally through the high school and college board but her main focus will be to enjoy time for family.

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