Follow Paul on Twitter: @paulstewart22

On Monday, May 23rd at Foxboro at 6:30 p.m. EDT, Geno Binda and I are running a hockey officiating class. If you have interest in learning this trade, it is a trade and a skill set that you can take with you for life.

We will teach you the basics of officiating, help get you pointed in the right direction for gaining the skills to referee and line top-level games, perhaps even to get as far as the NHL (although, of course, we certainly can't promise that. We will also help you network and get access to assignors across the region, including Geno and me.

We are especially seeking former and current players, as well, current officials at all levels and people who would like to try officiating but have no knowledge about how to go about refereeing. Basically, if you've ever thought about either getting into officiating or have done it casually but want to get more serious about it, this class is for you.

Geno and I are aiming to help form a new elite group of officials to staff the games that we assign at all levels up through the Atlantic Hockey league, various USA Junior leagues, the KHL, ECAC D 1 Men's and Women's, ISL...all the way from Mites to Major hockey including some "beer" leagues.

Message me here at HockeyBuzz register for Monday night. A notebook and some desire will be all you need to get started. No need to bring skates to this session.

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Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.

Today, Stewart is an officiating and league discipline consultant for the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and serves as director of hockey officiating for the ECAC.

The longtime referee heads Officiating by Stewart, a consulting, training and evaluation service for officials. Stewart also maintains a busy schedule as a public speaker, fund raiser and master-of-ceremonies for a host of private, corporate and public events. As a non-hockey venture, he is the owner of Lest We Forget.

In addition to his blogs for HockeyBuzz every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, Stewart writes a column every Wednesday for the Huffington Post.