St George Exchange Club

Thursday, August 25, 2011

2011-08-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

Our guest speaker this morning was Kent Perkins from the City of St. George Leisure Services Department. Every year for 35 years the Exchange Club has invited Kent to speak to the club about the upcoming St. George Marathon which is now in its 35th year. Kent noted that club member, Wayne Everett, has run the marathon for 25 years of the 35. Quite impressive, Mr. Everett!

Kent took the opportunity this morning to acknowledge what our club has done throughout the years for the St. George community. He thanked the club for the $5,000 donation we give each year to the tree farm. He asked the question: What would St. George look like without it's trees? Just another Barstow or Mesquite?" He reminded the club of it's involvement in "re-greening" the community and thanked us for the significant part we play in that legacy.

Kent further noted the pavilions, gazebos, and playgrounds the Exchange Club has helped build. He reminded us that the Exchange Club, in its early days, was noted for "the great projects it supported and Thursday afternoon golf." We are still involved in "great projects" and Kent explained that he had some ideas for the club to consider to further our activity in this tradition.

The Leisure Services Department has several ideas and dreams for future projects. An "all-abilities park" is a concept where children can play in shallow sand and water riverways or where play areas are designed specifically for children in wheelchairs or with autism. Villages and towns would be created within the park for all ages and all abilities. Ideas were shared about "high-tech electronic playgrounds" targeting teenagers where they can engage with the technology that is so much a part of their lives and increase their fitness at the same time. This would all come with lights and music and sound - perfect for tweens and teens.

Other ideas were to beautify and enhance our Town Square with arbors and more water features, improve the quality of our ball fields, contribute to the Nature Center where a Tree House is being built, create a Children's Museum, and upgrade our trail systems with water stops, markers, or sitting benches for a scenic rest along the way.

It was a morning of remembering just how much the Exchange Club really does as well as creating some stimulating ideas for future projects.

California Condor Reintroduction Program

2011-06-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

Today's speaker was Linda Price, Vermillion Cliffs National Monument Manager. She spoke with us about the California Condor Reintroduction Program. Condors were first released on the Arizona Strip in 1996 and since then, with the assistance of the Peregrine Fund’s Reintroduction program, their numbers have climbed to a total of 76 free flying birds in Arizona.

Linda Price graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Range Ecology and began her BLM career as a seasonal technician in Kingman Arizona in 1989. She came to the Arizona Strip in 1991 as a Range Conservationist and was assigned to the desert tortoise habitat along the Nevada border. She has served in various positions within the BLM range program until coming to the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument as the temporary manager in 2005. In 2008 she became the permanent Monument Manager. As Vermilion Cliffs National Monument Manger, Price oversees public lands issues on the 294,000-acre national monument which includes Paria Plateau, Paria Canyon, and Vermilion Cliffs. The Monument is internationally renowned for The Wave, a unique geologic feature in Coyote Buttes.

Click here to see their website

BLM Fire Management

2011-06-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Mark Rosenthal the Fire Management Officer for the BLM Arizona Strip District, for his presentation this morning.

The snowpack in our area has been almost 400% of normal which has allowed a great amount of grasses and growth in the area, which is what fires need to thrive. Weather projections show hotter than normal temps and low humidity for this summer. These conditions would be similar to what we experienced in 2005, which was an extreme fire season.Small fires have already been popping up in our area almost daily, with the conditions forecasted those fires could easily become large very quickly.

It's vitally important that all residents in our area clean up all the dry growth around their homes in order to keep your home safe from fires.

Most of the equipment used to fight fires in this area are stationed in our local area. Planes and helicopters are stationed in Cedar City and Mesquite. The ability to bring additional resources from outside our area can and will be done when needed. Much of what is dropped by the planes and copters are suppressants that slows the growth of the fire.

Tuacahn 2011

2011-05-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

Today's speaker was Scott Raine, the Executive Director of Marketing and Development for Tuacahn Center for the Arts. In this role, he is responsible for all fundraising, marketing, advertising, sales and public relations for Tuacahn. Scott moved to Southern Utah from Chicago in 2002 after spending nearly 25 years with United Airlines in a variety of marketing, sales and travel agency automation management positions. He first became involved with Tuacahn through Tuacahn High School for the Performing Arts, where two of his children have attended and grad

uated. Scott lives with his wife and children in Ivins.

He presented to us an overview of the history of Tuacahn, its struggles and successes. This year they are showing Grease and Little Mermaid. Their success last year with Tarzan has given them the opportunity with Disney to have Little Mermaid this year and Scott suggested that this may be their best production of all. At the end of his presentation he gave away a couple of tickets to their upcoming performances of Grease, Little Mermaid, LeAnn Rimes and ABBA Mania. Congrats the lucky four who won tickets. Better luck next time to the rest of you.

Visit their website to see the schedule of shows and to purchase tickets.

Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm

2011-05-12T09:34:00.000-07:00

Today's speaker was Dr Jerry Harris, the Director of Paleontology and Associate Professor at Dixie State College and the Scientific Advisor to the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm. He was born at a very early age in Chicago and has, since then, bounced around the country (schlepping a keen interest in dinosaurs with him), living in Colorado Springs, Boulder, Denver, Dallas, Albuquerque, and Philadelphia before landing in St. George. He received his B.A. in Geoscience from the University of Colorado, M.S. from Southern Methodist University, and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Jerry is currently involved in research on fossils from China, Argentina, and (of course!) St. George.

Dr Harris shared with us the vision of the Dinosaur Discovery Site and their goal of adding additional exhibits. They achieved a major milestone with the addition of Scelidosaurus (known by only a handful of people as the Jinksosaurus).

"Since it was first discovered in 1851, only about a dozen, mostly incomplete specimens of this dinosaur had been found, but in 2000, the same year that the tracks were discovered at Johnson Farm, a virtually complete skeleton was discovered in England. U

nlike most dinosaur bones that are found, this fossil's hundreds of armor plates and spikes are preserved in their life positions, providing extraordinary details about how this dinosaur looked. St. George is the only place anywhere in the Hemisphere that the 11-foot long Scelidosaurus replica has been on display, and it was able to come to the Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm because of a generous donation from local lawyers Virginius "Jinks" and Barbara Anne Dabney. Come see a truly unique specimen as well as the other remarkable fossils at the site!" (visit their

website for more details)

Ironman Kids Fun Run

2011-05-06T22:21:00.000-07:00

We had our Ironman Kids Fun Run today. Huge turn out, I think bigger than last year. Official numbers will be coming. Yellowpics was there and everyone seemed to have a great time.

CAP Flyer and Time Out Teddy

2011-04-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

Since our beginnings in 1911, Exchange Club members have worked tirelessly to make their communities better places to live through community service, Americanism projects, and youth programs. Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) became the National Project of Exchange Clubs in 1979, a decision of the delegates to the 61st National Exchange Club Convention. At that time, our Foundation was created to help local clubs establish community-based programs to work with at-risk parents. Today, the National Exchange Club Foundation (NECF) oversees numerous prevention programs, helps local Exchange Clubs develop and maintain community-based child abuse prevention programs, and supports Exchange's Program of Service, which includes Youth Programs, Americanism, and Community Service.

The National Exchange Club Foundation provides a variety of public awareness materials, designed to help inform and increase awareness of child abuse and how it can be prevented. Such projects are implemented through Exchange Clubs and Exchange Club CAP Centers across the country.

National Child Abuse Prevention Month – The NECF endorses the month of April each year as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. The NECF produces materials for Exchange Clubs and CAP Centers to use during April, providing public awareness project ideas, public relations information, promotional materials and community involvement suggestions.

On April 4, 2011 the St. George Exchange Club kicked off the awareness of Child Abuse Prevention Month by donating 25 “Time Out” Teddy Bears to the Children’s Justice Center, along with 40 “Time Out” Teddy posters to the Washington County School District for their schools. The National Exchange Club Foundation has adopted Time Out Teddy as its national spokes bear to carry the message of good parenting across America.

Following this presentation the club has also organized and printed 65,000 Child Abuse Prevention flyers listing community resources for children and family in our area. Of the 65,000 flyers, 26,000 will be sent home with school children and the remaining flyers distributed throughout the rest of the county.

Co-sponsors of the CAP Flyer Project are left to right:

Bob Green, Washington County School District

Logan Reid, Southwest Behavioral Health Center’s Prevention Team

Brian Tenney, TenneyClemonsSaarelainen Advertising

Patricia Scheffield, Children’s Justice Center

Tom Bayles, President-Elect St. George Exchange Club

Jinks Dabney, St. George Exchange Club Foundation

Not Pictured: Neal Smith St. George Exchange Club CAP Flyer Project Committee Chair

St George News link

March Students of the Month

2011-03-31T20:34:00.000-07:00

Today was our Student of the Month presentation.

Left to right:

Bill Hudson, St. George Exchange Club President

Patrick Kelly, Tuacahn High School, son of Michael & Gloria Kelly

Esteban Bautista, Millcreek High School, son of Esteban Bautista Sr.

Elisha Proffit, Dixie High School, daughter of Robert & Peggy Proffit

Luis Morfin, Pine View High School, son of Roberto & Cecilia Morfin

Riley Pearce, Snow Canyon High School, daughter of Brent Pearce

Red Cliffs Desert Reserve

2011-03-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

Today's speakers were Tom and Denise Webster. Tom is a retired Air Force officer who is now working part time for the past four years at the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. Denise is a Reserve volunteer. They shared information about the reserve and brought a couple of turtles and a gila monster to help keep us awake.

The Reserve was established in 1996 to protect a large, diverse, and functional expanse of habitat capable of sustaining wildlife populations threatened by rapid development and habitat loss across Washington County in southwestern Utah. Located immediately adjacent to several growing communities, the Reserve also protects the cities’ scenic red rock backdrop and an increasingly popular area for recreation.

The Reserve spans across the north central portion of Washington County in southwest Utah. It is approximately 20 miles wide and 6 miles deep. The Reserve is north of Ivins, Santa Clara, St. George and Washington City, south of Leeds, and west of Hurricane and LaVerkin. The Reserve is trisected by Highway 18 in the west and I-15 in the east. There are many access points and trails for recreational opportunities within the Reserve.

For more information visit their website.

DSC and the Dove Center Present: Greg Mortenson

2011-03-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

Lani Puriri, Director of Public Relations at Center for Media Innovation (CMI), introduced our speakers this morning. Lani is married to Ra who presented to us on March 3rd about the Middle East. Our presenters today were Del Beatty and Kay Whitlock.

Del is the Dean of Student Services at Dixie State College. He shared some of the challenges the college is facing with getting students more involved in social interaction. Kay is on the Board of Directors with the Dove Center. Together they promoted the upcoming charity event for the Dove Center, Greg Mortenson presenting "Peace Through Education". This will be a very educational and inspiring message from the author of Three Cups of Tea, Stone for Schools, and Listen to the Wind.

Click here to purchase tickets to this event or call 652-7800. You can either attend one of the three shows (all shows are on March 31st) or attend the charity dinner which includes tickets to the 7:00 show.

SUPAF AWARDS NIGHT 2011

2011-03-10T21:26:00.001-08:00

Tonight was the SUPAF Awards Night. We had a great turn out and gave our a lot of awards. YellowPix was there and seemed to be a big hit. A big thanks to Hayley Winsolw for another great festival.

PAX Exchange Program

2011-03-10T09:44:00.000-08:00

Todays presenter was Laurel Paul, Community Coordinator for PAX. PAX - Program of Academic Exchange is a non-profit educational organization that promotes and arranges international student exchange to foster the positive development of the world's young people and to support international peace, friendship and cross-cultural understanding.

Founded in 1990, PAX provides young people from the United States and abroad with opportunities to live with a family in another country and to study and travel abroad. Each year up to 600-800 high-school students participate in international exchange through PAX.

While PAX has a global vision, the organization works one student at a time. Committed to a quality program that is small and personal, PAX works exclusively with high school exchange. All PAX programs feature a homestay experience with a family abroad.

For more information call Laurel at 435-251-8212 or visit their website: PAX website

Ra Puriri and the Middle East

2011-03-03T21:12:00.000-08:00

Ra Puriri, presented to us today. He gave a fascinating commentary on the Middle East. His wife is Lani Puriri and they have six children, 5 boys and one girl, all highly educated. Lani works for DSC. Ra is a plumber by profession but teaches others like engineers and manufactures how to use the internet to design water systems around the world, and in that capacity comes into contact with people from the Middle East. He has some family in Egypt and some other Arab countries and has been in contact with them over the past several months. His views and comments parallel much of what you can read in the Wall Street Journal and in the New York Times. I hope the link helps to provide you with more information.

Here is Ra's blog: http://tradewarrior.wordpress.com

February Students of the Month

2011-02-17T21:40:00.000-08:00

February Students of the Month, they are from left to right:

Bill Hudson, Club President
Kristina Stewart, Snow Canyon High School, daughter of Chuck & Cindy
Stewart
Kelsee Broadhead, Desert Hills High School, daughter of Mr & Mrs Paul Broadhead
Brooke Snow, Dixie High School, daughter of Courtney & Kalynn Snow
Adrianna Guerrero, Millcreek High School, daughter of Carlos & Veronica
Guerrero
Karli Rasmussen, Tuacahn High School, daughter of Kirk & LaRea Rasmussen
Madison Fackler, Pine View High School, daughter of Keven & Cindy
Fackler

St. George Exchange Club plants trees for City

2011-02-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

St. George, UT, February 7, 2011 — Members of St. George Exchange Club gave up a portion of their Saturday, February 5 - a total of 21 man (and woman) hours - to plant over 35 trees along the walking trail at the Bloomington Hills North Park. Proceeds were raised and given to the city to purchase the trees by the St. George Exchange Club at the end of last year.

The event was a little early for Earth Day but perfectly timed to coincide with National Weatherman's Day - and the weatherman did not disappoint. Mother Nature cooperated, delivering a warmer-than-usual early February morning for the hard work of digging holes and positioning the over 35 6 ft. tall (mostly) elm trees. It was a beautiful day to plant trees and enjoy our beautiful surroundings. Plans are in the works for members of the St. George Exchange Club to plant more trees this coming April, in celebration of Arbor Day, a day set aside since 1872 for planting and caring for trees!

The Learning Center Forever Home

2011-02-03T21:44:00.000-08:00

Debbie Justice from The Learning Center was our guest speaker today.

Debbie has a Masters degree in Family Support Studies from Nova Southeastern University and is a Fellow of the Anderson School of Management at UCLA. She is the founder and Executive Director of The Learning Center for Families, a family support agency for vulnerable pregnant women and children ages birth to three. She is serving as adjunct staff in the Early Childhood Education Department at Dixie State College. Debbie is passionate about ‘building better babies and is actively involved in many local, state and national initiatives for developing and improving outcomes for disadvantaged children and their families.

And if that sounds kind of stiff, boring and pompous, You can use any of the following to substitute for the above:

Was a musician for 18 years in a rock and roll band and recorded an album in the 70s when they were made out of vinyl.
Lived in the interior of Mexico for 5 years where she studied silver smithing.
Adopted two ethnic children before little babies of color were considered a Hollywood Fashion Accessory.
Worked for 3 years in South Central Los Angeles as a home visitor for infants and toddlers with special needs and only got shot at once (but got massive amounts of parking tickets).
Was at Woodstock and Altamont!

On second thought, maybe we should stick with the boring pompous stuff.

Debbie presented information about the TLC Forever Home. It will cost $2.2 million and they are asking for room sponsors ranging from $20,000 up to $110,000. They are also selling namesake bricks for $250. A fundraising Valentine's Day dinner is scheduled at the Abbey Inn at $50 per plate. For more information see their website: www.tlc4families.org

January Students of the Month

2011-01-27T21:12:00.000-08:00

Todays meeting was our Student of the month presentation. Left to right:

Bill Hudson, St. George Exchange Club President
Kyla Mercier, Dixie High School, daughter of Amy Fletcher
Lauren Cook*, Snow Canyon High School, daughter of Karen & Alan Cook
Brandy Phillips, Snow Canyon High School, daughter of Roy & Karen Phillips
Libertee Valenzuela, Tuacahn High School, daughter of Tamee Valenzuela
Andrew Justvig, Desert Hills High School, son of Stacy Justvig
Morgan Wood, Pine View High School, son of Conn & Carol Wood
Ian Crawford, Millcreek High School, son of John Crawford

*Lauren is the Student of the Month from November, and the rest are from
January.

Southern Utah Home Builders Association

2011-01-20T20:25:00.000-08:00

Today's meeting was a presentation from Mari Smith, Director of Operations at the Southern Utah Home Builders Association (SUHBA).

Mari Smith has been employed by SUHBA for 10 years. She oversees the daily SUHBA operations, coordinates the annual St. George Area Parade of Homes, Ultimate Home Expo, Scholarship Golf Tournament, and handles public and community relations for the Association. Mari has contributed countless hours to Habitat for Humanity and has served on their Board of Directors. She enjoys volunteering for her church and has served in many positions. Mari was on the planning committee for the building of the Doctors Volunteer Clinic and coordinated many aspects including fundraising, building construction, and opening ceremonies. Mari will also assist with coordination of the Doctors Volunteer Clinic expansion that will occur in the spring of 2011. Mari has been married for 23 years and has three sons (triplets). They are the joy of her life.

Roy Roger's Daughter

2011-01-13T20:35:00.000-08:00

CHERYL ROGERS-BARNETT

is the adopted daughter of Roy Rogers and his first , Arline, who died when Cheryl was six years old. While on a personal appearance tour in Texas, Roy stopped off in Dallas and visited the babies at Hope Cottage. As Roy told it, all the babies in the nursery would cry whenever he leaned over their cribs and tickled them under the chin. All, that is, except Cheryl, who grasped his finger, smiled and cooed. He said it was love at first sight and he couldn't wait to take her home to Arline. A year following Arline's death, Roy married his co-star Dale Evans on New Year's Eve of 1947 and, as they say, the rest is history.

Cheryl's professional life has included banking and finance in the entertainment industry, property management for a food service company with holdings throughout the U.S. and Mexico, and managing the offices of a legal firm and a civil engineering company. She is currently on the Advisory Board of the Western Music Association. She has also contributed her time and talent to many worthwhile charitable groups. Along with Dale, Cheryl was a charter member of the parent organization of Childhelp USA, which still leads the national battle against child abuse. Cheryl and her husband, Larry, live in Washington, Utah. They have seven grown children and 14 grandchildren.

Today, Cheryl keeps busy promoting her recently released book, The All-American Cowboy Grill, which she wrote with Ken Beck and Jim Clark. It contains new pictures and grilling recipes from “reel and real” cowboys, along with interesting facts about the old West. She also promotes her autobiography Cowboy Princess; Life with my Parents Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Golden Boot Awards benefitting the Motion Picture and Television Foundation, and is on the board of directors of the Beverly and Jim Rogers Museum of Lone Pine Film History which opened June, 2006 in Lone Pine, California.

short video

Christmas Gift Exchange 2010

2010-12-23T10:00:00.001-08:00

Today's meeting was our annual Gift Exchange. There were some hot items this morning that slipped through a few hands. Santa flew away with the most coveted prize: BYU hat, Snuggie, and U of U gift bag. Sorry to Jinks and Shonie who were left with that bitter taste of defeat. Merry Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year! See you on January 6th for our next Exchange Club meeting.

December Students of the Month

2010-12-16T21:23:00.000-08:00

Left to right are the December 2010 Students of the Month -

Bill Hudson, St. George Exchange Club President
Tylan Glines, Pine View High School, son of Trina & Jeff Glines
Brandon Atkinson, Snow Canyon High School, son of Darin & Angie Atkinson
Taylor Blake, Tuacahn High School, daughter of Marnie & Gary Blake
Monica Lawlis, Dixie High School, daughter of Stacy & Damon Lawlis
Katrien Jack, Desert hills high School, daughter of Colin W. Jack
Melissa Topete, Millcreek High School, daughter of Yulie Rivera

November Students of the Month

2010-11-18T10:30:00.000-08:00

Today we recognized the November Students of the Month. Apparently, we didn't scare any of the kids to bad at the October presentation with our masked monster, because we had a great turn out from the students for this month's presentation.

Back Row Left to Right:

Bill Hudson Exchange Club President

Tori Ryerson (Tuacahn) Mom- Norma Ryerson

Courtney Brinkerhoff (PVHS) Parents- Renee & Clint Martineau, and the late Tod Brinkerhoff

Front Row Left to Right:

Adelaida Sabedra (Millcreek) Mom- Maria Urquizo

Ashlie Gilbert (DHS) Mom- Celece Seegmiller

Aubrey Nielson (DHHS) Mom- Karen Nielson

Darian Nielson (October student of the month from DHHS) Parents- Dan & Deanna Nielson

October Students of the Month

2010-10-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

Today's meeting was our Student of the Month. It was an extra special presentation thanks to a surprise visit from Harry (the monster).

Left to right

Bill Hudson, Club President; Regina Grogan, Snow Canyon High School, daughter of Dara A. Tancredi; Stephen Nielsen, Millcreek High School, son of Ann Barry; Bianca Alverd, Pine View High School, daughter of Angela Canfield and Tony Alverd; Nathan Hunt, Dixie High School, son of Christena Hunt; and Victoria Graff, Tuacahn High School, daughter of Ken & Kerrie Graff.

St George Leisure Services

2010-10-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

Today's speaker was Kent E. Perkins with the St George City Leisure Services. Kent graduated from Brigham Young University with Bachelors degree in Broadcast Communications, and Masters degree in Recreation with emphasis on Municipal Administration. He has been with the City of St George for 28 years as Director of Leisure Services. He is also the Director of the St. George Marathon and the St. George Art Festival. He and his wife Lynne have six children and 8 grandchildren.

Exchange at the Finish Line

2010-10-02T09:28:00.000-07:00

In the cool morning hours of Saturday, October 2, members of St. George Exchange Club came out for the 34th consecutive year in (nearly) full force to support the Marathon as hosts of the 24th annual Mayor's Walk. The slightly smaller (from previous years), but equally excited and energetic crowd - including mothers and fathers, teens, children, seniors and the family dog - gathered at Bluff Street Park waiting in the darkness for the signal to begin. At the end of the 2.1 mile walk to the Marathon finish line at Vernon Worthen Park hot scones, honey butter and juice awaited. Thanks to 2010 MW chairman Ralph Flanagan and his committee including Jimi Kestin, Rosie Rosander, Tim Floyd, and Wayne Everett; and, to sponsors Yellow Book and State Bank of Southern Utah for another successful Mayor's Walk.

September Students of the Month

2010-09-30T10:24:00.000-07:00

The following students were recognized for their outstanding
contributions to their schools and selected as the September 2010
Student of the Month for the St. George Exchange Club. Left to right -

Peter Fuller, Snow Canyon High School, son of Marybeth & Clayton Fuller;
Taylor Fox, Desert Hills High School, son of Kelly & Dave McDonald;
Kasen Wright, Pine View High School, son of Shawn & Gina Wright; Bill
Hudson, President of St. George Exchange Club; Brianna McFadden, Dixie
High School, daughter of Rick & Mary Lynn McFadden; Natalie Spangler,
Tuacahn High School, daughter of Frank & Jennifer Spangler; and Karla
Castro, Millcreek High School, daughter of Jorge & Paola Castro.

Book of Golden Deeds

2010-09-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

Linda and Ed Sappington, Mark Loosli

Today's meeting was our presentation of the Book of Golden Deeds. We presented it to Linda Sappington. Linda wears many hats:

Director of the Volunteer Center of Washington County and the Five County Senior Corps including Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), Senior Companion Program (SCP), Foster Grandparent Program (FGP), and the Five County Health Insurance Information Program.
Writer for the local newspapers and magazines
Wife to Ed Sappington
Mother of six
Grandmother to 12, soon to be 13 and one great grandchild

Linda also served as Public Relations Director for Dixie Regional Medical Center in the 1980's and started and served four years as the Chairperson "Jubilee of Trees", a major fundraiser for the Dixie Regional Center Foundation. She served as the Chairman of Habitat for Humanity this past year, is a Past President of Rotary.

Ed Sappington has been a member of the club since 1975. He and Linda will soon be leaving on a full time mission.

DOCUtah

2010-09-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

Today's speaker was Phil Tuckett and Lani Puriri. Lani is the Marketing Manager with CMI at Dixie State College. She Explained some of the background in getting Phil Tuckett to join DSC and introduced him to the club. Phil Tuckett is the Festival Director for DOCUtah. Phil is an associate professor at Dixie State College and the director of the Dick Nourse Center for Media Innovation. He is also the director of the digital film track in the communication department. Prior to coming back to his alma mater to teach, Phil was vice president of special projects at NFL Films for 21 years.

DOCUtah had 487 films submitted from 36 countries. 134 Films were selected for this first annual international documentary film festival, lasting 9 days with 4 outdoor screenings.

DOCUtah has its Gala Night at Tuacahn on September 16th. The audience will then watch part one of Helen Whitney’s latest documentary, “Forgiveness.” Award-winning filmmaker, Helen Whitney, will be a featured guest at this event. Her film, “Forgiveness”, is a two-part, four-hour PBS documentary special featuring intimate and emotional stories of great wrongdoings and the struggle to find the strength for forgiveness. With emotional rawness the films challenge our psychological and ethical assumptions that it is always best to forgive, and that those who embrace anger are lesser for it. Among the more personal stories of the film: A survivor of a gruesome attempted murder who single-handedly tracks down her assailant and a penitent 60’s radical on the run for more than 30 years for murder who must face her victim’s widow.

Part two of “Forgiveness” will be screened on Friday, September 17th at 7 p.m. at the Dolores Doré Eccles Fine Arts Center Mainstage Theater on the Dixie State College campus.

For more details on this film and many more go to the DOCUtah website.

Our Know your Exchangite today was Tom Bayles. Tom has been a member of the Exchange since February 2009. His birthday is December 6th. Tom is a Dixie State College Alumni and moved to St. George in 1998. When I googled the name Tom Bayles, this is the first picture that showed up. (Seriously, I don't make this stuff up!)

76th Annual Dixie Roundup Rodeo

2010-09-02T09:06:00.000-07:00

Joe Bowcutt, Courtney Welch, Jennifer Welch, and Wayne Hoppal

Today's meeting was a presentation by the Lion's Club, Joe Bowcutt. He brought this year's Dixie Roundup Rodeo Princess, Courtney Welch, her mom Jennifer (Roundup Queen of 1986), and this years Roundup Chairman Wayne Hoppal.

This year is the 76th Annual Dixie Roundup Rodeo. The Lion's Club built the Sun Bowl in 1947 and the Roundup has been there ever since. The Rodeo will be September 16-18.

Parade Info:
Friday 9/17 at 5:00 pm, Children's Parade Theme - "A BLAST FROM THE PAST"
Saturday 9/18 at 5:00 pm, General Parade Theme - "THE ROUNDUP, A DIXIE TRADITION"

Rodeo Info:
Gates open and tickets on sale at 6:00 p.m. nightly, entertainment 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Thursday 9/16, "Kids Night" - children 11 and under are free with a paying adult
Friday 9/17, "Tough Enough to Wear Pink"
Saturday 9/18 , "Rodeo Breakfast" benefiting the Washington County School District Foundation
Saturday 9/18, "High Noon" Special Needs Rodeo
Saturday 9/18, the final night of the rodeo

Advance Ticket Sales: Lions/VFW Bldg. 301 E 100 S - 435.673.3301
Ticket Sales begin on Saturday September 11, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Ticket Price - General Seating - Adults $8, Children 11 and under $5 Reserved Seating $12

For more information about the rodeo go to the Dixie Roundup Rodeo Blog.

Our Know your Exchangite today was Jay Barnes. Jay has been a member of the Exchange since January 2010. His birthday is November 6th and although he was wearing red today he made it very clear he was not rooting for the University of Utah. Jay served an LDS mission to Romania and is married to Jana. He is an attorney at the law office of Dabney and Dabney. When I googled the name Jay Barnes, this is the first picture that showed up. (Seriously, try googling the name Jay Barnes yourself!)

Yellowpix.com and National Convention

2010-08-19T08:23:00.001-07:00

National Service Award

2010-07-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

On July 6th our club was awarded the 2009-2010 National Service Award. A picture with the letter we recieved is listed below. This is a great accomplishment and something for us to be very proud of. Now we all need to buckle down and work towards the BIG-E.

Ken Olsen

2010-07-21T09:29:00.000-07:00

It is with great sadness that we announce that one of our club members, Ken Olsen, passed away on Sunday, July 18, 2010. Ken was a charter member of the St. George Exchange Club and he served as president of the club and president of the District.

In the last few years he has spent a great deal of time on the road and has not been able to attend our meetings very often, but it was always enjoyable when he did.

He leaves behind a great legacy and we should all be grateful for the efforts he put in to help establish this club.

A link to his obituary is below. The club has arranged to send flowers.

Ken joined the Exchange Club on 5/1/1974.

1975 Club President
1977 District Div. 1 Director
1978 District Div. 1 Director
1979 District Secretary
1981 District President-Elect
1982 District President
1983 District Immed. Past President

Obituary

Ford Iron Man St George 2010

2010-07-08T13:02:00.000-07:00

Today's speaker was Kevin Lewis, Sprots & Events Director with the St George Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. Kevin gave us a recap on the St George Iron Man, sharing a couple of videos and pictures and much feedback from the participants.

2,500 athletes signed up (the race was capped at 2,500). Only 2,150 athletes registered the day before, only 1,916 started the race, and only 1,634 finished. Kevin explained that the St George Iron Man is being claimed as the hardest course in North America. The people at Iron Man were impressed with the way the City of St George came together to pull this off. We had 4,300 volunteers, over 9,000 visitors came and spent an estimated $7.85 million in Washington County.

The male winner was Michael Weiss, finishing in 8 hrs 40 min.
The female winner was Heather Wurtele, finishing in 9 hrs 35 min.

The Kids Fun Run had an estimated 700 participants, this is the second largest Fun Run that the Iron Man circuit has ever had.

Iron Man has signed a 5 year contract with St George and will always be on the 1st Saturday of May.

Ford Iron Man St George website
atozion.com

Changing of the Guard

2010-07-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

Out with the old, and in with the new!

Today's club meeting was held at the Children's Justice Center. We conducted our new officer installation. Tim Floyd was presented with a Exchange Club President Plaque for his valiant efforts as club president for the past year. Our new Club President Bill Hudson was sworn in by Mark Loosli.

The 2010-2011 Club Officers are:

National Outstanding Service Project

2010-06-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

And the winner is...

"Congratulations! The Exchange Club of St. George won the National Outstanding Service Project, in the area of Youth for your Southern Utah Performing Arts Festival. What a great project!"

Michele Tallent
Awards/Programs of Service Coordinator
The National Exchange Club

I just received the news from Michele with The National Exchange Club. She also said that our club will be presented with a special banner on July 23rd at the National Convention in La Quinta, California. Congratulations again to the club and to our SUPAF director Hayley Winslow. Keep up the good work.

For more information about the Southern Utah Performing Arts Festival visit the website.

A Vision For Tomorrow

2010-05-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

Today's Speaker was Scott Hirshi with the Washington County Economic Development Council. He presented Washington County economics 101, which Bill Hudson FAILED miserably. He explained how the past few decades has reshaped the economic climate of St George/Washington County and explained why this is important to our community. He shared the strategic plan, which includes:

visit their website here

Business Meeting

2010-05-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

Today was a business meeting at the Main Street Plaza. We recapped Iron Man Kids Fun Run. There was an estimated 700 kids that participated. This is a good fund raiser for the club and should be bigger and better next year. Our goal is to have 1,500 participants and next year we will likely reach that. We will need to have a better outreach to the elementary schools and order more T-shirts. Our registration booth next year will need to start earlier and be better organized to handle it, but it is realistic.

We also discussed the need to raise dues to cover our expenses and change our venue to accommodate larger groups and a meal. It was motioned and approved to change our dues to $40 a month and continue at the Main Street Plaza through the end of May.

Give Me Liberty

2010-04-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

"Just a quick note regarding the Give Me Liberty winners from Snow Canyon Elementary. I cannot tell you how impressed I was with these twelve fifth-graders! I would challenge almost anyone in the club to name every state and its capitol city or the continents and oceans, or repeat the preamble to the Constitution or to sign the Pledge of Allegiance! It was truly inspiring! And, they were also just ding-dang cute!!" - Trish

Student of the Year

2010-04-22T11:54:00.000-07:00

Today we had our Student of the Year presentation at the Abbey Inn.
Left to right -
Club President: Tim Floyd
ACE Student of the Year: April Curtis (MHS)
Student of the Year: Megan Nielsen (SCHS)
District Representative: Mark Loosli
Student of the Month Committee Chairman: Neal Smith

Why should I shop at Deseret Industries?

2010-04-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

Today's speaker was Randy Patterson. Randy is a five year resident of St.George. He was transferred here from Southern California. (Wasn’t everyone?) With 23 years experience in welfare services for the LDS Church, Randy’s job is to help individuals become economically self reliant thru employment, education, and self employment. Randy holds a MA in Career and Technical Education. He is a Sunshiner with the St George Area Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Dixie Tub Thumpers (Toastmasters.) Randy’s hobbies are scouting, camp cooking, woodworking, and visiting thrift stores and yard sales.

April Students of the Month and More...

2010-04-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

Today's meeting was a remarkable presentation by Neal Smith. He mixed it up this time with his mysterious disappearing man in the closet trick. Way to go Neal! Never a dull moment when he takes over.

Left to right:
Megan Nielson, Snow Canyon High School, daughter of Perry & Michelle Nielson
Dr. Ryan Robinson, immediate Past President of St. George Exchange Club
Tanner Sherman, Millcreek High School, son of Monica Garrick
Jordan Ellsworth, Pine View High School, son of Jeff & Jenny Ellsworth
Jaimee Clark, Dixie High School, daughter of Bruce & Beverly Clark
Chad Call, Desert Hills High School, son of Brooke & Jan Call

Child Abuse Prevention and the Children's Justice Center

2010-04-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

A display representing victims of child abuse in Washington County will be unveiled on Thursday, April 1st at 463 East 500 South. Early that morning, members of the St. George Exchange Club will erect the display and a banner of explanation will be hung by volunteer Al Ayling.

275 silhouettes of children, painted blue and purple, represent the number of children interviewed through the WCCJC in 2009.

These silhouettes will become an annual visual demonstration to the community of the need for child abuse prevention. It is hoped that this display will serve as a reminder that the children of Washington County need the support and protection of all adults.

Following creation by local artist and Friend’s Board member Smilla Miller, the silhouettes were brought to life and edges smoothed by volunteers Doyle Ohlwiler, Doug Shaerrer and Kathy Howard under the direction of volunteer and “master craftsman” Al Ayling. Painting was then completed by Dixie College 1st Stake Service Council members headed up by Benjamin Moss along with Craig Broadhead and Bruce Bailey.

The Washington County Children’s Justice Center was established in 1997 to provide a safe, neutral, child-friendly environment where professionals from law enforcement and child protective services can interview children between the ages of 2 and 18 when allegations of sexual abuse, physical abuse or other crimes against children are made. Since opening in February, 1997, over 3,000 children have been interviewed at the Center and their family members and guardians have received services.

To help raise awareness of Child Abuse Prevention Month, the Washington County Children’s Justice Center invites all community members to drive by this powerful new display at 463 East 500 South beginning April 1st and continuing through April 30.

March Students of the Month

2010-03-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

Today's meeting was the March Student of the Month program. We met at the Abbey Inn and had a great turn out.

Left to right -

*Jake Kasner, Millcreek High School, son of Donna & James Kasner
Jake King, Snow Canyon High School, son of Michael King
*Morgan Campbell, Tuacahn High School, daughter of Tami & Jeff Campbell
Caleb Snarr, Tuachan High School, son of Jeff Snarr
Elise Bowen, Dixie High School, daughter of Douglas Bowen
Kyle Boice, Desert Hills High School, son of Chris Boice & Kristina Benson
Micci Hafen, Pine View High School, daughter of Kim & Becky Hafen
Tim Floyd, St. George Exchange Club President

*February Student of the Month

100 Years of Scouting

2010-03-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

Today's presentation was from the Boy Scouts of America, celebrating 100 years. Derrick Larson, District Executive for the BSA presented to us. Derrick gave us an overview of the BSA history and current organization. He educated us on how each troop needs to sponsored by a chartered organization and in Utah most troops are sponsored by an LDS ward. The Exchange Club could be a sponsor of a scout troop and one of the clubs in northern Utah has done this. The upcoming events for the BSA are:

Dixie Scout Expo: April 10, 2010, at the Dixie Center

Largest Eagle Court of Honor: July 3, 2010, at the Stadium of Fire, Lavell Edwards Stadium Provo, UT (go Cougs!)

National Scout Jamboree: July 26 - August 4, 2010, at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia

Found some BSA images I thought some of you might enjoy.

2010 Southern Utah Performing Arts Festival

2010-03-17T21:16:00.000-07:00

NJCAA Division I Fast Pitch National Championship

2010-03-11T10:30:00.000-08:00

Today's meeting was a presentation from Steve Bingham, Recreation Manager with the City of St George. He presented information about the upcoming NJCAA Division I Fast Pitch National Championship Tournament. It will be held at The Canyons on May 19-22, 2010. The nations 16 best junior college teams will come and compete, bringing over 500 people into the area, spending nearly $500,000 in St. George and Washington County.

Last years winners were Yavapai College. Our very own Club President, Tim Floyd, was their gracious host. Other Hosts included Wayne and Ralph. Hosts are needed again this year and there are other opportunities to help out (ticket sales, parking, etc.). A special ticket price and fund-raising opportunity is available to service clubs. To get involved contact Steve Bingham at 627-4572.

Our Know Your Exchangite today was Matt Staheli, our newest club member. Matt is the owner of Staheli Enterprises which includes Staheli Laundry and Staheli Distributing and is a graduate of Utah State University.

Next week's meeting is Derrick Larson and the Boy Scouts of America 100th Anniversary.

February Students of the Month

2010-03-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

Today's meeting was held at the Abbey Inn on south Bluff Street. In order to accommodate our large turn out we needed to have a larger venue. We had 5 of the 6 schools represented and Neal did another great job. The February Students of the Month are (left to right):

Alex Clark, Pine View High School, son of Suzanne & Stephen Clark
Megan Buckway, Desert Hills High School, daughter of Jeff & Tauna Buckway
Reza Omori, Snow Canyon High School, daughter of Akio Omori
Chase Paxman, Dixie High School, son of Chantel Paxman
Tim Floyd, St. George Exchange Club President

St George Exchange Club Freedom Shrines

2010-02-19T12:44:00.000-08:00

Burns Arena at Dixie State College
Desert Hills High School
Desert Hills Middle School
Dixie College -Mcdonald Center
Dixie Convention Center
Dixie High?
Dixie Middle School - 5/24/1978
Dixie Regional Medical Center
Fossil Ridge Intermediate
Heritage Elementary School?
Millcreek High School - 2002
New Courthouse
Pineview Middle School
Red Cliffs Mall - 8/31/1991
Riverside Elementary?
St. George Airport - 1980
St. George City Office Building - 5/28/1981
Tonaqunit Intermediate?
Washington County School District
Zions Bank?

Freedom Shrine Link

IHC Foundation and Jubilee of Trees

2010-02-18T21:32:00.000-08:00

Today's speaker was Ken Wilson and Kent Ririe from The Foundation of Dixie Regional Medical Center. They shared with us the success of last years Jubilee of Trees in raising the funds to bring the Life Flight to Dixie Regional. Part of their presentation was also about the employee giving program called "Spirit Club". Through this program employees have gifted nearly $1.5 million over the past 10 years, making local projects happen like Life Flight and the Child Development Center at Dixie Regional. This program is available for employees of any business to participate in.

Another way of supporting The Foundation at Dixie Regional is through The Jubilee of Trees which occurs in November. In preparation for the Jubilee of Trees is The Jubilee Cup, the annual golf tournament and dinner. The Jubilee Cup has been renamed to The Rulan D Woodbury Jubilee Classic. This year the dinner will be on May 19th and the golf tournament will be May 20th and 21st.

To contribute to The Foundation or to participate in the golf tournament, visit the websites below.

The Foundation website
The Jubilee Classic Golf Tournament website

Our Know Your Exchangite today was Vasu Mudliar. I found this picture when I googled Vasu Mudliar. Vasu is the President of the Dixie State College Athletic Club and spend all of his free time "playing" at the college. Just ask him about his trip to California...

March for Dimes, March for Babies

2010-02-11T21:18:00.000-08:00

Today's meeting was a presentation from Andrea Brown. Her and her family are a March of Dimes Ambassador Family. They shared their story about their baby girl, Gracie, born at 26 weeks gestation and weighing only 2 pounds. She spent 79 days in the NICU. Their family is the Southern Utah Ambassador Family for the March of Dimes. There is a March for Babies walk on March 27, 2010 at Nissons Park in Washington. Registration starts at 9:30am and the walk starts at 10:00am.

Their is no cost to walk. Family teams can do fund-raising. There are opportunities for sponsorship. The money raised in March for Babies is used to fund important research and programs that help moms have full-term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives.

For more information about March for Babies visit their website or call 801-746-5540

Today's Know your Exchangite was Kathy Martin. Kathy showed us her newest hobby of Earth stone jewelry. She has found a new love of life in creating her own line of jewelry with these precious stones.

January Student of the Month

2010-01-28T17:18:00.000-08:00

Today's meeting was another Student of the Month presentation. Neal was in rare form this morning. I am not sure how many phone calls we will get from concerned parents, but we should have a statement ready. For those who missed the meeting, shame on you! The Student of the Month meeting is an easy meeting to invite prospective members to and is guaranteed to be the highlight of your day!
LEFT TO RIGHT:
Casey Spilker, Desert Hills High School
Tyler Duraes, Dixie High School
Lorraine Ivey, Pine View High School
Tim Floyd, Exchange Club President
Clarissa Wheatley, Tuacahn High School
Brock Barnes, Millcreek High School
Brad Dorius, Snow Canyon High School

Business Meeting

2010-01-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

Due to a last minute reschedule of our speaker, we had another business meeting today. The focus of this meeting review the board meeting items: club dues, meeting location, and membership.

There was a lot of discussion about the concern of raising dues versus lowering dues and changing meeting location and breakfast menu. Several good points and suggestions were made. In the end the main focus was to lower dues and find a way to lower the cost of our weekly meetings. Several club members will report at next weeks meeting on what options they have found.

As far as membership, we discussed the need for all club members to be active in bringing new members into the club. We are hopeful that changing the dues will allow club members who have left the club to come back. As well as keep current club members who are having difficulty with the current dues amount.

Business Meeting

2010-01-14T09:55:00.000-08:00

Today's meeting was a business meeting.

We discussed SUPAF and the need for donors/sponsors, all club members need to reach out to businesses/colleagues and raise at least $200. Sign up sheets were passed around for the different times and days of SUPAF.

Everyone's help is needed.

SUPAF website

December Student of the Month

2010-01-07T14:38:00.000-08:00

Due to the holidays, we recognized the December Students of the Month at our first club meeting in the new year. Thanks again to Neal Smith for another fine production of Student of the Month!

Left to right:
Lindsey Snow - Pine View High School
Kylie Moore - Snow Canyon High School
Benjamin DeViney - Dixie High School
Andrew Stark - Millcreek High School
Jared Pace - Desert Hills High School
Tiffany Prince - Pine View High School (November SOM)
Courtney Bohrer - Tuacahn High School
Tim Floyd - President of the St. George Exchange Club

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T14:36:00.000-08:00

No Club Meeting today. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T14:32:00.000-08:00

No club meeting today. Merry Christmas!

DSC Basketball

2009-12-17T16:11:00.000-08:00

Today's speaker was DSC Basketball head coach Jon Judkins. Jon gave us an update on their season so far and a preview of what to expect. They have put together a great program and they are looking forward to a good year.

DSC Basketball home page
DSC Basketball schedule

Know your Exchangite today was Derrill Larkin. Derrill held nothing back today in an attempt to show us all up. He started with his baby picture and then proceeded to share picture after picture of all the important things in his life. All the pictures looked pretty much like this:

Doc Booth and Gift Exchange

2009-12-10T15:53:00.000-08:00

Today's speaker was Dr Craig Booth, honorary member of the St George Exchange Club. Dr Booth presented his perspective on the health care reform. He pointed out the need for health care reform, but that we are moving forward too quickly. In fact, our government is moving more quickly on this then they did when they pushed Medicare through. He highlighted some of the key problems with Medicare that they have known about from the beginning and still haven't fixed. Dr Booth shared published statistics and projected numbers that do raise serious questions and alarm regarding what is being proposed in Washington.

Today we also did our gift exchange. It didn't get out of control this year, I guess nobody drank the eggnog, except Neal did wear his raindeer antlers.

November Students of the Month

2009-11-19T09:50:00.001-08:00

Today's meeting was another Student of the Month presentation. We are always amazed at the quality of students that present each month. This month was no different. For those who missed the meeting, you have truly missed out on both the interaction with these fine students and the entertainment of our very own Neal Smith.

Left to right
Tim Floyd, Club President
Clint Madsen - Desert Hills High School
Heather Oram - Tuacahn High School
Elizabeth Bown - Dixie High School
Sheena Walling - Millcreek High School
Hector Zumaeta - Pine View High School
Scott Heinrich - Snow Canyon High School

BeeHive Cottages

2009-11-13T11:49:00.000-08:00

Today's speaker was Mary Sanders with BeeHive Cottages. Mary is the executive director at BeeHive Cottages, which opened in December 2008. She was informing us about a benefit that is available to veterans or surviving spouses of veterans.

Beehive Cottages offers a new alternative in campus style retirement living. They offer all of the services, amenities and programs you would expect to find in a luxurious retirement community without sacrificing your privacy and dignity. Their residences are designed for those who value their independence, however, may require extra care or services from time to time.

There is attached garage parking for those who may still drive. If not, they provide scheduled transportation. A spacious community center functions as a dining center as well as a gathering place for recreational activities, exercise and entertainment. Their qualified and friendly staff will help you with housekeeping and any other needs that you may have at the push of a button. Click here to go to their website.

Ed, you had better make that call quick. They only have three openings left and Dale and Derrill were expressing a lot of interest.

Our Know Your Exchangite was Floyd Holm. Floyd is an attorney for Workers Compensation Fund. He was born in Panguitch and grew up in Ephraim. Did you know Ephrium is the only town in the U.S. that has a college but no high school? Smart people in that town, straight from elementary school to college, no wonder he is an attorney!

November Business Meeting

2009-11-05T08:47:00.001-08:00

Today's meeting was our monthly business meeting. We started with our Know Your Exchangite, which was Virginius 'Jinks' Dabney, Attorney at Law. One interesting thing about Jinks is he learned to snow ski at age 42 and has been in love with it since (all these many years now). Click here for more information about Jinks.

Today's Guests: Danny Wittwer, Abby Inn (club sponser: Tom Bayles)

Business Meeting Items:

Induction of new club members - Patricia Sheffield, Children's Justice Center. Welcome to the club Patricia

SUPAF - click here for the upcoming schedule
We need all club members to be active in seeking donations for this years festival. We are asking each club member to raise at least $200. This can been done by the club member business and/or by seeking out businesses and individuals who would like to be a donor. An official letter and donation form will be sent out in the coming weeks.

New Member Drive - All club members have been asked to seek out and invite a prospective club member. Club growth is critical for successful and ongoing service. The next two meetings would be ideal for inviting someone to come to our breakfast meeting. Also, see the schedule at the top of the blog for upcoming meetings.

Give Me Liberty - More information is needed about a started kit for schools. Kathy will try contacting Jeremy Larkin. If anyone knows where to order a started kit please let Kathy know.

Tree Planting - As far as anyone knows we are on track for Arbor Day tree planting (Apr 30, 2010). I believe we had our tree planting activity on Saturday following Arbor Day. Wayne or Tim will be getting with Kent Perkins at the city to find out more.

Mayor's Walk - What did and didn't work for this years Mayor's Walk?
Did: the new pavilion, Staheli Catering, honey butter.
Didn't: sprinklers (technically they did work, but they didn't work for the Mayor's Walk), powder sugar, butter, honey, everyone eating half of the scones we made.
Feel free to add to this list by posting your observations of what did or didn't work.

See you next week for our speaker Mary Sanders, Beehive Cottages and KYE: Bill Hudson

October Students of the Month

2009-10-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

Today's meeting was our Student of the Month program. Neal Smith took it to new heights with his Halloween questions about their favorite costume and if they knew any tricks. Neal's signature trick for this holiday is to say the alphabet backwards (had to be there, ask him to show you if you missed it). We saw two other tricks. I believe both tricks came from Monica. First, was having Neal close his eyes and then she went and sat down (the classic disappearing act, it was very well done). The second, and vote all-around best trick, was the response to Neal's question about which college she planned on attending. The answer... University of Iowa! Wow, did that have Neal going, it had the rest of us rolling on the ground (almost), pretty funny stuff.

Left to right
• Tim Floyd, Club President
• Tawni Durrant - Desert Hills High School
• Katie Lounsbury - Snow Canyon High School
• April Curtis - Millcreek High School
• Monica Erickson - Tuacahn High School
• Hailey Shepherd - Dixie High School

See you next week for our business meeting.

Mayor and City Council - Part 2

2009-10-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

Over the last two weeks we have had the candidates for St George Mayor and City Council. This week we invited the incumbent candidates: Dan McArthur, Suzanne Allen, and Gail Bunker. Each gave some background about themselves and then explained why they are running for office and then fielded some question. For more information about these candidates, see their contact information below:

Dan McArthur - non given
Suzanne Allen - 435-673-7515
Gail Bunker - www.gailbunker.com

Today's Know Your Exchangite was Tim Floyd. Tim attending Chico State and with no surprise it was voted the number one party school in the US (see picture, not sure which one Tim is, possibly the one in the purple tights). Tim is our beloved club president and expressed much appreciation for the opportunity he has had to serve us these past few months. He recalled them as the best months of his life and is looking forward to what lies ahead.

See you next week for October Students of the Month.

Catching Up on SGE News: Dedicating the Mayor's Walk Pavilion

2009-10-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

The weather was perfect on Thursday morning, October 1 when members of St. George Exchange Club, Mayor Dan McArthur; representatives from the St. George City Council; Chamber of Commerce director Russ Behrmann and most of the Sunshiners; along with dozens of other interested participants gathered to dedicate the Mayor’s Walk Pavilion at Bluff Street Park.

"We provided $35,000 and the city built the pavilion," said project chairman Ralph Flanagan during the official ribbon cutting. The ceremony also included plaques of appreciation to Dan McArthur, who has led 16 of 23 Mayor’s Walks; a plaque to Karl Brooks who was the first mayor to lead the procession from Bluff Street Park to Vernon Worthen Park in 1987; and a plaque to Kent Perkins from Parks and Recreation, whose "idea it was in the first place," said Flanagan. The project began with a groundbreaking ceremony on June 6 before a gathering of Exchangites from Colorado, Nevada and Utah in town for the Rocky Mountain Region Exchange Club Annual Conference. Funds for the project were from Mayor’s Walks held over several years and from money raised in the photo concession at numerous St. George Marathons.

The pavilion was dedicated to the memory of two great men who shared their time and talent freely with the community. Delores Anderson was present as her husband Bart Anderson’s contribution to the community was acknowledged. Anderson was a well-loved local historian and folklorist and hike leader who participated in 20 of 23 Mayor’s Walks. Jolayne Nelson, as well as Stephen Nelson’s sisters from Salt Lake City, were in attendance at the dedication where a devoted husband, father, brother and member of St. George Exchange Club was honored for a lifetime of service.

A special thanks to all who helped make this new city landmark a reality!

Mayor and City Council - Part 1

2009-10-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

Over the next two weeks we will have the candidates for St George Mayor and City Council. This week we invited the non incumbent candidate: Ed Baca, Jimmie Hughes and Benjamin Nickle. Each gave some background about themselves and then explained why they are running for office and then fielded some question. For more information about these candidates visit their websites:

Ed Baca - www.edbacaformayor.com
Jimmie Hughes - www.jimmiehughes.com
Benjamin Nickle - www.bennickle.com

Today's Know Your Exchangite was Ralph Flanagan. Ralph explained that he was a Hollywood Star and told us stories about going to school in Compton. His real claim to fame however, was from signing autographs as as Linc (pictured in the middle). I don't know much, but I do know that Ralph's hair never looked that good!

St George Marathon Update

2009-10-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

Today's speaker was Kent Perkins, City of St George Leisure Department. He gave us an report on the St George Marathon. Here are some interesting points Kent shared with us:
- the cap the applications for the marathon at 7,200 runners, next year it will go up to 7,300
- after all the no shows and drops from application deadline to start of the race they ended up with 5,650 runners this year
- they only had 80 bus drivers for the Washington County School District buses, but needed more, the district has a whopping total of 126 buses
- the St George Marathon is the 4th highest Boston Marathon qualifier
- only 700 residents ran
- voted the Best Organized Marathon in the US by Runners World Magazine

www. stgeorgemarathon.com

23rd Annual Mayor's Walk Another Successful Event

2009-10-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

"Great solar rays . . . what a day for a walk!" said this year's Mayor's Walk t-shirts designed by Duane Derfler at YESCO Signs. The colorful Solar Man shirts, distributed to hundreds of walkers honored Bart Anderson, southern Utah's beloved historian and hike leader; and Stephen Nelson, a well-respected member of St. George Exchange Club, both who passed away this year. In the cold darkness of Saturday morning, October 3, more than a dozen hearty members of St. George Exchange Club were on hand to kick off the 23rd Annual St. George Mayor’s Walk, as part of the activities of the St. George Marathon. Though the crowd - including business people, school mates, friends, families and lots of dogs - was much smaller than usual, they were no less enthusiastic as St. George City Mayor Dan McArthur sounded the horn at 7 a.m. at Bluff Street Park and led approximately 800 walkers of every age to the finish line at Vernon Worthen Park - only slightly ahead of the winning wheelchair racer.

By the end of the walk, SGE-ites Ralph Flanagan (in his first year as chair of the Mayor's Walk event), Ed Sappington, Neal Smith, Jinx Dabney, Dale Larkin, Mark Loosli, Tim Floyd, Wayne Everett, Tom Bayles, Jeff Buchnell, Floyd Holm, Kathy Martin, Vasu Mudliar and Ryan Robison, SGE's immediate past president picked up their gear and relocated to Vernon Worthen Park to set up for the onslaught of hungry walkers seeking their anticipated prize of a hot scone with honey butter after a 2.12 mile walk with the Singing Mayor!

Over the years, the Mayor's Walk has become a popular tradition in St. George City for walkers of all ages . . . and a lucrative annual fundraiser for St. George Exchange Club for support of numerous community projects throughout the year.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this another successful event!

September Students of the Month

2009-09-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

Today's meeting was our Student of the Month Presentation. Neal did another outstanding job presenting the awards to the following students:

Skyler Almquist - Desert Hills High School
Skylar Schone -Pine View High School
Max Cox - Millcreek High School
Stephanie Hauck - Dixie High School
C.J. Bott - Tuacahn High School
Cody Patterson -Snow Canyon High School

Next weeks meeting is our Business Meeting followed by the Bluff Street Park Pavilion dedication, be there or be square!

Give a Kid a Flag to Wave

2009-09-18T10:33:00.000-07:00

Our annual Give a Kid a Flag to Wave event was on Friday September 18th during the Children's Parade for the Dixie Round Up Rodeo. Last year we wore a bright yellow t-shirt to the parade in hopes of bringing better recognition to the club. But, this year we stepped it up to a whole new level by actually being in the parade and teaming up with BACA. The parade announcers at each block corner announced the club and BACA's presence in the parade was to bring awareness to Child Abuse. And it sounded like the crowds responded well. We had our banners for the club and for the Mayors Walk. We had some club members wearing our ever lovely yellow t-shirts and others wearing the new Mayors Walk t-shirts and handed out over 1,200 flags. Due to lack of participation from club members, those handing out flags couldn't keep up with the banners and fell behind a few parade entries. I think we can do better next year with more members participating and possibly create a new banner that states: Give a Kid a Flag to Wave! the Exchange Club and BACA teaming up against Child Abuse! or something like that. Your feed back and input at our next business meeting would be very helpful.

Dixie State College

2009-09-17T18:52:00.001-07:00

Today's speaker was Dixie State College President Stephen Nadauld. After suffering through our horseplay, bad jokes, and fines, he presented to us an overview of Dixie's progress and vision for the future.

Some of the highlights of his presentation include:
- 25% enrollment growth Fall 2009
- estimated student enrollment for 2012 is 10,000
- 35,000 participants in the community college courses
- Centenial Commons, 200,000 square feet, $48 million dollars, will become the academic hub of campus. It will be located south of the Gardner Center
- Pavilion and volleyball courts anticipated to be placed between the encampment mall and institute building

Congratulations to Bill Hudson who survived the Primary Election in Washington City. Bill is running for one of the City Council positions. Good luck in the General election!

Today's Know Your Exchangite was Tom Bayles. Tom is an attorney for Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe. That is not correct, I wanted to see if anyone was actually reading my post. Tom is an attorney for Jenkins Ronnow Jensen & Bayles. In his spare time, he and his family tend to the farm animals (sheep and horses).

Next weeks meeting will be our September Student of the Month program.

Mayors Walk and Give a Kid a Flag

2009-09-10T14:07:00.000-07:00

Today's meeting was spent discussing upcoming events and meetings.

Mayors Walk - Ralph gave us an update. The Bluff Street Pavilion is near completion. The hats and shirts are ready to be picked up. A sign up sheet was passed out and has now been emailed out to make sure we are covered for Friday and Saturday.

Give a Kid a Flag to Wave - Kevin has ordered over 1,400 flags that we will give out on September 18th at 5pm during the Children's Parade. We are arranging to be in the parade this year and be combined with BACA, to bring better awareness to Child Abuse Prevention. We will need a good turn out with some wearing the Exchange Club Yellow t-shirts and others wearing the Mayors Walk t-shirts.

Upcoming events, speakers, and Know Your Exchangite have been updated at the top of the blog. Please be aware of those dates in Orange. They are not part of our weekly meetings.

Business Meeting: Change of Venue

2009-08-27T10:01:00.000-07:00

Today's meeting started with our KYE Jeff Bushnell. Some interesting facts about Jeff: raised in Cedar City until about 12, grew up on a ranch/farm, and is a BYU grad. Which brings up the new poll that you will see to the right, be sure to submit your response.

The main discussion for today's business meeting was our weekly meetings. The Courtyard informed us of their rate increase starting September 1st and it became clear that we could no longer continue our weekly meetings at the Courtyard. They expressed have acknowledged the difficulty that would place on our club and have expressed their appreciation for us using their services. But recognized the fact that we may not be able to continue meeting at their location.

So, we discussed the various possibilities including meeting every other week, and meeting without a meal. In the end, the consensus was that it was important to have a weekly meeting and that food served an important role for many of the members to continue their activity in the club. A vote was taken and it was agreed to continue with a weekly meeting, but to change our location to the Fairway Grill, which will slightly reduce the meal expense for the club.

This change will start with next weeks meeting and will be in effect until the end of the year when it will be reviewed again.

Red Storm Football

2009-08-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

Today's guest speakers are coaches of Dixie State College Football team, Jim Eggleston, Director of Football Operations and Scott Brumfield, Offensive Coordinator. They gave us great preview to this year's team and coaching staff. The football program has come a long way and they are excited about where it is today and the program that has been built up. They expressed appreciation for the support they have gotten from the community. They have been having their training camp this week and tonight, August 20th, is their final scrimmage, everyone is welcome to come and watch.

Their first home game is August 27th against Adams State College, kick off is at 7:05pm.

Click here to view this year's schedule

Click here to view this year's roster

There is a golf tournament on August 29th for the Dixie State College Athletic Program. Contact Chocolate Thunder, aka Vasu, for details to sign up (669-2297).

Our Know Your Exchangite today was Dale Larkin, what can you say about Dale? He did explain that all his life his birth certificate showed him as the first born of the twins, his mom had that fixed when he was about 40. We think she just got nervous that Derrill wouldn't get his inheritance and that Dale certainly didn't deserve it.

School of Life Foundation

2009-08-13T06:40:00.000-07:00

Today's meeting was an enlightening experience. We started the morning with classical music playing in the background, in an attempt to create a more educational, uplifting experience, thank you Jack. However, we are not sure if the effects of the music helped or not, but it was a valid attempt.

Our speaker was Jake Rolfe, President with the School of Life Foundation. He was accompanied by Jeff Tuscano, Director of Donor Participation and Program Development. This foundation was created in St George about two years ago. They developed a curriculum to help youth find happiness and give them a better chance and advantage at life.

The workbook titled Learn to "School" your Toughest Opponent is the manual used for this training and enlightenment.

The book contains a 10 step formula on how to obtain success, peace, and happiness in the "School of Life". Each step is an "A" with a simple homework assignment. For example the first "A" is Appreciation. Learn how having gratitude in your life can impact you in many ways. Your homework to achieve this "A" is sending a thank you message to someone every week!

Appreciate, Assist, Attitude, Aim, Associate, Align, Action, Avoid, Adapt, Always

There efforts have reached over 15,000 youth. They are working with over 100 organizations local, national, and international to help youth succeed in life. They are beginning to work with Boys and Girls Club of America, which will expand their national reach to all 50 states. Jack and Jeff gave us a complimentary copy of their book with an invitation to teach a youth.

For more information:
visit their website (click here)
call Jack at 435-632-2947
call Jeff at 435-229-1246

Our Know Your Exchangite today was Officer Neal Smith, Southern Utah Behavior Health Center, 474 W 200 N, St George, Utah, 634-5600 (in case you couldn't remember). Our Iowan, Santa, Police Chief, joke telling, Okoboji member of the club. He set a new standard for our Know Your Exchangite presentation.

Don't miss next week's meeting with Dixie State Football Coaches.

Original Club Roster (dated 5/17/1974)

2009-08-12T10:36:00.001-07:00

Tony Allen
Don Basile
Martin Bonadurer
Allan Carter
Dean Christensen
Al Decarlo
Carl Delight
Mike Dobson
Martin Empy
Randy Frisch
Arthur Hale
Johnny Johnson
Derrill Larkin
Ronald Lemon
James McArthur
Dale Melville
Kenneth Metcalf
Brent Price
Richard Pead
Bruce Rigby
Floyd Rigby
Tom Robinson
Doyle Sampson Jr.
Ted Spillsbury
Ronald Thompson
John Witney

Past Club Presidents

2009-08-11T10:35:00.000-07:00

4/1/1974 Floyd Rigby
7/1/1974 Derrill C. Larkin
7/1/1975 Kenneth Olsen
7/1/1976 Jerry Atkins
6/1/1977 Raymond Padratzik
8/1/1977 Raymond Padratzik
5/1/1978 Gregory A. Kemp
5/1/1979 Ralph J. Atkin
6/1/1980 Mervyn Bennion III
9/1/1981 Douglas A. Belliston
9/1/1982 Kent Garrett
9/1/1983 Ross Hurst
9/1/1984 Phil Andrus
9/1/1985 Rick Bentley
9/1/1986 LaMond Syphus
9/1/1987 Kenneth L. Schone
5/1/1988 Kenneth L. Schone
9/1/1988 Ed Sappington
9/1/1989 Mervyn Bennion III
9/1/1990 David Watson
9/1/1991 Kent D. Peterson
9/1/1992 Paula O'Bell
9/1/1993 John R. Mahon
9/1/1994 Don Shelline
7/1/1995 David K. Mathis
7/1/1996 Leon Maxwell
7/1/1997 James E. Slemboski
7/1/1998 James E. Slemboski
7/1/1999 Sandee Holbrook
7/1/2000 Kelly N. Parker
7/1/2001 Leina Frazier
7/1/2002 Ralph Flanagan
7/1/2003 David T. Hawk Jr.
7/1/2004 Stephen M. Nelson
7/1/2005 Roger K. Eves
7/1/2006 Jason C. Eyre
7/1/2007 H. Wayne Everett
7/1/2008 Ryan Robison

Business Meeting

2009-08-06T06:56:00.000-07:00

Today's meeting was a business meeting.
Wayne Everett, today's Know Your Exchangite, shared a historic BYU UofU game that he felt Jinks needed to know about.

Fund-raising Committee recommended a number of possibilities for fund-raising, with the goal of having it simple, once a year, and have a good chance of raising $15,000 or more. Some suggestions were:
1) Photo Shoot with Iron Man (5/2010), and an additional Mayors Walk with Iron Man
2) A Cruise
3) Raffle off an exotic car
4) Annual Radiothon
5) Encourage trust/will donations to Club Foundation
6) Annual New Year's Exotic German Hof Brau Luncheon
7) Bowling Tournament

Membership Committee is looking for photos from all club members that can be used in a promotional DVD that will be presented to City Council, Chamber of Commerce, and used as a recruiting tool. Also, an email will be coming soon asking for everyone's response to thought provoking questions the will help identify what it is that brought you into the exchange club and what drives you to remain a member of the club. These responses will be valuable to help others connect with us and join the club. Members will be asked to recruit one member by a yet to be determined deadline (ie December 31). More details will be in an upcoming email.

Mayor's Walk: Corporate Sponsors this year are The Yellow Book and State Bank of Southern Utah. Scones will be provided by Staheli Catering, they will also provide canopy covering if needed, inspired by last years rain. The new Bluff Street Gazebo should be completed in time. Volunteers will be needed for our booth at the Dixie Center and then the morning of the St. George Marathon at both the Bluff Street Park and the Vernon Worthen Park.

Clear for Landing

2009-07-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

Today's meeting was a historic event for President Elect Bill Hudson. With our beloved Club President absent, it left our able and willing President Elect in charge of his first meeting. I think he handled it quite well, wouldn't you agree? Although, I think we need to help him lighten up a little. He looks so serious in the picture. I guess that's what happens when you start to run for public office.
Our presentation was from the City of St. George, Gary Esplin, City Manager and Marc Mortensen, Assistant Manager. They discussed the various projects and budget that the city is working on now and in the future. The main project of discussion was the Expansion Airport. There has been some false information spreading around. Gary and Marc set the record straight. Go to the link below to get information and images that were shared with us. This was a very insightful meeting.

link to website

Bull Riding

2009-07-23T16:27:00.000-07:00

Today's speaker was Brent Shakespeare, with Edward Jones. Brent gave us some background on where the stock market has been and where it is today. He did a lot of comparisons between today's market and the market back in during the Great Depression (Ed was a valuable resource for this meeting). Here are some of the comparisons between then and now:

25% vs 9.5% unemployment
30% vs 2-3% GDP
28% vs 15% National Deficit

Also, Brent gave us a Top 10 List that he discussed in detail. For those of you who missed it, here is the Top 10 Reasons to Be a Long-term Bull:

1. The economy is bruised, but it’s not broken.
2. It’s not the Great Depression.
3. Debt/deficits won’t crush the economy.
4. 50% drops historically have been an opportunity.
5. The government continues to support the financial system.
6. Stock valuation is compelling.
7. Inflation is under control.
8. When you feel bad, it can be good.
9. Good performance often follows bad.
10. You still have long-term goals you are trying to achieve.

He also shared with us the most dangerous words you will ever hear..
"We are from the Government, and we are here to HELP!"

Today's Know Your Exchangite was Brian Tenney, he gave us an update on his Cow Calling competition and we were lucky to have a live demonstration, thanks a lot Brian.

Rocky Mountain District Convention

2009-07-21T13:26:00.000-07:00

The Rocky Mountain District Convention was held in St George this year, June 4th - 6th. Here are some of the highlights:

Patricia Sheifield spoke about the Children's Justice Center and Child Abuse Prevention
Lee Warren gave a presentation on the Proudly We Hail
Awards were presented to the Student of the Year
Your Club President, Ryan Robison, was awarded President of the Year
Flyod Holm was elected as Regional VP
Ground breaking ceremony for the Bluff Street Park Pavilion (in honor of Stephen Nelson and Bart Anderson)
Donation to the City of St George presented to Mayor Dan McArthur

More photos to come as they get emailed in.

Bikers Against Child Abuse

2009-07-16T09:13:00.001-07:00

Today's presentation was from BACA, Bikers Against Child Abuse. This was a great presentation, those who missed this mornings meeting, truly missed out. We heard from "Shots", the St George Chapter President. He was accompanied by fellow BACA members, "Rosko", "Pinkie", "Loco", "MZ B", "Hondo", and "Bob". When they are on BACA duty they go by their road names. (maybe we need club names, like Down Town, Chocolate Thunder, Baldy, Tiny. These were just a the first ones that came to mind.)

www.bacausa.com

BACA HOTLINE 435-673-2564

BACA exists with the intent to create a safer environment for abused children. They exist as a body of Bikers to empower children to not feel afraid of the world in which they live. They stand ready to lend support to their wounded friends by involving them with an established, united organization. They work in conjunction with local and state officials who are already in place to protect children. They desire to send a clear message to all involved with the abused child that this child is part of their organization, and that they are prepared to lend their physical and emotional support to them by affiliation, and their physical presence. They stand at the ready to shield these children from further abuse. They do not condone the use of violence or physical force in any manner, however, if circumstances arise such that they are the only obstacle preventing a child from further abuse, they stand ready to be that obstacle.

They shared some interesting statistics with us: 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before age 18, 1/3 of those abused will later become abusers, and the St George Chapter is currently protecting 12 families. Also, if you want to join BACA you are not required to ride a Harley Davidson, they do allow other bikes. (except Brandon's scooter)

Aug 24th - BACA Night @ the RoadRunners, bring your bike with you.

Crash Course on the Club Blog

2009-07-09T07:25:00.001-07:00

Today's meeting was a presentation on the club blog. Our past president, Ryan Robison, demonstrated many of the features of the blog. Although our web connection was slow, the presentation may still have been too fast for some of the club members (based on the glossy looks on their faces). Here are some points we focused on:

Upcoming Speakers/Events - this is an up to date list of our future meetings. If anyone is trying to arrange a speaker, they can look at this and know when we have openings. At the bottom is a link that takes you to 2007 to present list of our speakers.
Community Projects - this is on the right side of the page and at the top. This has links to websites and blogs for our different projects.
Meeting Time and Location - this is on the right side of the page below Community Projects. This was added to be a helpful resource for both our guest speakers and prospective members.
Submit Photos to the Club Blog - this is at the bottom of the right side column. If anyone has pictures they have taken from any of our projects or activities, you can email them to the email address shown and they will be added to our club photo album.
Adding Posts and Comments - we didn't get to spend much time on this. But, I wanted to make sure everyone knew that they are invited to add posts about club projects and activities, as well as add comments to any of the posts.

An email will be sent out later today inviting all club members to be part of the blog. The goal is to have active participation from several club members. All of our committees should have someone posting for that committee. (for instance, it would be great if Neal or Brian did a post for each of the Student of the Month weeks).

For those who would like to be involved in the blog but need some help to get started please let Bill Hudson or Ryan Robison know, we would be happy to help.

New President's Inaugural Meeting!

2009-07-02T12:10:00.000-07:00

Today's meeting was a historic moment for newly inducted President Tim Floyd. When asked afterwords how he felt the meeting went, he responded "This is easier than the last president made it look. I don't know why I didn't sign up for this sooner!"

A business meeting was conducted where several issues where discussed (dues, golf tournament, other fund raisers, and membership). Two new committee (ie Task Forces) were organized based on these discussions, a Fund Raising Committee and a Membership Committee. Initially, Ed and Jinks were assigned to both, but those present wanted to see these committee succeed, so the following committee members were assigned:

Fund Raising - Jinks, Ed, June, Kevin, Vasu, and Derral
Membership - Brian, Tim, Ryan, Tom, and Dale

The Fund Raising Committee will evaluate our current fund raising activities and brainstorm on other possible activities that could be more helpful. They should be meeting together over the next few weeks and report back to the club at our next business meeting (Aug 6th).

The membership Committee will work on a short DVD that can be used as an overview of what the St George Exchange Club does and why support is necessary. It is a presentation that will be given to both the City Council and the Chamber of Commerce. They will also discuss ways to increase club membership. They will also meet over the next few weeks and report back at our next business meeting.

This Month's Hot Spot: Hacienda Matapalo

Summer Social in Pine Valley

2009-06-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

Last night was our summer social. We went to Pine Valley and had a pot luck dinner at Derrill and Lana Larkin's cabin/home away from home. Thank you Derrill and Lana for being great hosts. The weather accommodated our evening get together. We enjoyed a great meal and good company. Floyd Holm installed our new club officers for the coming year and our recent past presidents were presented with a Club President Plaque. Our new club officers are posted on the right column of the blog, titled "2009-2010 Club Officers and Board Members". Thank you to all those who attended our social and to those who missed out, you truly missed out. Better luck next year.

Lymphatic Drainage (pronounced drrra-naudge)

2009-06-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

Today's speaker was Cynthia Hedden. Cynthia is a massage therapist that specializes in lymphatic drainage. She educated us on the benefits of lymphatic drainage and shared some interesting facts about our body. Our lymph system is the body's detoxification system. In fact, did you know that without our lymph nodes our bodies would only survive for about 20 hours. Also, we have on average 740 lymph nodes in our body.
Cynthia Hedden, CMT at Green Leaf Massage Therapy, 435-632-5535.

Southwest Behavioral Health Center

2009-06-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

Today's speaker was Michael Cain, Associate Director at Southwest Behavioral Health Center and Ryan Forbes, Program Cordinator for Independent House.The southwestern region of Utah has experienced enormous growth over the past decade. Many of the social support systems, long a part of Utah tradition, have been stressed by growing issues of mental illness, substance abuse, child abuse, youth crime, and lack of housing. The collective impact has left families and communities struggling to find answers with limited fiscal and professional capacity.

The county commissions of Washington, Kane, Garfield, Beaver and Iron Counties have joined with the State of Utah to create Southwest Center for the provision of comprehensive mental health and substance abuse services. Southwest Center is proud to be a member of a strong human service delivery system which is helping our communities to address very difficult individual, family, and community problems.

The Southwest Center is committed to continuing the partnership with our communities to insure a healthy and drug free future for Southern Utah's citizens.

The mission of Southwest Center is to promote, restore, and maintain well being by providing treatment, education, and advocacy services appropriate to the mental health and substance abuse needs of our communities. All services will be consumer oriented, collaborative and performed in a quality manner.

Prizes were also drawn at the end of the meeting, the winners are: Mark Loosli, Tom Bayles, Ralph Flanagan, and June McAfee. Congrats!

Click here to visit their website.

Mayor's Walk Origin

2009-06-10T16:27:00.001-07:00

As told by Kent Perkins - Director, St George City Leisure Services Department

Just to keep history accurate, I attended the Honolulu marathon in 1987 and was excited to see their Mayor's Walk begin just after their marathon start. Upon returning I asked Mayor Karl Brooks if he would like to support us in starting a Mayor's Walk of our own. Mayor Brooks agreed to support and participate in a Mayor's Walk, and invited Bart and his entourage to join him and the public for the first walk. Bart was invited each year thereafter and we printed in our publicity, "come walk with Mayor Brooks/ McArthur and Ranger Bart Anderson"...

Now you know the rest of the story.

Mayor's Walk

2009-06-10T16:27:00.000-07:00

Just to keep history accurate, I attended the Honolulu marathon in 1987 and was excited to see their Mayor's Walk begin just after their marathon start. Upon returning I asked Mayor Karl Brooks if he would like to support us in starting a Mayor's Walk of our own. Mayor Brooks agreed to support and participate in a Mayor's Walk, and invited Bart and his entourage to join him and the public for the first walk. Bart was invited each year thereafter and we printed in our publicity, "come walk with Mayor Brooks/ McArthur and Ranger Bart Anderson"...

Now you know the rest of the story.

Student of the Year Essay

2009-06-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

The Youth: Stepping Forward to Change the Beat of America
by Stephen Anderson
District Representative for Student of the Year

“The Youth: Stepping Forward to Change the Beat of America” begs three questions: what is “the beat of America;” secondly, why do we need to change it; and finally, why have the youth be the ones to step forward and be the changers?

Click here to read the full article.

(CM)² = Clean Mouth, Clean Mind

2009-06-10T09:17:00.000-07:00

by Stephen Anderson
District Representative for Student of the Year

I like to stay busy. I enjoy helping others and having as much of a good impact as I can. I am an Eagle Scout and Student Body President of Pine View High School. I am very proud of both those accomplishments. But, I have an accomplishment I am even more proud of.

When I started football I noticed the crude language that was being used by some of the kids on the team. I talked to my parents and through that discussion I realized that how you speak reflects what you think and from there I came up with the idea of “Clean Mouth, Clean Mind” or (CM)². I felt that (CM)² would be a simple reminder of what morals we could all strive to keep. I started by making wristbands that I passed out to my friends. Others asked after them and soon the idea caught fire and now there is a website, www.cmsquared.org, and members in over 20 states and 5 countries. There are also t-shirts, rings and hats. (CM)² continues to grow and my hope is that it will help make this world a nicer place to live as we strive to live by “the code”.

Grand Opening - HOST Business Services!

2009-06-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

We had Scott Wilson with HOST Business Services come and present to us. We have signed up for their free service they are providing to service clubs.

Here is the information about the Grand Opening:

Join us for our Grand Opening open house, ribbon cutting, and great food!
Come see our office at 321 North Mall Drive Bldg R, St. George, UT, 84790 on JUNE 16, 2009 from 1-4pm for our grand opening. Attendees to our Grand Opening will receive 30 days FREE and NO set up fee!

Time is a precious commodity. Everyone wants and needs more of it. HOST Business Services provides its clients with exactly that—more time – time to focus on what you do best! HOST was founded and designed with the purpose of supporting small businesses. To provide owners and operators with more time to focus on growing their businesses and less time dealing with the non-revenue generating tasks. Automation, technology, and on-demand staff; have been combined in such a way that HOST can provide efficiencies in your business that no one else can provide in one location or from a single source.

Historic Event!

2009-06-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

Today we witnessed a historic event that required photo documentation. For those who were not present at club, here is the proof:

Jinks Actually made good an all his IOUs. Thank you Jinks. Now all our bills can be paid.

Lawn Bowling

2009-06-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

Wayne Pace and today's Know your Exchangite Floyd Holm

We had quit the ball at this mornings meeting. Today's speaker was Wayne Pace, professor, author, researcher, and lawn bowler. Currently the only place to lawn bowl in St George is at Sun River which restricts access to residents of Sun River only. Wayne has been working with the City of St George to get a Lawn Bowling facility in St George that is available to the general public. We were educated on the history of Lawn Bowling and given a live demonstration. Many were able to give the ball a spin themselves to see how easy and fun this sport is. To find out more about this sport visit their blog.

Wearing Too Many Hats?

2009-05-21T12:50:00.000-07:00

Today's speaker was Scott Wilson with Host Business Services. This unique company is providing a lot of service for the little guys. Small business owners who work out of their home or vehicle or who just don't have enough staff can use Host Business Services as an office. Each business is able to have a central place to receive mail and phone calls, and if needed, office space for that occasional meeting. They are offering their basic services to all service clubs to make phone numbers and email addresses consistent year after year. We asked Scott to start setting our club up for this service and look forward to a better organized club.

For more information visit their website at www.hostbusinessservices.com

Care To Stay Home?

2009-05-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

I know the answer to that is usually yes, unless it is the golf course for some of you. Today's speaker was Susan Frazier with Care to Stay Home. They are the nation’s premiere non-medical, in-home care organization. They provide non-medical, in-home care services to seniors who Care To Stay Home but need assistance with their personal activities of daily living, through their dedicated, compassionate and professional caregivers. Here is a link to find out more.

Today's meeting also had a brief presentation from Kathie Thayne who informed us about the upcoming Days of Camelot happening this weekend May 22 and 23. It should be an exciting and entertaining event. See more on their website.

Happy Anniversary!

2009-05-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

The St George Exchange Club celebrated it's 35th Anniversary on May 11th, 2009.

Student of the Year

2009-04-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

And the Award goes to...

The St. George Exchange Club's District Representative for Student of the Year is Stephen Anderson, son of Dr. Michael & Kelly Anderson. Stephen is from Pine View High School and was honored as Student of the Month in September of 2008. He was invited to our club meeting on April 30, 2009 to be recognized and to share his essays with club members. One interesting fact about Stephen is he started an organization about 4 years ago called (CM)2 or CM Squared. This stands for Clean Mouth, Clean Mind. Learn more by going to the website: http://cmsquared.org/. This was started at his high school and has spread nationally. Stephen will be recognized at his high school scholarship night and will represent our area in the district competition. Good Luck Stephen!

Stephen with his parents.

The Youth: Stepping Forward to Change the Beat of America

2009-04-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

by Stephen Anderson
District Representative for Student of the Year

“The Youth: Stepping Forward to Change the Beat of America” begs three questions: what is “the beat of America;” secondly, why do we need to change it; and finally, why have the youth be the ones to step forward and be the changers?
When one considers the beat of America it is logical to start with the origins of this country and its founding fathers. Going back to the Declaration of Independence we see references to the Creator suggesting a belief in God. Further it is documented in numerous writings of the early political leaders of our country the need for commitment to ethical and moral values of equality, freedom and honesty coupled with individual accountability and responsibility. Having studied American history it's easy for me to see how the beat of America has gradually evolved from what the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the authors of the Constitution had in mind to what we see today portrayed by the media and online news services. Something has happened over the last 200 years.
The next question of “why do we need to change the beat" is open for debate and discussion. Some would say, “Leave well enough alone. Our country is just fine.” I feel strongly that the intentions of our founding fathers of respect and responsibility have largely been lost and trampled by our so-called advanced society. Our appetites, of all types, and desire for free time has made a recipe for bad behavior. I really think that freedom and accountability are rigidly linked and cannot be separated. There seems to be a disconnect between moral degradation and the effect that it has on our families. Images and topics of discussion that are now commonplace on television, in movies and even news channels would have been, just a decade or two ago, totally taboo to even bring up outside a private conversation. I feel it is getting worse and worse and something needs to be done to change the course.
That brings up the next question of "why choose the youth" when there are individuals much older and experienced with degrees and connections. My feeling is that we, the youth, are flexible. We are not set in our ways and there is an innocence in the youth as well as an energy which makes us the most qualified to step forward and change the beat of America.
The youth of America have an opportunity to influence "the beat" by holding high moral standards, setting good examples, making good choices and being involved in positive uplifting activities. We also need to be involved politically--starting with taking advantage of leadership opportunities in our schools. I have been grateful for the privilege I have had to hold various leadership positions in my school. I have been selected as the team captain for our varsity soccer team which has given me the opportunity to make sure that the team standards and morale are high and we treat each other, the other teams we play, our coaches and the referees respectfully. I love to be able to influence the younger players for good. Also, being Student Body President has given me countless opportunities to work with community leaders to learn about positive leadership and to build bridges between the community and the youth. One chance that I had to positively change and uplift was to serve on the Veterans Day Committee with various community leaders and other citizens. I was the only student on the committee and was given a lot of responsibility. A parade was planned involving the different schools, businesses, clubs, and of course, the veterans. The parade was followed by a program that featured students from Pine View High School reading letters of gratitude that they had written to our veterans to thank them for their sacrifice and service to our country, our community and to us as individuals. It was an amazing experience.
As youth we need to be sensitive to opportunities to use our own creativity and energy in making the world a better place. One way I found to do this came from an unlikely inspiration. As I entered high school and began participating in organized sports I was surprised at the foul language used by some players, fans and coaches. From this observation I started an organization called (CM)² which stands for “Clean Mouth, Clean Mind.” Initially we had just a few members that had committed to "live by the code" of clean mouth, clean mind but then it grew. First I had a couple of friends in my school and then it popped up across town. Then members joined in an adjacent city and from there it spread to as far away as Europe and Kuwait. I don't know how far it will reach but my hope is that it will reach clear around the world and possibly make the world a better place to live. There is now an active website, www.cmsquared.org, and members found in over 20 states in five foreign countries. What binds us together is our commitment to "live by the code" of clean mouth, clean mind and in this way contribute to changing "the beat of America" one person at a time. My opinion is that the ideals and principles of cmsquared more closely match what the principles of America were originally built upon.
I feel honored to be counted in this group of student leaders for consideration of Youth of the Year award. Many in this group comprise the future leaders of our nation. It will take more than one person to change the beat of America. It will not be just one but rather a group of us who will need to step forward to positively change the current course of our nation. I have energy, vision and a desire to do my part to help restore what the founding fathers of this country had in mind when they imagined “One Nation Under God.”

Exchange Celebrates Arbor Day 2009

2009-04-25T15:36:00.000-07:00

Nine members of St. George Exchange Club gave up a portion of their Saturday, April 25 - a total of 15 man (and woman) hours - to plant trees along the walking trail on Riverside Drive. The event was a little late for Earth Day (Wednesday, April 22), but perfectly timed to kick off National Volunteer Week (April 27 - May 3) and to celebrate Arbor Day, a day set aside since 1872 for planting and caring for trees! Mother Nature cooperated, delivering a cooler-than-usual late April day for the hard work of digging holes and positioning 25 6 ft. tall (mostly) pine trees in 50 gallon tubs.

Give Me Liberty!

2009-04-23T08:13:00.000-07:00

Today's presentation was Santa Clara Elementary's 5th graders. There were 8 students there to represent the 24 students who passed off the Give Me Liberty Program, which includes 12 items for them to memorize and demonstrate to their teacher. This morning they presented the Pledge of Allegiance in sign language, the National Anthem, the Gettysburg Address, sections of the Declaration of Independence, States and Capitals, Presidents of the United States, and facts about our American Flag. This was an impressive sight. These kids have really applied themselves and worked hard to pass all this off. A special thank you to teachers Mrs. Simkins and Mrs. Fletcher as well as Principal Peterson for sharing your dedicated students with us this morning.

from left to right back row: Mrs. Petersen, Shaylee Reed, Zack Salmon, Antonio Diaz, Jamie Brown, Mrs. Simkins
Front row: Allyson Terry, Brody Payzant, Jared Benson, Megan Amundsen, Mrs. Fletcher