Profiles

1938 | C. Bland Giddings, ’38, MS and MD University of Cincinnati ’39 and ’47 (Lucile Layton, ’40), Mesa, Ariz., has been added to American Fork (Utah) High School’s Wall of Fame (he graduated from the school in 1934). He is a fellow of the American College of Nuclear Medicine and has written many books on family history and the history of American Fork. An avid musician, he is a cofounder of the Arizona Cello Society and the Mesa Symphony Orchestra. 

1949 | Cal S. Taggart, ’49 (Norma Dover, ’46), Lovell, Wyo., was honored by the governor of Wyoming in a proclamation that named Feb. 6, 2001, as Cal S. Taggart Day. Taggart served as a state senator (1972–84), as the mayor of Lovell (1962–68), and in numerous other public capacities. The honor was bestowed on his 77th birthday.

1961 | Dale M. Dorius, ’61, JD George Washington University ’64 (DeLoris Peters, ’67), Brigham City, Utah, recently became a member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. Only one other Utahn has been so honored. Dorius is also a member of the National Council of Adoption and was listed in the adoption bestseller, Adopting in America. He has handled hundreds of adoptions, including interstate and international placements.

1968 | Douglas J. Gant, ’68 (Cheryl), Bakersfield, Calif., a team manager for State Farm Insurance, has been awarded a Scroll of Appreciation by the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters. The award recognizes his 10 years in educational leadership in the insurance industry. Greggory B. Mendenhall, ’68, JD George Washington University ’71 (Patricia), New York, was named managing partner of the New York office of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis. He has handled matters before the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. Customs Service, the Maritime Administration, the Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Congress. Joseph K. Strickler, ’68, MS Golden Gate University ’82, San Rafael, Calif., has been either certified or licensed to practice accounting in 18 states. As a person with learning disabilities, Strickler is striving to make the accounting world more open to the disabled.

1970 | Lynne Insley Larson, ’70 (Kent, ’69), Burley, Idaho, has been honored with a Teacher Excellence Award from the Albertson’s Foundation and the College of Southern Idaho. A secondary school teacher and published writer, she was one of four public school teachers from her region selected for the tribute.

1974 | David W. Kelly, ’74, MPA ’77 (Jessica Weiss, ’76), Vancouver, Wash., director of administrative services at Southwest Washington Health District, has joined the American Heart Association (AHA) as chair-elect of the northwest affiliate’s board of directors. He began volunteering with the AHA when his oldest son had heart surgery 18 years ago; he has since held local and national posts with the association.

1975 | Terry Bohle Montague, ’75 (Quinn, ’79), Rupert, Idaho, has re-released her book Mine Angels Round About, the story of the West German Mission evacuation at the beginning of World War II. It took her five years to find and interview the missionaries involved and compile their accounts.

1976 | Frank A. Wirig, ’76 (Kathryn), Las Vegas, has reached retirement eligibility as a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He has also received a commercial pilot’s license and was appointed aviation coordinator for the FBI in Nevada.

1977 | Jeffrey V. Kulesus, ’77 (Ami), High Point, N.C., became assistant vice president of annuity policy forms and compliance at Jefferson Pilot Financial. Previously, he was the manager of policy forms and compliance for Alexander Hamilton Life Insurance.

1980 | Christopher L. Cooper, ’80 (Leslie Hatch, ’79), Charleston, S.C., directs sales operations for the J.K. Harris family of companies. Philip K. (Tad) Hurst, ’80, MD St. Louis University ’84 (Shari Sonntag, ’80), San Jose, Calif., was elected chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose. A board-certified specialist in emergency medicine, he is an assistant clinical faculty member at Stanford University.

1982 | George S. Low, ’82, MBA University of Western Ontario ’88, PhD University of Colorado ’94 (Colleen Davidson, ’89), Arlington, Texas, was promoted to associate professor of marketing and awarded permanent tenure in the M.J. Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University. His research area is the management of integrated marketing communications and brands. Wesley B. Vance, ’82, MBA Indiana University ’96 (Melinda S. Moore, ’84), Canton, Ohio, has been named president of Diebold North America. He was previously president of Arvin Exhaust Systems. Vance is a certified public accountant and serves on the boards of directors of several not-for-profit and private organizations. He and Mindy have five children.

1983 | Bruce L. Duerden, ’83, MFA ’89 (Marlyene Kemp, ’88), Hyrum, Utah, has received the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Medallion. A professor of theater and lighting design at Utah State University, he is technical director for the Old Lyric Repertory Company in Logan, Utah. He has worked at BYU and Texas A&M University and for the Texas and Utah Shakespearean Festivals. William Clayton Hubner Jr., ’83, MBA ’85, PhD University of Michigan ’96 (Diana Will, ’86), Belmont, Mass., has joined Razorfish, a digital solutions provider, as executive vice president of infrastructure. He will also lead the global knowledge management and global resource management teams. Robert W. Huckvale, ’83, MAcc ’84 (Susan), Camas, Wash., has been named vice president of finance for Purdy Corporation, a paint applicator and producer. He and Susan have five children.

1984 | Christopher W. McDaniel, ’84, PhD ’89 (Richelle Davis, ’87), Rockville, Md., has been appointed director of pharmaceutical development for Shire Pharmaceutical Development. Daniel T. Truman, ’84 (Wendee Jensen, ’84), Goodlettsville, Tenn., a native of St. George, Utah, has been a member of the country band Diamond Rio for 10 years. The keyboardist for the group, he enjoys the opportunity to give firesides and explain how he maintains his beliefs while keeping the schedule of a professional musician. Dan met his wife, Wendee, while a member of BYU’s Young Ambassadors. Mark K. Vincent, ’84, JD Pepperdine University ’87 (Kimberly Walker, ’92), Salt Lake City, received the U.S. Attorney’s Award from the U.S. Department of Justice for exceptional service as a unit chief in the criminal division and as an assistant U.S. attorney.

1985 | Kevin M. Bergen, ’85 (Tracy Alcorn, ’82), Torrance, Calif., will receive a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University in July. After an internship Bergen will open a private practice working mainly with couples and families. He and Tracy have four daughters. Brent A. Duncan, ’85, MOB University of Phoenix ’99 (Penny), Aptos, Calif., is director of marketing for Cleanscape Software International. He and Penny have two teenagers.

1987 | Stephen G. Bennett, ’87, JD University of Idaho ’91 (Sheri Wiseman, ’88), Magna, Utah, is cofounder, chief legal officer, and chief operating officer of Millennium Digital Arts Group. The recently launched company specializes in high-end post-production film, video, and audio related products. S. Brian Lindsay, ’87, MHA Duke University ’90, Newburgh, N.Y., is a founding director and presiding administrator for a new cardiovascular surgical center and heart institute for central New York and western Connecticut. Rodney L. Lough, ’87, MS ’88 (LeeAnna), Happy Valley, Ore., has published his first book, Wilderness Collections, featuring landscape and wilderness photography from the Pacific Northwest to the Florida Everglades. Lough has participated in more than 100 juried art shows in the United States and has sold his work internationally. Antone R. Mickelson, ’87 (Kelly), Yakima, Wash., has been promoted to director of membership services and development of the Northwest Dairy Association, the sixth largest dairy co-op in the United States with more than $1 billion in sales. Randall C. Smith, ’87 (Caralee), Sacramento, Calif., has been named president and CEO of Claims Management Inc. He joined the company in 1991 after working for KPMG Peat Marwick and PriceWaterhouse in Sacramento. He is bishop of the Mission Oak Ward in the Sacramento East Stake.

1988 | Marc H. Bennett, ’88, MA ’93 (Michelle), Salt Lake City, has been named president and chief executive officer of HealthInsight, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health-care systems of Utah and Nevada. Natalie White Donaldson, ’88 (Paul, ’87), Temecula, Calif., has been appointed to the board of directors of Blackwood Industries, an international conglomerate that provides apparel to the restaurant industry and food items to Wal-Mart stores across America. Michael E. Mangelson, ’88, JD ’91 (Jennifer), Farmington, Utah, has been elected principal of Stoel Rives, one of the Northwest’s largest law firms. Before joining Stoel Rives in 1998, he practiced law in Los Angeles; Hong Kong; Taipei, Taiwan; and Salt Lake City. Kimberly Power Stilson, ’88 (Chad), Cedar Hills, Utah, was promoted to vice president of marketing and communications for Learnframe, a company that provides e-learning infrastructure technologies and services.

1989 | Teresa Steenhoek Almond, ’89 (Matthew), Sandy, Utah, is the new director of marketing communications for Learnframe, a company that provides e-learning infrastructure technologies and services. Although she has worked for a variety of companies, she was with Learnframe when it opened in 1992. Darren W. Duerden, ’89, MM and DMU Florida State University ’94 and ’97 (Jennifer Jacobson, ’91), Laie, Hawaii, is the percussion professor and coordinator of instrumental music at BYU–Hawaii. He has been associated with Ballet West, the Utah Chamber Artists, Sundance Summer Theatre, the Tallahassee Symphony, and the Mississippi Symphony. With his wife, Jennifer, he has directed professional and university steel bands in Utah, Florida, and Mississippi; he is the cofounder of Steele Appeal, Utah’s first professional steel band. Val J. Umphress, ’89, PhD ’96 (Sabrina), Mililani, Hawaii, was selected faculty member of the year by the graduate student body at the American School of Professional Psychology/Hawaii Campus. He is an assistant professor of psychology and director of practicum training.

1990 | Kevin B. Chase, ’90, New York, has been promoted to partner in the business and professional services practice at Ray & Berndtson, the world’s seventh largest international search and management consulting firm.

1991 | Michael J. Cragun, ’91, JD Lewis and Clark College ’93, Clearfield, Utah, is the new commissioner of Davis County, Utah. Evan C. Nelson, ’91, JD ’94 (Marci Williams, ’92) Lindon, Utah, has joined the law office of Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall, and McCarthy. Both he and his wife, Marci, earned law degrees from BYU. They have two children.

1992 | Erik J. Bolinder, ’92, JD Washington University School of Law ’95 (Holly Cameron, ’90), Boise, Idaho, has been appointed general counsel for the DBSI Group of Companies. David H. Read, ’92, BA University of North Carolina at Greensboro ’93, JD University of California Hastings College of the Law ’95 (Barbara Padgett, ’91), Winston-Salem, N.C., passed the October 2000 patent bar and has been admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He is an associate in the intellectual property group of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice.

1993 | Dixon Lamar Holmes, ’93, MPA ’98 (Michele Schoenberger, ’93), Provo, is the new assistant director of economic development for Provo City. He served previously as the zoning administrator for Provo City Community Development. Erik Johnston Rupard, ’93, MD Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences ’98 (Lorri Vodi ’91), Silver Spring, Md., graduated from medical school on the dean’s list and is in the second year of a three-year general internal medicine residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He has been selected to be chief resident of the Internal Medicine Department for 2001–02. R. Matthew Tullis, ’93, MBA ’95 (Tiffin Anger, ’94), Westborough, Mass., has been appointed chief financial officer for Oculus Technologies, a provider of secure computing environments. Tullis worked for eight years as vice president of California Bank and Trust. He has also been an adjunct instructor at LDS Business College.

1994 | Jeffrey S. Almberg, ’94, Irvine, Calif., has earned a master’s degree in education from Chapman University. He will continue to teach fifth grade for the Walnut Valley Unified School District. Thad H. Balkman, ’94, JD University of Oklahoma ’98 (Amy), Norman, Okla., was recently elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The 29-year-old beat a two-term incumbent and is the first Republican to represent the East Norman and Noble district. Matthew J. Haslam, ’94, MA ’96 (Jeanne Brotherson, ’96), Greensboro, N.C., received a PhD in English from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The title of his dissertation was “Mormon Literacy: Reading and Writing in a Religious Context.” Gordon E. Limb, ’94, MA University of Utah ’97, PhD University of California, Berkeley ’00 (Erika Lundgren, ’93), Manchester, Mo., has been appointed lecturer and assistant director of the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. Thomas A. Monaco, ’94, MS ’96, PhD Texas A&M University ’99 (Elizabeth), Logan, Utah, is an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Rangeland Resources at Utah State University (USU). He also works as an ecologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture research station at USU. R. Lee Richan, ’94 (Kikuchi), American Fork, Utah, has been appointed general manager of OTSCON. He will direct the company’s American factory in Missouri as well as help oversee development of its international firm. He is the former acting vice president of Omron Electronics in Japan and Singapore. Jeffrey J. Stewart, ’94, MS Princeton University ’99 (Jennifer Wadsack, ’91), Spokane, Wash., has been named director of science and intellectual property for BioGenetic Ventures. Previously, he worked in the theoretical division of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Daniel B. Tovey, ’94, MD Tulane University ’98 (Alyson), Cedar Hills, Utah, was awarded the Mead Johnson Award for Excellence in Graduate Family Medicine by the American Academy of Family Practice.

1996 | Phillip L. Cardon, ’96, MS ’96 (Yuko), Ypsilanti, Mich., has completed a PhD in education at Ohio State University and is an assistant professor in technology education at Eastern Michigan University. Isaac J. Eddington, ’96, JD Harvard University ’00 (Nilasari Samad, ’99), Avon, Ohio, has joined the law firm of Squire, Sanders, and Dempsey, where he focuses on general environmental matters. At Harvard he was a senior editor of the Journal of Law and Public Policy. Eric W. Mercer, ’96, MBA University of Virginia ’00 (Renee Hall, ’95), Hillsboro, Ore., manages Intel’s business relationship with ASIC suppliers. He and Renee are the parents of three sons. Amanda Stewart, ’96, MEd Lewis and Clark College ’00, Salt Lake City, is teaching kindergarten and pre-kindergarten in her first year at the Jean Massieu School, a chartered school for deaf children. She previously worked at the California School for the Deaf.

1997 | Charles P. Davis, ’97 (Kathleen Jensen, ’94), Torrance, Calif., purchased Tor Patterson Associates, a small industrial design firm, and is the company’s the new president. Kenneth R. Davis, ’97 (Kim Bingham, ’97), Yorba Linda, Calif., was promoted to assistant to the regional manager for the western region of Parke Davis, a division of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.

2000 | Karen Wilson Truscott, ’00 (Steven, ’99), St. Louis, Mo., has received the Araminata L. Smith Memorial Scholarship from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. The scholarship is designed for students with a commitment to serve economically disadvantaged populations.