Happy New Year!

No Club Meeting today. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

No club meeting today. Merry Christmas!

DSC Basketball

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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.