Alumni Association News

Welcome, New Board Members!

The University of Utah Alumni Association added eight new members to its Board of Directors in 2008-09. The Association also has a new board president, Michele Mattsson HBA’85 JD’88, and vice president, Rex Thornton BS’72, who will both serve for three years. As president, Mattsson is also a member of the Board of Trustees.

The Alumni Association board counts a total of 24 members who support and advance the priorities of the University of Utah and the Alumni Association through legislative advocacy, fundraising for scholarships, and community service and outreach.

Michele Mattsson is chief appellate mediator for the Utah Court of Appeals. She has been actively involved with the University and in the community by serving in the Utah Legal Aid Society, on the Crimson Club board, and as past president of the Interfraternity Alumni Association. Mattsson is married to Benjamin T. Wilson HBA’87 JD’90, and they have two children.

“I am honored to be the new president of the University of Utah Alumni Association,” says Michele. “The Association is a connecting point for all of us who have been shaped by the University, including generations of my own family.”

Rex Thornton is senior vice president and branch manager of D.A. Davidson, a financial consulting firm. He is a varsity high school football official and currently holds the record for the most state championship games officiated. Thornton is also the most loyal of Utes, having been a season ticket holder for more than three decades, along with five sets of friends and his wife, Mary C. Thornton BS’71. Rex and Mary are the parents of five adult children.

“The University of Utah has always been an integral part of my family’s life,” says Rex. “I, my wife, and the majority of our children are all U of U graduates. I am honored to be associated with this great institution.”

Greg Anderson BS’76 is president of Crown Council, Inc. He has also served as board president with various foundations and organizations including United Cerebral Palsy of Utah, the Granite Education Foundation, and the Smiles for Life Foundation. He is married to Allyson M. Anderson BS’73, and they have three children.

Barry Angstman BS’80 BA’80 applies his business education as the senior vice president of Wells Fargo Bank. He is a former member of the board of commissioners of both the Housing Council of Salt Lake and the Wayne Brown Institute, which offers educational and training programs to entrepreneurs. He is married to Catherine Angstman BS’79 MBA’80, a former member of the Young Alumni Board. They have two children.

Jodie Bennion BA’66, a former Olympus High School teacher, is currently an associate broker for the Ramsey Group. She also sits on the boards of the Junior League of Salt Lake City, Family Support Center, American Diabetes Association, Salt Lake Country Club, and Kappa Kappa Gamma. She is the mother of two adult children.

Linda Dunn BS’81 MEd’95 is director of the University’s Lowell Bennion Community Service Center. She is a former executive director of Utah Campus Compact and teacher at both Skyline and Highland high schools. Dunn is actively involved in the community including conducting volunteer service for the Utah Commission of Volunteers, Friends for Sight, the American Dream Foundation, and the Utah Coalition for Civic, Character and Service Learning. She is married to Michael A. Dunn BS’81 MA’06, and they are the parents of three children.

John Firmage BS’82 is the president and CEO of the Firmco Group of Companies and serves on the boards of the Ronald McDonald House and the Arthritis Foundation. In addition, he is a member of several University of Utah boards including the Hospital Foundation, Health Science Advocates, Crimson Club, Presidents Club, and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. He is married to Carol Ann Firmage BA’84, and they have three children.

Heidi Makowski BS’83 is a development officer for the U’s College of Fine Arts. She has served as president of the Junior League of Salt Lake City and recently created and directed the league’s new Refugee Integration into Society through Education project. She has also been a board member of the Rape Recovery Center, and is a past volunteer with Granite Mental Health. She is married to Ed Makowski and is the stepmother of two grown children.

Keven Rowe BS’83 JD’86 is president of the law firm Jones Waldo Holbrook and McDonough and serves as the head of its Real Estate Finance and Commercial Financing and Commercial Banking Groups. He is also a member of Gov. Jon Huntsman’s Finance Committee, the University’s Health Science Advocates, and the Kingsbury Hall Advisory Board. He is married to Susan Heppler Rowe, and they are the parents of three children.

Elizabeth “Liz” Whitney BA’85 JD’87 is an attorney with the law firm Parsons Behle and Latimer, practicing in the areas of litigation and appeals and real estate law. She is a former board member of the Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Board, Kappa Kappa Gamma House, and the Utah Heritage Foundation. She is married to John B. Larson BS’86 MPrA’87, and they have five children.

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Young Alumni Board 2008-09
THE YOUNG ALUMNI BOARD (YAB) ADDS EIGHT MEMBERS, CHOOSES NEW LEADERSHIP.

New members of the Young Alumni Board (L-R): Joshua Lichty BS’03, Adelaide “Addie” Maudsley JD’00, Zachary “Zach” Wiseman BA’95 JD’98, Kari Bodell BA’98, Natalie Harris BA’04, Brittany Smith BS’02, Dan Johnson BA’01 MBA ’05, and John Evans BA’97 MBA’02.

The YAB also has a new president, Jeremy Barlow BS'99 (left), a financial advisor with Northwestern Mutual. Brandon Riley BA'98 (right) is the YAB's new vice president. He is a personal financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial.

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Chapter Chatter

Above left, Denver alumni Chapter President Robb Hill BS'91 with Charlie Monfort. At right, Tom Kroesche JD'82 MBA'82, Orange County Alumni Chapter representative, with head basketball coach jim Boylen.

Late spring and summer were chock-full of alumni chapter activities, beginning with the Summer Ute Tour in May, featuring four of Utah’s outstanding coaches: women’s basketball coach Elaine Elliott, volleyball coach Beth Launiere, men’s basketball coach Jim Boylen, and football coach Kyle Whittingham. The group visited with alumni and friends in Las Vegas (May 22-23) and St. George (May 23-24), offering views of past athletic performances and previews of the upcoming sports highlights of 2008-09.

The Southern Utah Chapter held a golf tournament in conjunction with the Summer Ute Tour. The goal of the tournament, other than providing U of U alumni and friends with a magnificent setting in which to hone their golf swings, is to raise scholarship funds for U of U students from the area. Based on the success of the golf tourney and other fund-raising events held during the past academic year, the chapter was able to award scholarships to four high school graduates from southern Utah who will attend the U in 2008-09.

Other alumni chapter events held during the summer included a beach party and picnic in San Diego’s Mission Bay Park on June 21; a luncheon and dinner with head basketball coach Jim Boylen in Los Angeles/Orange County on June 24; and, in Denver on July 1, “Baseball at Coors Field,” hosted once again by Charlie Monfort BS’82, owner of the Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball team. And on July 26, members of the Bay Area Alumni Chapter gathered at AT&T Park for a picnic and baseball (San Francisco Giants vs. Arizona Diamondbacks) for the chapter’s 7th annual Pioneer Day celebration.

For more information about chapter events—past, present, and future—go to www.alumni.utah.edu/chapters, or contact Kris Bosman at (801) 581-3966 or by e-mail.

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Homecoming 2008—September 20-27:
Better Off Red!

Save the date! This year’s Homecoming week is packed with activities, some traditional and some new, including an Emeritus Alumni Reunion, Songfest, House Decorating, Parents’ Weekend, and the Young Alumni 5K Run/Walk/Stroll and 1K Kids Run, which bring in a boatload of scholarship funds for deserving students. Then there’s the Scholarship Scramble Golf Tournament—which also raises scholarship funds for students—at scenic Bonneville Golf Course, and a pregame tailgate party and barbecue—held on the Alumni House patio and lawns this year, just a short jaunt away from Rice-Eccles Stadium, where the U will confront Weber State on the gridiron Saturday, Sept. 27, at 6 p.m.

Check back regularly for updates at www.alumni.utah.edu/homecoming, or call (801) 581-6995 for more information.

Association board member Ann Bardsley BA’84 is chair of the 2008 Homecoming Committee.

Special Homecoming Event:

Dennis Miller at Kingsbury Hall—September 26: ’Tis the season to be political—and politically incorrect, which talk-show host Dennis Miller does with relish. Miller, the headliner for Homecoming Week 2008, is coming to town to set the record either straight or skewed, depending on one’s point of view, with his unique brand of political ranting: 7:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 26, at Kingsbury Hall. Tickets range from $35.50 to $59.50 for pit seats. (Price does not include handling or facility fees.) All patrons must have a ticket, regardless of age, and children under age 6 are not admitted. For more information, call 581-7100 or visit www.kingsburyhall.org/.

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A Makeover for U-News & Views

In January of this year, the Alumni Association’s online newsletter, U-News & Views, got a new look and is now prominently accessed from the Association’s Web site (www.alumni.utah.edu). During the five-plus years that the newsletter has been published, its circulation has grown from 32,000 to almost 60,000 subscribers. Where else can you find almost everything you need to know about what’s happening at the Alumni Association and the University each month, from groundbreaking research to student activities, to special lectures and cultural events, and from athletic accomplishments to tidbits of U of U trivia? The newsletter also highlights the accomplishments of members of the U of U community, including a sampling of their recent publications, and provides ample space for news from and about alumni.

The newsletter is not only for alumni but for anyone interested in what’s happening at the U. Best of all, it’s free!

Not a subscriber? Go to www.alumni.utah.edu, click on the newsletter “subscribe” link, and then sit back and wait for the newsletter announcement to arrive in your e-mail box the first day of each month.