Class Notes | Spring 2021

Richard Watkins BA ’67 was born and raised in West Haven, Utah. Upon graduation from Weber State, he accepted a position and worked for the same logistics company in Utah for over 43 years. He retired from Kenco Logistics as director of Public Operations of the Western Region in 2008. Richard served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in France, and another at the Bishop’s Storehouse in Ogden, where he assisted those experiencing homelessness and transience in the area. While at Weber State, he met his wife, Edith Watkins IC ’65. Together, they served a proselytizing mission in Ogden, and another in Yerevan, Armenia. While serving in Armenia, they were responsible for Employment Services for the church for all of Eastern Europe. Richard and Edith have five children, 19 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Seven of their children and spouses are Weber State graduates. Richard is a member of the Wildcat Club and is proud to say he bleeds purple. They live in West Haven.

Vickie Whiting Merrill AS ’71, BS ’72 received her teaching certificate from Utah State University and taught special education in the Davis School District for 30 years. She worked with students with behavior and emotional disorders in the junior high setting. As a history major at WSU, she received the Utah State Historical Society Award as the outstanding history student as a graduating senior. At WSU, she was affiliated with Phi Kappa Phi, and was involved in getting students and elderly citizens registered to vote and out to the polls on election day. Vickie and her husband, Greg Merrill AS ’80, have five sons and 14 grandchildren. Vickie currently serves on WSU’s Emeriti Alumni Council. They live in Syracuse, Utah.

Joyce Taggart Porter ’73 worked in the Weber School District at Bonneville High School for 27 years, serving as Business Department chair for the majority of those years. While at Bonneville, Joyce received the I Love Teaching Award, and was featured as a speaker at numerous teacher conferences. During those years, she also was an adjunct faculty member at Weber State in the BusEd/ Technology Business Education department. While teaching at WSU, Joyce also received the Outstanding Business Educator Postsecondary award from Western Business Education Association and the Distinguished PostSecondary Business Educator award from Utah Business Educators Association. She retired from WSU in 2017, and from Weber School District in 2001. Joyce and her husband, Dennis Porter BS ’73, have four children and 17 grandchildren. Joyce currently serves on the WSU Emeriti Alumni Council.

Bill Van Dyke BA ’73 was a member of the Blue Key Honor Society and charter president of Chi Epsilon Phi Fraternity/Sigma Gamma Chi at WSU. Bill has been a professional banker for over 45 years in mortgage lending. His jobs have included loan officer, manager, regional manager (five-state region) and vice president. He has also had ownership interest in a mortgage company, which sold in 2015. Currently, he holds a branch lending manager license and is a senior loan officer for Academy Mortgage, and is semi-retired. While attending WSU, Bill met his wife, Mary Davenport Van Dyke. They were married in 1973 and have five children. They also have 12 grandchildren. As a volunteer, Bill is highly involved with his church and has held many leadership and teaching positions. He currently serves on WSU’s Emeriti Alumni Council.

Robert Alley BS ’74 married Suzanne Southwick Alley AS ’73 of Ogden in 1972. Following Weber State, he attended the University of Utah School of Medicine and graduated in 1978. Robert completed a general surgery residency at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in 1983 and was assigned to Fort Stewart’s Winn Army Hospital in Georgia, where he served as a general surgeon. Robert returned to Ogden in 1986 and continued to practice as a general surgeon. In 1994, he became a full-time ER physician at McKay-Dee Hospital. He has been active in the Ogden medical community, serving as chief of surgery and trauma director at McKay-Dee Hospital, secretary and president of the Ogden Surgical Medical Society, and president of the Weber County Medical Society. Robert retired from medicine in 2017. He and Sue have five children and 18 grandchildren. He currently serves on the WSU Emeriti Alumni Council.

Dan Walker BS ’75 recently retired after a 36-year career as a track and field coach. During his 33 years at Weber State, he coached 74 conference champions, 15 All-Americans and three NCAA champions. After retiring from WSU, Dan spent his last three years coaching at Idaho State, where he helped bring the men’s and women’s programs from last place finishes in the Big Sky to second and third place finishes. Prior to coaching, Dan worked as a lab specialist in St. Benedict’s Hospital, now Ogden Regional Medical Center, from 1975–1984, during which time he volunteered with WSU’s track and field program. Dan and his wife, Elaine, have been married for 46 years and reside in South Ogden. They have three children and two grandchildren.

Jennifer McGrew BS ’92 holds an MFA from Utah State University and an MA from New York University. Jennifer taught English, theater and education courses at WSU from 2001 to 2010. During that time, she helped launch the WSU First Year Experience program as one of the first instructors. For 20 years, she has operated McGrew Studios, a production, costume and fabrication design company in Salt Lake City. Although her downtown shop location closed in November 2020, Jennifer continues to do production work from her home studio, plus script development for film, TV, commercials and the arts. She lives in Salt Lake City.

Quinn Jacobson BIS ’93 received his MFA at Goddard College in Vermont. He worked as a photographer for the US Department of Defense for 20 years and retired in 2020. Quinn owns Studio Q, and still enjoys working as an artist and educator. He teaches historic photographic processes both privately and at the University of Colorado, Denver. Quinn has also given photography lectures at universities in China and Spain. He published Chemical Pictures (2020) and Conferring Importance (2007). He and his wife, Jeanne, live in Florissant, Colorado.

Sharon Arrington Bolos BA ’93 worked as a homebased accountant for several small businesses following her graduation. She was elected to the city council in West Haven in 2010. After completing one term, she was elected as mayor and is currently serving in her second term. Sharon is pursuing a master’s degree in public administration from Southern Utah University. Her husband, Gus Bolos AS ’93, is a physical therapist for Ogden Regional Medical Center and also owns a home healthcare contracting company. Gus is pursuing his doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT) at Arcadia University. Together, they raised six children. Of their children and their spouses, three are WSU graduates and six are currently attending.

Ryan J. Taylor BA ’97 earned his doctorate in education from Grand Canyon University in 2018. He is currently an administrator for American Leadership Academy in Arizona. Ryan also worked for the Arizona Diamondbacks for six years and has been a coach for 19 seasons. His coaching career includes winning the Boys Basketball Arizona State Championship last spring. Ryan and his wife, Tamarah, have five children and live in Queen Creek, Arizona.

Curtis Ray Benally BA ’96 graduated with an MFA in painting from the University of Oklahoma in 1999. Afterward, he taught fine arts and art history at Diné College’s Shiprock campus. He served as the dean of instruction and vice president of Institutional Development, and helped raise over $9 million for a new library at the Shiprock campus and archival building at the campus in Tsaile, Arizona. In 2011, Curtis left Diné College to focus on his fine arts career. He became a freelance photographer for The Farmington Daily Times, The Navajo Times, The Albuquerque Journal and The Santa Fe New Mexican. He also started his own business, Turkeyboy Photography. His photography focuses on social causes, such as the Dakota Access Pipeline protest at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in 2016 and missing and murdered indigenous women. Curtis is an actor for film and television and starred in the film Horse Song, which debuted at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. He is also the WSU 1996 Crystal Crest Talent of the Year award winner. He and his wife, Kathleen, have two children and reside in Farmington, New Mexico.

Mindy Mortensen BA ’98 is a botanist currently teaching in Community Education for WSU, as well as Home and Garden Plants on campus. She also does landscape consulting for homeowners. Her husband, Matt Mortensen BS ’98, is the network security officer for Weber County. They have four children, two of whom are WSU students. They live in Pleasant View, Utah.

Thomas Hofmeyer BA ’00 is a global head of logistics and trade compliance for Tecan, a medical technology corporation. He guest lectures yearly for MIT’s supply chain MBA program. Thomas is involved in Swiss politics as a member of The Liberals. Thomas and his wife, Aliona, live in Zurich, Switzerland. They have one daughter.

Jeremy Farner AA ’01, AAS ’01, BS ’03 returned to Weber State in 2008 as an instructor and is now a tenured associate professor, program coordinator of the Building Design & Construction (architecture) program, and director of the Wadman Center for Construction Excellence. He leads Global Agent of Change international service trips to developing countries to construct projects his students have designed. He is engaged in real-world projects that serve the local community. His wife, Jami Farner BS ’11 is a science teacher at Mountain High School in Kaysville, Utah. They have seven children between them and live in Clinton, Utah.

Derrick Glum BS ’03 is the COO for Mountain Vista Medical Center and Florence Hospital for Steward Health Care in the Phoenix area. He received his MBA from Western Governors University in 2011. Derrick previously worked as CEO for LifeCare hospitals in the Reno area, and COO for Gila River Health Care in Phoenix. He served a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Mindy Venditti AS ’08, BS ’18 owns LifeSavers CPR, an organization providing certified American Heart Association instruction. The company offers Basic Life Support (BLS) training and HeartCode BLS with first aid classes weekly and monthly to businesses and individuals. She and her husband, Frank, live in Bountiful, Utah.

Chase K. Christiansen AS ’08, BS ’10 is the deputy chief of staff for US Congressman Blake Moore. With a focus on strategic marketing and communications, Chase worked as an advisor for Moore’s 2020 congressional campaign. Previously, Chase worked as a digital marketing manager for Cicero Group and at the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development, where he designed and executed strategic marketing initiatives such as the Utah Economic Summit, Talent Ready Utah, Utah Aerospace Pathways, Diesel Tech Pathways and the Utah Outdoor Recreation Summit. While serving on the Board of Trustees for the Bike Collective, Chase earned the Presidential Volunteer Service Award. He has also served as a community board member for the Emerging Leaders Initiative of Utah. He and his wife, Anna, live in Salt Lake City.

Melissa Aitken AS ’11, BS ’18 is receiving her MBA in Healthcare Administration Management from Western Governor’s University in winter 2021, and recently completed a Design and Interpretation of Clinical Trials course through Johns Hopkins University through Coursera. She is a senior clinical research coordinator for the University of Utah School of Medicine. Previously, Melissa worked for over five years as a clinical research nurse for Pharmaceutical Research Organization, LLC.

Andrew Chris BS ’11 owns The Life Empowerment, LLC. His company provides personal growth coaching, empowered couple coaching and empowered parent coaching, all delivered online. He also has books and online resources for personal growth, intimate relationship building and proactive and positive parenting. Andrew is an adjunct instructor in WSU’s Department of Child & Family Studies. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two children and live in North Ogden, Utah.

Jamie Rigby BS ’14, MBA ’17 has worked for four years as a production control/ manufacturing engineering manager for JBT AeroTech. He will receive his master’s degree in manufacturing engineering from University of Wisconsin-Stout in spring 2021. Previously, Jamie worked for Autoliv as a global supply chain leader and project buyer for engineering and development. He also has a Six Sigma Black Belt from ASQ. He and his wife, Samantha, live in West Point, Utah.

Caleb Johnson MTax ’19 is a tax associate for Andersen Tax in Houston, Texas. He works in the private client service department and performs tax compliance, preparing individual, partnership, estate and gift, and other federal and state tax returns. He received his CPA license in September 2020. Caleb received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from BYU-Idaho. He served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the greater Atlanta area. He and his wife, Hannah Johnson, live in Houston.