Alumnus Assumes New Role at the Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games

Pace Clarke, growing up in the tiny town of Tropic, on the periphery of Bryce Canyon National Park, enjoyed the quintessential rural Utah life. He rode horses, went four-wheeling, hiked, fished, swam, shot guns, and worked on the family farm and in its tourist-related businesses.

At Bryce Valley High, he competed in every sport offered and relished history and P.E. classes leading to his 2006 graduation. After working in construction for a spell, serving an LDS mission to Chile and earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology from SUU in 2014, he and his wife Amanda, along with their newborn daughter Rome, returned to Tropic as Pace became the branch manager for State Bank of Southern Utah. It was a position his father, Wes, had earlier held for nearly nine years.

Today, he is the operations and development coordinator for the Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games, and his background makes him perfect for the post.

“We are thrilled to have Pace on our staff. It’s always a good day when a T-Bird returns to campus and we are excited with the experience and skill set he brings to the Games” says USG Executive Director Casey McClellan of his helpful and friendly new hire.

Pace replaces Steve Ahlgreen, who labored energetically for the Games for 18 years before his retirement this spring and who continues to serve as a volunteer.

While an SUU student, Pace worked on the construction and repair crew for Facilities Management under Ben Johnson, officiated at countless basketball and baseball games, and was an enthusiastic volunteer for the Games, adding to his cachet of know-how and connections that will serve him well in his new job.

“My varied experiences have allowed me to build a strong network that is helping me in my new position,” he says, “and this network has opened a lot of doors that will aid the Games as we go forward.”

Pace, in his new occupation, is charged with fostering and developing sponsorships and with developing new ideas on how to better serve and aid those who support the Games, and he says that his people skills will aid him in that endeavor.

“We so appreciate the sponsors we have and want them to know that’s true year-round, not just during the events,” he says. “I am excited to work with them and to find others who want to be a part of what we do.”

Pace also helps manage the budget of the Games and works with the USG team on the strategic plan for the 30-year-old sports festival that wrapped the 2016 edition up June 19. He says he thrives on the excitement engendered by the Games.

“I love the energy of the athletes and find that the Opening Ceremonies are a special look at the excitement of the Games in total. It’s fun to see the spectators join in that feeling,” he says.

Alumni Spotlight: Herbert Stinson

Herbert Stinson (’75, history) is the head assistant coach and chairman of the board of directors at Aztec High School in Aztec, N.M., and was inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association (NHSACA) Hall of Fame on June 28, 2016, at the Galt House in Louisville, KY.

Stinson was introduced to wrestling as a high school sophomore at Aztec High School when coach Jerry Parker persuaded him to try out for the wrestling team. He made the team, went on to wrestle  at Southern Utah University (SUU), and from there the stage was set for his high school coaching career.

“College life and wrestling for what was Southern Utah State College (SUSC) was a great experience for a small town boy from Aztec, N.M.,” said Stinson. “My short stay at SUSC was one of the best years of my life and proved to be great preparation for me toward my life-long calling of coaching and teaching.”

Twelve wrestling state championships, three runner-up and three third place teams later, Stinson retired from New Mexico schools. He coached at Bayfield High School in Colorado for the next twelve years, building a solid competitive wrestling program there.

“There were so many people at SUU who played a role in molding me into the coach I am today,” says Stinson. “Some of these individuals include Coach Joe Lapour, Coach Kathryn Berg, Coach Tom Kingsford, Dr. Bruce Osborne, Dr. Morris Shirts, Dr. Steve Lunt and Dale and Suzanne Brinkerhoff.  All of my team mates, but especially captain Ladd Holman, Ralph Harrison, Scott Teeples and Richard Tree.” 

Stinson boasts 65 individual wrestling state champions, 208 individual place winners, 18 district championships, 19 High School All Americans, and 12 Academic All Americans. He ended with a 535-92-5 life time record. His teams of the 1990’s were ranked in the top 25 in the nation nine times and as high as number three in 1995 ending that season number seven.

He’s been inducted into four coaching hall of fames including SUU’s. He was selected as National Coach of the Year, in 1991, 1995 and 2000. In New Mexico he was AAA-A Coach of the Year six times and Coach of the Year three times. He was Teacher of the Year twice, once in Aztec and once in Bayfield.

“Helping coach Lapour with Wayne Ritter, a teammate from Aztec, who played football and wrestled at SUU was memorable,” said Stinson. “Ritter is now the school board president in Aztec.”

Stinson also coached football for 39 years. He was the defensive coordinator for 10 head coaches. His defenses had 57 shutouts, and in his 33 years as a defensive coordinator, he helped put the football teams into 25 seasons of playoffs for a total of 50 extra games and 3 state finals. He coached baseball for 10 seasons and in all coached in 20 state final events combined in three different sports winning 12 state titles.

As Aztec’s chairman of the board, Stinson is currently working to raise the money to build a new 100’ x 50’ top of the line wrestling room for the future wrestlers of Aztec High School. His wife, Terry, is a second grade teacher.  They have three grown children together, Tonya, Jeremy and Travis.

SUU License Plates Support Students

When an alumnus or community member buys an SUU license plate, it does more than allow free parking on campus; it also helps fund needed scholarships that change the lives of students.

One such student is Alexis Molnar, a senior graphic design major from Las Vegas, Nevada, who came to Southern Utah University and worried about making ends meet. At one point, she worked two jobs while going to school full-time and maintaining a 3.91 GPA through 76 credits.

Molnar said her scholarship allowed her to gain new experiences by serving in the graphic design club and volunteering as a graphic designer for the SUU Admissions Office, and less time worrying about making ends meet.

“When I found out that I had received this scholarship, I was brought to tears,” Molnar said. “I have been able to work less and focus more on my upper division coursework. During this time, I also received scholarship housing which helps my husband and me even more. This scholarship is a blessing to our lives and I am forever grateful!”

A shock came to Kelton Chapman, a junior communication major from Oak City, Utah, when he received a scholarship that was solely funded by SUU license plates. Chapman said he is grateful for alumni and community members for supporting SUU.

“It means a great deal that other people are willing to sacrifice something to help me in my schooling,” said Chapman, who plans on graduate school after he graduates from SUU. 

Another student who has her sights set on graduate school is Hadlie Visser, a sophomore elementary education major from Layton, Utah. Visser loves to read, be outside and plans on becoming an elementary school teacher after her SUU graduation.

“Not only does it (the scholarship) help me pay for school, but it also gives me confidence in myself,” Visser said. “Knowing that someone else believes in me enough to help me through school makes me feel more able to achieve the things I want to in college.”

Single mother of one and full-time student, Heather Gow, a freshman from Hampton, Virginia, came to SUU even though odds were against her finishing her education after she was divorced. 

Gow said she is willing to do anything to provide for her child who was diagnosed on the autism spectrum, which meant going back to school. 

“The scholarship showed me that I have support here at SUU and there are people willing to invest in my future,” Gow said. “When all the odds seemed stacked against me, having the support makes all the difference!” 

“All of us at SUU are so grateful for the support alumni and community members give our students,” said Mindy Benson, vice president for alumni and community relations. “Scholarships funded through the SUU license plate program do make a difference, and your support is vital to our students’ educational success.”

Alumni and community members wishing to purchase an SUU license plate and assist a student with his or her education, can do so for $25 at your local Utah Department of Motor Vehicles office. For more details, call the Alumni & Community Relations Office at 586-7777.

Carmen Rose Hepworth Alumni Award - Sally Hunter Jensen

Sally Hunter Jensen has what can only be termed a “big personality” and a talent for performing, along with a sincere concern for those who may not otherwise find acceptance. These traits, among many valuable others, have endeared her to her hometown and her alma mater and make her a greatly worthy recipient of this year’s Carmen Rose Hepworth Award.

She was born into one of Cedar City’s pioneering families, one that also is among the 142 families appearing on the SUU Monument to the Founders. She is the granddaughter of a Cedar City mayor, and her father, the late Forrest Hunter, operated several retail enterprises here before purchasing KSUB radio in the 1970s. He was a popular figure, and Sally’s mother Dawn, now nearly 90, continues to be among the city’s grand dames.

Sally grew with a panoply of dreams, but knew somehow that her future would include the arts, so she religiously studied piano, becoming her vocalist father’s most trusted accompanist. Soon she was performing at Cedar High and at what is now SUU, singing and acting in plays and operas. A popular student, she was elected Snow Queen in 1980.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in vocal performance with a secondary teaching certificate and taught at schools in Utah, Colorado and Arizona in the 1980s before deciding the calling was not for her. Along the way, she says, she kept her hand in performing. Among her side jobs was a turn as a singing waitress.

It was always her goal to become better at whatever she tried to do and to seek after excellence for her own fulfillment. If someone noticed, she says, that was always good too.

She has always been a welcome presence on SUU’s stages and her many performances included a role in the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s first matinee and first musical, The Mikado, in 1977. While enjoyable, performing was not paying her bills, so with the encouragement of her father and an industrious hunt for financing, she was able to follow her merchant heritage and open a retail store on Cedar City’s Main Street in 1990.

The Wizz is now a town jewel and has supported a wide variety of local programs, while also allowing Sally to contribute in broader strokes to the University, as well, as she has employed dozens of SUU students over the years. Campus customers provide greater than 50 percent of her business and important to her is the connection she feels with students, particularly those who may not feel that they fit in. Her store is a place where all feel welcome and comfortable and she counts herself as a friend, sounding board and mentor to students.

That speaks to her wide appeal to others, as she connects generations, hierarchies and interests.

She has also established an SUU scholarship in the name of her late husband. The Jason Ted Jensen Scholarship aids future teachers with an original approach to teaching and life and the desire to improve the education system.

Sally, with a strong sense of service, has also given integral labor to the Cedar City Music Arts Association, the Orchestra of Southern Utah, the Neil Simon Festival and the Red Rock Singers.

The Carmen Rose Hepworth award is presented annually at Thunderbird Awards. 

Q&A with Coach Eric Houle ('81)

This past fall, the Thunderbird Men's Cross Country Team won the 2015 Big Sky Championship at Cedar Ridge Golf Course. Head Coach Eric Houle was voted Big Sky Coach of the Year by his colleagues, an honor he has won 34 times in cross country and track & field in different conferences during his 23-year tenure at SUU. In this short Q&A, Coach Houle reflects on his career and what the Big Sky win means to the cross country program.

Q: Why did you decide to come back to SUU to coach?

"I spent ten years at high school coaching and I just badly wanted to get to the collegiate level. So when the job opened up I thought, ‘Wow. I can go back and coach Southern Utah? That would be crazy good.’ I remember that for five years, and even more, just walking on campus with this giggly feeling and thinking, ‘I’m the coach here.’ It was something I wanted to do and it’s not something I thought was going to materialize, but it obviously did. I seized that opportunity and the rest is history."

Q: What does the Big Sky Championship mean for SUU?

"It means we are a player and that we can compete no matter what the level is. We are rising as a university and we are showing in each one of those arenas, we can compete. In this arena, we can compete. In the academic arena, we can compete. In the theatre arts arena, we can compete. It is a testimony to the right decisions made early on that are affecting the present and the future. 

Q: What does the championship mean to the cross country team?

"We’ve won conference championships in each conference we’ve been in except for the Big Sky and we’ve been in Big Sky for three years. To go up against a team like Northern Arizona who out of the last 20 years has won 17 conference championships - to break that wall down and say “yes, you can achieve things” was really important for me to get across to our athletes.

 Q: Is the success of cross country any indication of how well track and field will compete in the spring?

"We are working with the distance runners right now, but we have signed some of the top sprinters in the country that will come on board. I think with the throws, the jumps, the sprints, and the distance coming together to start the indoor season and the success of the cross country team, I think we should be able to be very competitive in track. 

SUU: Training Ground for Today's Leaders

A pair of 21^st century Southern Utah University graduates guide Iron County’s two largest cities, as new Enoch Mayor Geoff Chesnut has joined fellow Thunderbird alum and Cedar City Mayor Maile Wilson as vibrant and forward-thinking leaders well prepared for their respective mantles.

Geoff, who took office in January, graduated from SUU in 2003 with a degree in political science with a strong minor in criminal justice, went on to earn a law degree from Arizona State University, and is a partner in Red Rock Legal Services.

He has a vision of uniting the more than 6,000 residents of the valley community that, he says, has become “fractured.” The 39-year-old father of three says that through a number of civic projects designed to bring people together, that his children and all young families in town can become a more embraced and integral part of the historic town.

The eloquent mayor and his wife Dezaree, who earned a teaching certificate at SUU and is close to fulfilling requirements for a master’s degree in education, are parents to five-year-old Phoebee and identical twin boys, one-year-olds Greer and Chandler.

A Salt Lake City native and transfer to SUU for his sophomore year, Geoff found the University to be a fulfilling experience, serving on the SUUSA judicial council for three years, and as student director of what is now the Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics and Public Service.

Maile, too, points to her SUU training as a key element in her success both as mayor and as an attorney with the law firm of Jones Waldo in Cedar City and St. George. She graduated in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, followed by a master’s in public administration, then went on to receive her law degree from Charlotte School of Law, in Charlotte, N.C.

The Cedar City native took office in January 2014 as the first female and youngest mayor in the history of the city. Maile gained valuable experience as a member of the University mock trial team and, as an SUU intern for the Washington City manager, gained insight into public administration. She credits SUU’s program of augmenting in-class instruction with real-world application as giving her a strong foundation.

She followed solid examples of her grandfather Loren Whetten who held the mayoral position from 1966 to 1974, and of her parents, Rich and Linda Wilson, who have long been stalwart civic contributors.

Halfway through her elected term, Maile, 29, led the process to develop Cedar City’s first-ever strategic plan and looks forward to its implementation in the coming months.

“It’s vital that we prepare for our future growth with a strong and wise plan,” she says.  

Alumni Spotlight: Tiara Pulsipher

Tiara Pulsipher (’15, communication) is the floor manager for ABC 4 Utah.  The floor manager on a television crew is responsible for calling cues, given by the director in the control room, to the crew on the studio floor.

While considering which university to attend, Pulsipher checked out other communication programs. Whereas many other schools had great programs, she discovered that most students didn’t get hands-on practice until later in their education. At SUU, students are given the opportunity to gain hands-on experience during their first class.

“I got my job because of the experience I gained at SUU, which included learning all positions of news, talk, sports, film, radio, advertising, public relations, and other important skills, like writing, being a team-player and solving problems,” says Pulsipher.

Professor Jon Smith was a huge influence in the development of Pulsipher’s skills in broadcasting and film. He was willing to spend extra time helping her fine-tune her resume and demo reel. Smith gave her the guidance she needed to produce her best work and demonstrate her skills on paper and in person. He always had a 'dream big' attitude that inspired her to do her best.

“Not only did I land a job that I love, but I am already training to direct, which is my dream job! I did not expect to be able to move up this quickly,” said Pulsipher.

She learned a lot about herself while at SUU, because she was able to explore the many aspects of the communication field to figure out what she was really passionate about. After taking several very different courses she eventually gravitated toward the broadcasting major.

“Taking a lot of different classes helped me to close in on the one that I could see myself doing and enjoying for the rest of my life,” said Pulsipher.

Pulsipher enjoys spending her free time in the outdoors, with friends and watching movies. She is currently single and living in Salt Lake City with her pet Betta fish, James.

Originally posted on suu.edu in March 2016