Ben Davidson - The Coaching Factory Hall of Fame Inductee

Southern Utah University proudly hosted its annual Coaching Factory Night of Honor & Hall of Fame Induction ceremony on February 6, 2016. Inducted into the Hall of Fame that evening was Ben Davidson from Cedar City, Utah.

Ben devoted nearly four decades of his life to Southern Utah University and its students, beginning with his 1968 enrollment. A 1972 graduate in physical education, he later earned a master's degree in athletic training from Indiana State University.

In 1979, he became athletic trainer and P.E. faculty member here as well as track and field coach for the NAIA level Thunderbirds, paving the way for the program's entrance into NCAA competition. In his eight years as coach, his athletes had great success, including four individual national championships, five second-place finishes and a pair of fifth place finishes. He was the National Athletic Trainers' Association Most Distinguished Trainer in 1999 and built SUU's athletic trainers' education program into one of the most respected in the intermountain area before his 2013 retirement.

Congratulations Ben!

Calvin Albrecht - The Coaching Factory Hall of Fame Inductee

Southern Utah University proudly hosted its annual Coaching Factory Night of Honor & Hall of Fame Induction ceremony on February 6, 2016. Inducted into the Hall of Fame that evening was Calvin Albrecht from Beaver, Utah.

Calvin, a 1973 SUU grad, returned to his alma mater, Beaver High School, to begin a 30-year career that included coaching football, boys basketball, track and field, and cross country. He led his charges to 11 state championships in three sports over the years. His Beaver cagers earned trips to the state tournament in 18 of his 20 years as coach, winning four times, and he stands among the state leaders in basketball wins posted at one school, with 351.

He also racked up six state titles in boys track and field and another in cross country. He was Utah's coach of the year in both basketball and track and field, and for 22 years helped guide the Beaver football team to five state championship and four runner-up finishes.

Congratulations Calvin!

Alumni Spotlight: Tico Pringle

Vicentico ‘Tico’ Fernando Pringle Jr. (’08, interdisciplinary studies) is a realtor and founder of the Pringle Group, with Keller Williams in Las Vegas, NV.

As an agent, Pringle is constantly networking, negotiating, lead generating and promoting himself through print and digital marketing campaigns.

“I realized early in my career, ‘it’s not always what you know, but who you know.’ Fortunately, Terri Hildebrand, assistant professor of biology at SUU, encouraged me to reach out and network with more people. This helps me today to reach more clients and grow my business,” said Pringle.

He continually seeks opportunities to further educate himself in real estate, to become a better agent and offer better quality services to his clients. He has plans to expand his business into Utah in 2016.
Pringle says graduating was a real accomplishment. He didn’t walk at graduation in ’08, because he was training for a career in professional football at the time, but says he left SUU with confidence.

“At one point, my younger brother Ryan was a [football] teammate of mine, for the first time, while we attended SUU together,” said Pringle.

He and his fiancée, Hannah have two boys together, Tico III and Ty, and two dogs Athena and Zeus. They enjoy traveling as a family and are involved in their boy’s youth sports.

Pringle enjoys reading and learning of new ways to help his clients and better himself. He likes to cook and he’s good at it, too! Working out and maintaining a healthy lifestyle are also important to him.

Originally posted on suu.edu in January 2016

President's Christmas Gala and Mannheim Steamroller Concert

Merry Christmas!

On a crisp winter night the SUU Campus was all in a buzz of celebration. Wednesday, December 2, 2015 will be remembered by many as being a night of honoring SUU, the Cedar City community and those individuals who have gone above expectations in paying it forward to this institution by providing scholarships, research and by supporting through generous donations for continued advances in the Colleges.

President Wyatt hosted over 500 guests to a glorious banquet and program.

Awards were given to Walter & Alice Gibson for their contributions to the Walter Maxwell Gibson College of Science and Engineering;

and to Ken & Helen Englehart who have been generous in their support of SUU students who will become teachers.






Members of the Old Main Society were honored and new inductions were made. The member listing was printed in the program: Members of the Old Main Society "Benefactor" is the level for gifts between $100,000 and $499,000.  "Gold Medallion" gifts qualify at $500,000 to $999,999, and the "Centurium Circle" is denoted by gifts greater than $1,000.000. "Legacy" is the level for planned gifts to the University in estates, bequests, wills, trusts and annuities.

Afterwards, guests were invited to attend the already packed Centrum Arena for Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas Concert by Chip Davis.

The house was packed with over 4000 in attendance and the music brought feelings of camaraderie and Christmas to SUU alumni, friends, students alike.

What a great way to celebrate as we ring in the new year together,

with expectations for a brilliant future for all!

Thor's Thunder Classic

Monday, October 26, 2015, started out with the alumni staff, students and volunteers applying sunscreen and filling their backpacks with water bottles at 5:00 am, as the caravan of four loaded to the brim vehicles, makes their way to the beautiful Entrada Golf Course in St George. Arriving before the first rays of the sun hit the red hills of Snow Canyon is the perfect way to start this exciting day.

As the golfers arrive, there is a friendly atmosphere as they greet one another, which is soon replaced by the competitive spirit. Each team participates to support better futures, through raising scholarship funds for SUU students. We recognize their efforts and appreciate their generosity in making this tournament successful.

Wells Fargo, Terri Hartley, was the corporate sponsor.








 
 
Tri-State Motors, Dave Morris, sponsored the Hole-In-One (#14) with a 2016 GMC shiny red pickup.

Todd Stenosky hit a hole-in-one (#12) making this his lucky day!






Wrapping up the tournament, all who participated had a feeling of victory for SUU and for the future of the many students who will be awarded scholarships to help further their education. Golfer's and staff made new friends, rekindled connections with each other, and finished out the day with a renewed enthusiasm to spread the good word about SUU.

 Go T-Birds!

Happy New Year Fellow Thunderbirds!

With 2016 upon us, it's full steam ahead for the Southern Utah University Alumni Association! Our National Alumni Board has a strategic plan full of goals and objectives that are slated to make 2016 a most amazing year.  

As we celebrate some of the truly remarkable alumni achievements of 2015, from the epic docudrama "Back Up The Mountain" which starred one of our celebrated alumni Jasen Wade, to one of the most recent achievements of alumnus Tommy Burr and his appointment as the new president of the National Press Club, we realize our alumni and friends base, located across the globe, accomplish extraordinary things and make a marked difference in every facet of life. We are experts in our fields. We are professionals. We are brothers and sisters. We are husbands and wives. We are parents. We are grandparents. We are friends. We are Thunderbirds!

Through our 2015 association survey, we learned a lot about you and what you want from your alumni association. For example, we know you want to come back to campus and we are committed to providing events and activities that attract you and yours. Even if you live away from campus, our new micro-network events will provide the opportunity to re-connect in awesome new ways.

We know you would choose SUU again, if you had the chance. We learned that you are satisfied and even highly satisfied with your SUU college experience and that most of you would encourage family and friends to attend SUU. That's why on our website you can order a Recruit A T-Bird swag bag full of SUU goods to share with prospective students.

Let's make 2016 a remarkable year together! Here are a few simple ways you can reconnect to our T-Bird nation:

• Update Your Information -When your home address, e-mail, or phone changes, let us know so we can keep you up-to-date on all things SUU. Update at: suu.edu/alumni/update.html.
  
• Connect By Social Media - Share your memories and milestones with us on Facebook facebook.com/suualumni and Instagram instagram.com/suualumni.
  
• Wear Your T-Bird Pride - On your sleeve, front, back, head, hands, everywhere. The SUU Bookstore carries everything you need to be outfitted like a T-Bird. Show your Alumni Card and receive a 20% off discount on all SUU clothing and memorabilia, and stock up! Check out your options at: bookstore.suu.edu.
• Show Your T-Bird Pride On Your Car - Order an SUU license plate for your car or as a collector's item because all of the proceeds go towards scholarships!  Purchase your plate at any Utah DMV. And if you live outside of Utah, consider a license plate frame from the SUU Bookstore.
  
• Share Your Memories & Your Photos -Share your memorable SUU experiences and stories and your photos with us! Link to our site and share at: suu.edu/everywhere/submit-story.html or  email alumni@suu.edu your memory and a photo.
• Use Your T-Bird Alumni Card - Our SUU alumni card gives you access to hundreds of discounts from travel and insurance to events and activities. Find out what pool of growing alumni benefits are available to you at: suu.edu/alumni/card.html. If you need a card, contact us and we'll send one to you! 

I am proud to be part of the T-Bird Nation and proud to serve as your president.  Here's to 2016 and to you!

Sandra Lord Thomas
Southern Utah University Alumni Association President
Class of '93

Alumni Spotlight: Reba Stier

Reba Stier (’91, education) is celebrating twenty-four years of teaching. She currently teaches the fourth grade at Numa Elementary School in Fallon, NV, and has also taught second and fifth grade students during the course of her career.

“I enjoy watching my students learn. The best moments of teaching are when you’ve watched a student struggle, and then they finally ‘get it’ … knowing I helped them learn and prepare for future education is such a feeling of accomplishment for me,” said Stier.

Her education courses at SUU prepared her for becoming a teacher. Through the example of her education professors she learned the importance of students, how enjoyable learning can be and what type of a teacher she aspired to be.

“It’s so rewarding when one of my students writes me a note thanking me for teaching them to read,” says Stier. “It’s those moments that make teaching worth it!”

Stier met some of her dearest friends during her educational experience at SUU. She fondly recalls laughing with friends while sitting in her elementary education block, walking the campus and feeling a sense of belonging, and all the fun she had at the spring fling activity on the upper quad.

“I was the first in my extended family to attend SUU, now it’s become a tradition in my immediate family,” said Stier.

She and her husband Michael have two children who both attend SUU. Joshua is a junior, majoring in psychology and Jessica is a sophomore, majoring in psychology with a minor in photography.

Stier feels a personal sense of accomplishment in raising her two children to be close to God, considerate of others and to value education. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family and their five dogs, reading and tying blankets.