One of the greatest blessings I will ever receive is the upbringing my parents gave me. My father has always set an example of kindness and patience. As a young boy, I would often find myself at a widow's home or listening to Dad play guitar with a friend on Sunday afternoon. Often, he worked several jobs to make ends meet.
As a very rambunctious young boy, I'm deeply grateful for my mother, who taught me tolerance, fairness, and standing up for yourself. Her homemade bread, personal sacrifice, and occasional tough love gave me direction, appreciation, and a love for home and hearth. I truly have been born of 'goodly parents.' My years at Cedar High School were happy ones. I enjoyed football, wrestling, track, Leo club, orchestra, and band. I was privileged to serve as team captain on the football and wrestling teams.
Cedar High School provided me with many opportunities for growth and leadership. We learned to come together on the football field, even when nothing seemed to be going our way. Wrestling taught me that I possessed toughness and fight I didn't know I had. I also learned to stick to it, even when in pain. June Thorley and Steve Shirts helped me refine my love and appreciation of music. To this day, I am thankful for the social, emotional, and personal development afforded me by these great teachers and classmates I was blessed to have!
The nickname "Toro" evolved from my ability to catch opponents in the "Cow Catcher" move. It is another vestige from high school that has stuck with me. years at Cedar One of the best lessons I gleaned from my high school is that of being a loyal friend. I am truly grateful for the many friends I made and still know and care about. In fact, last year (2013) I headed up our twentieth reunion for the
class of 1992.
Of course, the most important event in high school wasn't at school at all. I met my wife, Charity Crawford, during my senior year. It changed my whole trajectory. We went to Schoney's, Bowling, and watched Man from Snowy River on our first date. Scandalously, we held hands! Charity brought out the best in me. I wanted to be the best person I could be because of her. I still do.
Our romance had to be put on hold, because I felt a strong duty to serve an LDS mission. My assignment was to serve for two years in the distant land of Anaheim, California. I was to speak Spanish. In a painful, "if you love something, set it free" moment, I left my family, home and my beloved Charity to enter the Missionary Training Center. It was my first time away from home. In spite of my homesickness, I adapted well to the structured rigors of life in the "MTC." I was able to strengthen my relationship with the Lord, and benefit from the gift of tongues, as I spent over 11 hours each day trying to learn Spanish and how to teach what I believe. After landing in John Wayne Airport,
and a harrowing freeway ride, I began my service in the Anaheim area. There are several lessons that stand out from my mission years. First, I LOVE my home! I love living right here. I love the goodness of the people here in Iron County. I love the mountains, the snow, and the stars we enjoy here.I appreciate those things more than I did before because solitude, terrain, constellations and ANYTHING below 32 Degrees Fahrenheit were hard to come by! I enjoy visiting California, but I LOVE coming home.
Another love I was blessed with was a deep love for the Latino people. My two years of giving and teaching and helping taught me to love in a way I hadn't before. People would insist on feeding us their last scraps of food, even if they didn't want anything to do with our message. Most Latino people that I met shared my values of family and taking care of each other. The Spanish language has also been a great blessing in my life. I use it most weeks at work, and it became my major at SUU. University studies were NOT my first priority upon returning home from California. I had a very patient and long-suffering girlfriend who had waited for me to return. Charity also wondered why it took nearly four months to propose! Well, propose I did and we were married on September 1, 1995.
Southern Utah University provided me with a great education, as well as many cherished memories. I received degrees in Spanish and International Business in 1999. Some of the best professors around taught me everything from finance to humanities to, of course, Spanish. The best lessons, however, were about life, human nature, and personal integrity. I still have dear friends from my college years. Some of them personal and some professional, but I am grateful for how they broadened my horizons and my perception. If life is about who you know, then I am a rich man, indeed!
Charity and I were busy during our early years of marriage. We bought our first home, near Bicentennial Park in Cedar, I worked full time at Metalcraft, and Charity taught piano lessons. We both played with the Orchestra of Southern Utah, we snowmobiled, and I played racquetball whenever time would allow. Occasionally, we would travel and play golf. We were happy and very busy!
Shortly before I graduated from SUU, our first child was born. Since that time, we have been blessed with three more children. They are our life and our joy. This year, they range from 10th grade to 1st grade, and we're very proud of them! As I mentioned, I worked at Metalcraft during and after college. I gained valuable experience and many dear friends during my time there. I started in the de-burr room and worked my way up to evening supervisor. Later, I moved to engineering and finally to CMM (which stands for Coordinate Measuring Machine). To this day, I am proud to have worked on everything from horse trailers to fighter jets at Metalcraft. I loved the challenge, leadership opportunities and camaraderie I found during my nine years at Metalcraft.In late 2003, I learned of an opportunity to work for Iron County. The Recorder's office was
searching for a "Cadastral Mapper," and I applied. In January, 2004, I hired on and began working under the tutelage of Robert Dalley. I enjoyed learning about legal descriptions, title work, abstracting and land law. Cadastral Mapper is a deeply challenging and satisfying job.
I am truly grateful for the many wonderful relationships I have enjoyed at the courthouse for nearly eleven years. I am grateful for the education I’ve received from the many excellent co-workers I am privileged to work with.
Today, I still enjoy racquetball (although not as often). Snowmobiling is right up near the top of my favorite activities. As time and health permits, I love to play Ultimate Frisbee. Perhaps it’s my age, but I now enjoy making bread, it makes me happy. I have tried to hone my Dutch oven skills over the years. I cook for family and friends and an occasional reunion. One tradition thatI very much enjoy is cooking for the courthouse around the twenty-fourth of July each year.
