REUNION BBQ LOCATION CHANGE

We have decided to change the location of the Friday night BBQ after learning that Cox Park does not have any bathrooms. The new location is:

THE FIELDS AT LITTLE VALLEY PARK


2995 s. 2350 e.

This park also has a splash pad. So you might want be prepared with towels and swim suits for your kids. See you all at 6:30 on Friday night!!

Spread the word about the change of location to everyone.
Excited to see you all!!

JD Franz

The past 10 years have been great! After dropping out of Harvard at the age of 20, I co-founded Microsoft and became a billionaire at the age of 30… ok so maybe I stole that from someone else’s blog. I just wanted you to be impressed, so if I show up to the reunion in a space suit with a cowboy hat smoking an expensive cigar don’t be surprised.

A lot of you have gotten married and had kids and although it looks like a superfun time, I have yet to be sucked into the “eternal” union of marriage. I sort of spend my time having fun and sleeping in (every weekend… yeah!) Oh I also can do whatever I want whenever I want and I don’t have to ask anyone, also super sweet. It does have its drawbacks, like if I ever get sick I have to take care of myself… I hate that!

Let’s see… my family owns a custom cabinet company in St. George, Closet Creations. I run the design department, we take care or anything cabinet, home storage / organization related. It’s a lot of fun, the economy creates unique challenges for us to overcome to keep the doors open so we never get bored.

Well I guess I’ll see ya all at the reunion. If I’ve forgotten who you are please don’t take offence as I often don’t recognize the person staring at me from the other side of the mirror (he looks like me, but with a creepy gotee… it’s gross & creepy, plus sometimes he’s naked… scary).

So I leave you with this: “If you can’t laugh at yourself… you shouldn’t be able to laugh at anyone else.”

Randi (Sanderson) Hess

After graduation I had the opportunity to do a semester through BYU in Nauvoo, IL.  I love church history and that experience helped me gain a greater love and appreciation for the pioneers and their lives.  It was during one of our trips to Kirtland, Ohio that I had started to think about serving a mission.  I went to Dixie State off and on for the next few years- still no degree :)  and then the summer of 2005 through the spring of 2007 I served in the New Zealand Wellington Mission.  It was there that I met my husband Ryan Hess who was also serving his mission.  We dated for only a few months and were married in the St. George Temple in July 2007.  I haven't been back to school...yet but I have been working to help put my husband through.  We are living in Tremonton, UT where he is from, enjoying all the small town country life stuff.  We just had a baby girl in June and she is definately the love of our life!  
 
As I look back to high school I think that I had a pretty good experience.  I am thankful for the friends I had and still have today.  I loved being in choir, band, and on the swim team.  I loved going the football and basketball games too.  
 
I don't have an updated photo of the three of us so these will have to do.  I wish I could be there at the reunion but that is the weekend we are blessing our baby girl!  It's great to read up on what everyone is up to these days!
 
Randi (Sanderson) Hess

Amanda M. Hansen

  I've been meaning to write this for months, but between a writing course, and a literature course, while being deployed to Afghanistan...then getting home and heading straight for Hawaii (Lit course ongoing), I've been a little burned out! 
     I've had an amazing 10 years since my graduation. Admittedly, I had a bit of a rough start. I just barely graduated, and that was mostly due to the hard work of Mrs. Ovard, my school counselor. She refused to allow me to fail! After graduation I worked as a Certified Nurse's Aide, while trying to figure out how to afford college and get the heck out of St. George. I came across an ad from the U.S. Army offering school money, and the rest is history!
     I met my husband, Jeffery Wells, of Ivins, in December of 2001. We married in November 2003, during my break between my initial training and my first assignment. Germany was where they sent us, and boy did we love it! For three years we learned the language and saw the sights. For those who have been there, you know how easy it is to just get on the train and go! We were fortunate to have been sent to the most beautiful part of Germany...Bavaria! It's as wonderful as all the travel channels say it is. 
     In 2006 my unit was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I worked at a passenger terminal on an air field, doing everything from registering passengers for flights, to helping with luggage, driving the bus out to the air craft, and waiving people onto the helicopters. The fun part was when a USO show would stop in and we would help people like Miss Underwood with her luggage and stage equipment so she could put on a show for the troops there. Sometimes we'd get mortared, and sometimes the sandstorms would go on for days...grounding the aircraft...and sometimes the birds went down. Those were the hard times. But we all worked hard and most of my squad earned promotions, I even earned my sergeant stripes out there. 
     I was worn out from the 12-15 hour shifts, 6-7 days a week, so I transferred to the Army Reserve. It was the absolute best decision I could have made! I joined a unit in Las Vegas, and for my first year I attended Dixie full time. My unit also promoted me to Staff Sergeant within that year. Then I decided that being college poor sucked, so I accepted a position as a Department of the Army Civilian, working for my Army Reserve unit. My husband and I bought a house in Las Vegas at the bottom of the market. Just lovely! 
     In June 2010, my Reserve unit deployed to Afghanistan. I didn't know what to expect when I got there, but what happened was beyond my ability to imagine. I was told to report to a small dusty office where I would be working as the sole human resources sergeant for a small staff. Within two hours of reporting I received a phone call from our headquarters directing me to report for an interview at a neighboring camp. When I arrived, all dusty and sweaty from the four hour convoy, they told me that I was to be hired as the three star commanding general's junior secretary, as long as they didn't hate me in the interview (which is right this way SSG Hansen...wait, can I at least wash my face?!?!?). All of the other candidates had already been disqualified. Imagine my shock then, three days after hiring me, they FIRED the senior secretary and put me in her seat. What was a small town girl like me to do? Not only  had I never interacted with a general before (let alone a three star), but I hadn't worked in a joint command (mix of Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines), nor a NATO mission (so, all of those different services from a lot of different nations). And my predecessor had been fired...she wasn't there to train me! But somehow, I survived. Because of the incredible team I had become a part of, I kept abreast of the thousands of administrative actions that needed to be managed. After serving him well for over seven months (14-18hrs a day, 7 days a week), I was asked to build his new deputy's office, from scratch. And that's when I met my two star. An incredible gentleman who has also become a dear friend. Working with him allowed me to relax a little and helped me build friendships among the other generals there, as well as ambassadors, and high ranking civilians. 
     I'm out of Afghanistan now, just wrapping up a vacation in Hawaii with my incredible husband. My heart is still half there, in the dust and smog of Kabul, with all the incredible friends I made and the mission we were doing. I still can't quite comprehend how I ended up landing in the job I did...but I'm so glad it happened. It's been life changing.   
     This week I received word that I've been selected to train as a Warrant Officer in my field. My husband and I are very excited about our future and look forward to what it promises to bring. Eventually I plan to become a commissioned officer while pursuing opportunities as a Department of the Army Civilian. One day, I'd like to become one of the Deputy Assistant Secretaries of the Army, preferably in the office of Manpower and Reserve Affairs. But we'll see. 

     My favorite memories of high school...it's interesting, I loved the whole experience! We had such a great class. I've heard high school stories from people around the world and I've only learned to appreciate my experience at Pineview more. I liked Japanese class with Ms. Kauer (who I ran into while taking English at Dixie!). I wish I could have done more with the Japanese club. I loved social dance. That was a blast! Intro to Shakespeare, AP English, Physics, it was great! We really had some dedicated teachers. I really missed getting to go to games, dances, and other after school events. Being poor and car-less really took it's toll on my social life. But, due to the magic of Facebook I've been able to connect and re-connect with many of the most amazing personalities from our school. I really am looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the reunion! And for those who can't make it...pics and bios please! 

-Amanda M. Hansen

Jackie (Neilson) Webster

During my senior year at P.V.H.S I attended Evans Hairstyling College so, after H.S. graduation I finished the program there and immediately started working in a salon. 10 years later I am still doing hair full time in a salon in St. George and, I believe I have the best job in the world.

I married my high school sweetheart who many of you know, Tom Webster(class of '00). Tom is a Private Investigator and a volunteer Fire Fighter in his spare time.
We love to go camping and, take week end trips. We own a home in St. George that we share with our 3 dogs. 2 yorkies and, a husky/lab mix. Life has been good here and, I will never live where it snows. Ever!

 I still get to occasionally see friends that I have keep in close contact with( Jessica Gordon, Michelle Gurr, Megan Tarinelli, Darcee Barney). I know it sounds cheesy but, it doesn't feel like it's been 10 years.
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Some of the best years of my life were spent at P.V.H.S.  I have awesome memories of football games, stomps and, school dances. Driving around with friends on the weekends knowing you would eventually run into someone in the Harmons parking lot or, at the Red Sands gas station.  Ice blocking, toilet papering, chalking, stealing road signs and, lighting off M-80's on the Bloomington Hills golf course all in the middle of the night. The list goes on and on... Thank you Pine View for introducing me to my husband and some of the best friends I could ever ask for. I'm lucky to have these great people still in my life after 10 years!

Katherine (Dixon) Rane

I wasn't planning on sending this in since I won't be able to make it to the reunion, but I've enjoyed reading what everyone else has been up to the past 10 years so I thought (maybe) some of you might like to hear about me too.  After high school I went to BYU.  I planned on getting a "real" degree and taking some dance classes just for fun.  By the end of my freshman year I didn't really love any of the classes I had taken for my prospective majors and I had a plethora of dance credits so I took the path of least resistance at the time and became a ballet major.  I danced for four years with BYU's ballet company and taught beginning and intermediate classes for BYU during my senior year.  I really liked high school but I loved my college experience.   I met my husband Mark through mutual friends in the middle of my junior year.  I graduated from BYU in April 2005 and then got married at the end of that summer.

After graduation I danced professionally for three seasons with Utah Regional Ballet and taught at various dance studios and UVU while Mark finished up at BYU.  We lived in Orange county and then Chicago before settling in Minneapolis, MN just in time for the winter in November 2008.  It was a bit of an adjustment for a girl from Sunny St. George, but I have found ways to cope.  Who cares if you look like a dork in a full length down coat in 20 degree weather when the natives barely need a jacket as long as you're warm, right?  Mark is an industrial designer and is designing bicycles right now for a few different niche brands.  We had our daughter, Julia, in November 2009 and now I spend most of my time with her as well as teaching ballet and dancing part-time with Saint Paul City Ballet. 

Memories from high school...well, as has been the pattern of my life since, I spent most of my time in high school dancing and studying.  I did have many good times with friends in classes, at games, dances, and with the drill team.  I remember getting in a lot of trouble when the vice principal called my mom and told her about Marcy and me tray surfing in the parking lot (why did we think it was a good idea to do it in the school parking lot?!)  Eating lots of food at Jared Shakespeare's and Maren Hacker's.  Many fun times on road trips for drill competitions with Kristen, Whitney, Lacey, Kiarah, and all of the pantheras.  I'm sad I won't make it to the reunion.  I hope you all have a great time!

p.s.  I'm not great at taking pictures of anything other than my baby, so I don't have any current photos of my whole family together

Amber Revoir

I decided on a change of scenery after high school and attended Willamette University, a small liberal arts college in Oregon.  I majored in Art History and minored in French and Art Studio, while interning at my school's art museum and the Library of Congress.  Starting with a month in Ecuador, I became enamored with foreign places and followed the trip with a semester in Paris (and all around Europe/N. Africa, really).  After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts, I went to Germany for a year on scholarship to learn the language, study more Art History, and work in an art gallery.  I did as much traveling as I could and met a lot of amazing friends along the way!

While in Germany, I decided to pursue an MBA to complement my Art History degree.  I headed back to Willamette to focus in marketing and nonprofit management and graduated in May 2010.  I'm now living near Aspen, Colorado (my mom moved to the area while I was in Germany) doing outreach for a community art center that hosts exhibitions and art courses.

My favorite memories include spending every spare minute in Mr. Jones' art room, laughing at everything with Kristian Alvarado, visiting Michelle Parry at Frostop, appreciating Alison Kim's patience in explaining AP math to me, swing dancing with Carlos Mendez, every other kind of dancing with Philip Swain, and climbing to the top of the red hill at night.