Me And My Bud

This is me. Not much to tell, really. Born and raised in Sacramento, California, moved to Reno, Nevada when I was 12 and graduated from Reno High School in 1983. Went to a year of college at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho (now BYU Idaho) and served a religious mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from March 1985 to March 1987 in various cities in Brazil.

I have always been a gym rat. Always with a ball in my hand. Always wanted to be a pro baseball player for the San Francisco Giants. Picked up volleyball when I was around 10 years old when my Dad coached a competitive church team in 1975. Began playing a lot in 1982 when a bunch of guys near where I lived in Reno invited me to their group. I played on the Ricks College club team and then the University of Utah club team in 1989-90. I began helping as an assistant coach for Utah's women's team, and did that for about 3 years. I also helped coach the Utah Predators of the National Volleyball Association (A U.S. women's pro league) in 1994.
I graduated from Utah in 1991 with a degree in Exercise Science and worked in a Physical Thereapy clinic as an exercise physiologist until 1995, when I answered an ad for the head volleyball coach at the College of Eastern Utah, and was hired. I have been there ever since.

This is my wife, Laurel. She and I met the first day of English class at Ricks Collgege in September, 1987. As I tell the story, (her story is a little different) she wouldn't leave me alone. She followed me everywhere and, as you can see, has really good taste in men.

Actually, I had to go after her. She comes from a small town in rural Utah called Heber City, and graduated from Wasatch High School in 1987. She is the 5th of 6 children, and yes, has red hair. I proposed to her on Valentine's Day, 1988 and we were married on August 17th of that year.

Laurel is a very talented, driven person. She plays the piano and has taught all of our children how to play. She is extremely creative and loving. When she finds something of interest, she focuses on it until done and done well. She loves to read, and has helped instill reading to the children and myself. And she, too, loves to travel like myself. I'm sure she wishes I had a more lucrative job so that we could do much more travelling than we do. But she has found creative ways of seeing places at discount prices that has allowed us to see many things.

Laurel and I recently celebrated our 20th anniversary with a really fun trip to the Oregon Coast, We stayed in a small little coastal town called Depoe Bay. Known for it's whale watching locale, it did not disappoint as we saw 2 whales the first day there, one just 40 yards from where we were standing near our rental. We also spent a day in Portland.


Of all the trip, Laurel loved the Lighthouses the most. She really fell in love with them. We saw 3 different Lighthouses, and they were truly magnificent.