Education
Peter J. Fagergren, Young Men president in the Nogales 1st Ward, Tucson Arizona Rincon Stake, has been named Arizona Teacher of the Year for 1994-95. Brother Fagergren was chosen for the honor by the Arizona Board of Regents after he was nominated by former students. He is a teacher at Patagonia Union High School and is also an administrator in School District No. 20. He teaches science, is the sponsor of the National Honor Society, and has coached basketball, tennis and track.Dentistry
Debbie W. Preece of the Farmington 20th Ward, Farmington Utah North Stake, was appointed public relations chairman of the Alliance of the American Dental Association during the organization's recent annual meeting in New Orleans, La. The alliance, a national organization for spouses of dentists, conducts community programs to promote dental health. Sister Preece is the business manager for her husband's dental office.
Robert Owen Boyer, the high priest group leader in the Granger 18th Ward, Salt Lake Granger Stake and a dentist, has earned the Fellowship award of the Academy of General Dentistry. He was recently notified that he earned the award by completing 500 hours of continuing education, passing a national dentistry exam, remaining in good standing with the American Dental Association and participating actively in the Academy of General Dentistry. He will receive the award at the convocation ceremony during the academy's annual national meeting in Baltimore, Md., in 1995. The academy is the second largest dental organization in North America. Its 32,000 members are dedicated to continuing dental education in general practice.
Music
Jennifer Rebecca Dorsey of the Marsing 2nd Ward, Caldwell Idaho Stake, has been selected as a Future Farmers of America music-maker in the National FFA Chorus. Chorus members are nominated by their state associations and the final selection of 100 singers is made from more than 300 nominations. The chorus performed at the annual National FFA Convention at Kansas City, Mo., in November. It was her second visit to the national convention. She also made the trip as a member of the Idaho Dairy judging team. Jennifer is president of the Vallivue FFA Chapter.
Academics
Joshua Clayton of the Hidden Valley 2nd Ward, Sandy Utah Hidden Valley Stake, won a gold and a bronze medal in this year's national Academic Decathlon. Traveling with his Alta High School team to Rutgers, N.J., for competition in 10 events, Joshua won the gold medal in economics and the bronze in social studies. He is currently studying computer science at the University of Utah.
Heidi Bernhard of the Portage Ward, Kalamazoo Michigan Stake, and Ruth Johnson of the Kalamazoo Ward, Kalamazoo Michigan Stake, were members of an award-winning Kalamazoo Central High School mock trial team. The eight-member team won the 1994 Michigan High School Mock Trial Tournament and went on to a top-five finish in the national tournament at Chicago.
Adrianna Perkins of the Desert Sands Ward, Phoenix Arizona West Stake, won a scholarship sponsored by the Pacific American Institute to tour Japan recently. She was in Japan for 17 days, touring the country and attending school. She stayed with a host family, sharing a copy of the Book of Mormon with them. Later, Adrianna and her family hosted Yumiko Shoji from Japan in Phoenix for her part of the exchange program.
Curtis Neil James of the Copper Basin Ward, Prescott Arizona Stake, has been awarded the Dr. Pedro Grau undergraduate scholarship for work done at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz. Brother James is one of only two recipients in the nation this year to receive the $2,500 scholarship awarded by the American Meteorological Society for excellence in atmospheric science. An honor student in meteorology, Brother James, 23, also works part-time in the Tucson weather service office as a technician.
Centennarian
Eva Pearl Wiggins Malone of the Belleville Ward, O'Fallon Illinois Stake, celebrated her 100th birthday recently. Sister Malone was born in a one-room log home in Jackson County in southern Illinois, the sixth of 11 children. As a young woman, she spent two years in Panama with a brother who was employed in construction of the Panama Canal. She married Paul Edward Malone on May 1, 1916, and they had eight children. Sister Malone was converted to the Church through reading a Book of Mormon left by missionaries at the home of one of her brothers. She was baptized March 20, 1953, in East St. Louis, Ill.
Service
Grant M. Mack, who died in 1993, was awarded posthumously the R.B. Irwin Medal of Honor, one of the highest honors given for service to the blind. The award was accepted by his wife, Olive Beth Kimball Mack, at ceremonies for the National Industries for the Blind and the American Council for the Blind during their annual meetings in Vienna, Va. Just before he died, Brother Mack was presented with the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for his efforts in more than 20 years of work with the blind. Blind himself, Brother Mack was a successful insurance agent. He served as president of the American Council of the Blind and the North American Region, World Blind Organization.
Crafts
Rebecca Knudsen, Young Women president in the Oak Hills 6th Ward, Provo Oak Hills Stake, was honored for a hand-hooked rug in a recent worldwide competition. Her rug, titled "Headed for Canaan," is included in A Celebration of Hand-Hooked Rugs IV, which showcases rugs judged to be among the best. Her work features a woman surrounded by a quote from the Book of Mormon as well as suns, moons and stars. Sister Knudsen has been hand-hooking rugs for four years. "Headed for Canaan" is her second finalist in the "Celebration" competition sponsored by Rug Hooking Magazine.
Military
Wesley M. White, president of the Syracuse Utah South Stake and an ROTC instructor, has received the Air Force Outstanding Instructor award. The retired Air Force lieutenant colonel is in his second year as an ROTC instructor, teaching classes at Northridge High School in Layton, Utah. Thirty of the nation's 565 Air Force ROTC instructors received the award. He was the only one to earn the award in the first year of teaching.
Athletics
Glen Tuckett, former BYU athletic director, was recently given the sixth annual Homer Rice Award during ceremonies in Dallas, Texas. The award recognizes former athletic directors who made a significant impact on the profession. Brother Tuckett of the Edgemont 6th Ward, Provo Utah Edgemont Stake, was the athletic director at BYU for 18 years. He retired last year. He served on several prominent committees including the NCAA Television Committee, the College Football Association Executive Committee and the College Football Association Television Committee. Before taking over as athletic director, Brother Tuckett was BYU baseball coach. He was inducted into the Collegiate Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.
The Roanoke Rapids High School tennis team that claimed championships in the North Carolina 2A Conference and the North Carolina Eastern Regional tournaments, as well as a third-place finish in the state dual team tournament, includes five members of the Roanoke Rapids Ward, Goldsboro North Carolina Stake. Walt West, John West, Bryan Garner, Larry Boerner and Stevie Harris held five spots on the six-member team coached by Lee S. West, the boys' stake president and father of Walt and John. The five also teamed up on their Eagle Scout project and received their Eagles at the same time.
Frank Condie, a member of the bishopric of the Adams Park Ward, Logan Utah Central Stake, recently returned from the World Master Games with a gold medal. Brother Condie was a member of the champion USA basketball team at the games in Brisbane, Australia. The eight-member U.S. team in the 60-and-over age bracket defeated teams from Argentina, Finland, Germany and two from Australia before downing Germany, 75-51, in the championship game. At 66, Brother Condie was the oldest basketball player in the games. In the title contest he scored 10 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
Craig Grebe of the Bay City Ward, Bay City Texas Stake, won the gold medal in the 25-meter breaststroke at the 1994 Texas State Games at Texas A&M University in College Station. Seeded No. 2 in the 8-year-old division, Craig had a time of 22.26, which was half a second faster than the swimmer who was the No. 1 seed. Then, anchoring his 100-meter relay team, he passed two swimmers to boost his team to the silver medal.
