Fame

I have a plethora of claims to fame. I love to see how everybody I know is famous, therefore making me famous by association. So bask in the glow.

  • · My roommate, Greg Belliston, holds a Master of Accounting degree from Brigham Young University. BYU has the #2 accounting program in the country. He was also selected to represent the school in Washinton, D.C.
  • · My roommate, Gene Hilton, was the subject of the cover story on the July 1999 New Era Magazine. He was an amazing mountain biker with endorsements and the whole ball of wax. He was also the subject of an article in the Daily Universe.
  • · My roommate, Loren Budge, graduated from BYU with University Honors. He achieved the highest possible score on his thesis defense and is an expert on sepsis.
  • · I know Kristi Kramer. She was a secretary for Ed Brandt who wrote an article in the July 1999 Ensign and is a co-chair of the church's correlation department.
  • · I married Keryn Tobler (now Ross) who was the only undergraduate student to be invited to go on a Geologic field trip to Mexico and later present the findings of that expedition at a professional conference of geologists.
  • · Robert L. Millett was my stake president. He is the author of many books you will find in the "doctrine" section of Deseret Book. His first counsellor, Brent Top, is also the author of several books and Ensign articles and signed my temple recommend!
  • · I taught Sunday School one Sunday to David Bednar, the president of Ricks College and a member one of the quorums of 70.
  • · I was in the same MTC district as Kawika Stant, whose cousin Shane Stant was the guy that was hired to hit Nancy Kerrigan on the knee. (Nancy Kerrigan was an ice skater.)
  • · My friend, Joshua Jones, was delivered as an infant by J. Ballard Washburn who later became a member of the 2nd quorum of the Seventy and the president of the Las Vegas Temple.
  • · My friend, Jason Thatcher, was a stand-in for Mel Gibson in the movie Maverick. He tells me it is actually him in some of the far away carriage shots in the movie.
  • · As a missionary, I lived within one mile of the home of Shannon Miller, Olympic gymnast.
  • · In the same area, I also lived very close to a famous post office where a "disgruntled postal worker" shot several people.
  • · I was serving as a missionary in the home ward of Elder Bowman while he was off in Las Vegas bringing Gladys Knight into the church.
  • · I know Norm Nemrow. He was voted "favorite professor" at BYU. He was in the bishopric of my Freshman ward and I reported to him in my calling on the Communications committee.
  • · My roommate, Brent Pitcher, was once anonymously mentioned in "Police Beat" in the Daily Universe for a trick he and some friends played on some girls in the dorms.
  • · My roommate, Davin Anderson, (who will replace Hugh Nibley someday) wrote a letter to the editor of the Daily Universe defending himself against an angry letter written by another student whose snowman he destroyed one night.
  • · Several friends from Page were quoted in articles in the Daily Universe: Paul Lamb, Crystal Lynn, Lindsey Perry, Brett Gustaveson, and many more I missed I'm sure.
  • · I sat in the front row of a stake priesthood meeting presided over by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland who spits a lot when he talks. I was spit upon by an apostle. Wow!
  • · I have sung with both Donny and Marie Osmond on seperate occasions. (Okay, so it was in sacrament meeting, but cut me some slack.)
  • · The Titanic struck an iceburg on my birthday.
  • · Abraham Lincoln was shot on my birthday.
  • · My sister, Kim Hannay, was Miss Yavapai county and was a contestant in the Miss Arizona Pageant.
  • · I have been mentioned in articles in the Lake Powell Chronicle many times. (BIG CLAIM!)
  • · My friend, Scott Barber, designed a webpage for Jack Weyland a famous author of fiction for LDS audiences.
  • · I have been chauffeured around Austin, TX by Mike Chapman, a formerNFL player for the Cowboys and the Falcons.
  • · I attended the first ever football game ever played in the MountainWest Conference.
  • · My roommate, Guy Leavitt, was filmed by Russian reporters while teaching in the MTC and thus probably made it onto a Russian newscast somewhere.
  • · My roommate, John Morris, is an All-American soccer player on BYU's Men's Soccer team. They have won four straight national club championships.
  • · My roommate, Nate Walker, has played college football on live television for one of the best Junior Colleges in the country (Snow College).
  • · My brother-in-law, John Gilleland, was on ESPN for a jeep competition.
  • · My brother-in-law, Theo Martin, has qualified for the Olympic Trials for the 2000 games in Australia.
  • · My friend Hailey (Smith) Rudd was hanging around the Wilkinson Center at BYU when the President of the school, Merrill J. Bateman bought her a Zuka Juice.
  • · My friend (now Elder) Christiaan James had a sit down chat with President Bateman just because he asked to. Now there's influence if I ever saw it!