"Know Yer Ro" Features Cox, Britt and Beecher

Today in Rotary, a “Know Yer Ro” program featured three of our newest Rotarians … Stacy Britt, BJ Cox, and Lynn Beecher.  Stacy, who grew up on an Idaho farm, found her way into banking as a very young woman.  Today the wife, mother of two and grandmother of two manages the local Deseret Federal Credit Union and oversees SGR’s youth programs.  BJ Cox (“Jamison”) is the son of longtime local dentist Mervyn Cox.  BJ purchased his dental practice from longtime Rotarian Allen Hilton and is pleased to bring both his dental skills and his family back home to St. George.  Lynn Beecher manages SkyWire Fiber at 150 N. 200 East, a private, point-to-point service provider of high speed internet over state-of-the-art fiber lines on a redundant network.  We are pleased to welcome these three local leaders and their families as new members of SGR.

Five County AOG Explained

The 42-year-old Five County Association of Governments is one of the community’s “best kept secrets” but impacts the lifestyle of those in Washington, Iron, Beaver, Garfield and Kane County every day.   Do you know the amazing projects we enjoy each day, which began at the 5CoAOG?  Today in Rotary, Executive Director (and fellow Rotarian) Bryan Thiriot presented an update on new and longstanding projects currently being planned or managed by the AOG, which makes Southwestern Utah a great place to live and work!

SGR Gets the Scoop on WC's Economic Outlook

Is the economy in Washington County still flatlined or are things picking up? Construction in the area would indicate things are getting better but Southwest Utah economist Lecia Langston from the Department of Workforce Services, shared the facts and figures from her professional standpoint substantiating improvements in Washington County’s economy.  Because of the area’s strong work ethic and other indicators, it was always believed, while the rest of the nation was struggling to right itself during the most recent economic recession, Washington County would be among the first area’s of the country to recover.  According to Lecia, “things are definitely looking up.”

Because of the area’s strong work ethic and other indicators, it was always believed, while the rest of the nation was struggling to right itself during the most recent economic recession, Washington County would be among the first area’s of the country to recover.  According to Lecia, “things are definitely looking up.”

Bergeson Supports Common Core

Today in Rotary, WCSD Superintendent Larry Bergeson shared his position on the controversy surrounding Common Core / Utah Common Core!  The superintendent understands the position of worried parents and numerous other “concerned citizens” about Utah education’s current “hot topic” but as the superintendent feels Common Core is a well-rounded, well-thought out and delivered program for educating America’s children. 

According to Superintendent Bergeson, the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) has a core mission of ensuring students are well prepared for their future by providing high quality instruction in every classroom, college and career ready student performance standards, and accompanying assessments to enable parents, students and teachers to provide adequate support.

Since 1984 Utah has had a set of core standards for all the academic areas taught in our K-12 public schools. The new Utah Core Standards in English language arts and mathematics, based on the Common Core State Standards, establish a framework for high quality instruction. They help Utah teachers ensure academic achievement for Utah students by defining the essential knowledge, concepts, and skills to be mastered at each grade level or within critical content areas. They define what students should know and be able to do to as they move on to post-secondary training, college, or a career.

Establishing higher standards for students, teachers, and leaders, and providing the necessary resources to achieve these standards, is fundamental to ensuring all students are prepared for today’s world.