Distinguished Service Honorees
2025
Dan C. Leonard
The University of Utah’s historic golf course long ago was converted into academic buildings, but the campus still boasts an area of grass that would rival any of the most pristine fairways in the world.
The football practice field that’s tucked between the Eccles Football Complex and Mount Olivet Cemetery is Dan Leonard’s pride and joy. Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham also loves it, explaining why he endorsed Leonard for a Distinguished Service Award from the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation.
An alumnus of Viewmont High School and the University of Utah, Dan has attended to that plot of turfgrass on almost a daily basis for 12 years. He’s also credited with the creation of Salt Lake Community College’s softball field and, being loyal to a former SLCC administrator, consulted on the building of Casper (Wyoming) College’s soccer field.
Casper Athletic Director Paul Marble publicly thanked Dan for taking the land “from a dog walking and antelope grazing area into a soccer pitch,” adding, “Dan knew exactly what to do.”
That project reflected the expertise that Dan loves to share and the pride he takes in his profession. He’s the only Ute athletic staff member whose title, as published on the department’s website, cites how he passed a professional examination. Dan is listed as a “certified sports field manager,” with the note that he’s responsible for football. He earned CSFM status in 2017.
Utah’s practice field is subject to a lot of wear and tear from August through December, and it holds up remarkably well. That’s important, when the Utes are preparing for bowl games and Whittingham wants to practice outdoors on a natural surface.
Dan once shared a photo of green turf and described himself as “proud of a grass practice field (that’s) still safe, playable, healthy and beautiful in December in Utah.”
That condition was made possible by the devotion of Dan and his staff to proper irrigation, deep rooting, drought resistance and a lot of tender, loving care.
Dan is not only a turfgrass specialist, but he’s also a loss prevention specialist. He installed a fake coyote to keep the deer who live in the nearby cemetery from encroaching on his grass. That may have scared some coaches arriving for work before sunrise, but it’s just another example of Dan’s determination to give Whittingham and his players the best possible practice conditions.
Jeff Reeves
The voice is a gift, and Jeff Reeves willingly shares it.
The sounds have resonated throughout the state. The Brigham City native has traveled around Utah for 32 years, serving as the public address announcer for Utah High School Activities Association state championships in several sports and events, including drill team and Unified Sports.
A former Box Elder High School baseball and basketball player, Jeff especially loves those sports. And as he once told the Deseret News, he views working with high school athletes as “just part of paying back. … we need to support them.”
In addition to his UHSAA tournament schedule, Jeff announced Morgan High events for 13 years and has worked Viewmont games for 24 years. He also announced football and basketball games for nine years at Weber State as a Wildcat alumnus.
Jeff provides the soundtrack in some of the biggest moments of young Utahns’ lives, and he is determined to play his role perfectly. A great example is how he researches the preferred pronunciation of athletes’ names, and executes his announcements with care.
As Jeff said, “A parent may only hear the name of their daughter or son over the loudspeaker one time. I want to assure it’s said correctly.”
That level of devotion to doing the job well is a big reason for Jeff’s Distinguished Service Award from the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation. His commitment to accuracy could be traced to his experience of working for the hometown Box Elder News Journal, where his diverse job descriptions included high school sportswriter, theater critic and the crime beat.
Learning of his background in radio for about 20 years would not be surprising to anyone who has heard his voice. The part that may be more tricky to picture is how he worked as a disc jockey with his own country music program. Jeff then moved into the furniture business for 25-plus years, while continuing to work in sports announcing.
As for his own performances on big stages, the reviews have always been outstanding. Consistency explains his longevity. Jeff has spent more than 2,000 nights as the P.A. announcer for Salt Lake City’s Triple-A baseball teams of the past 31 seasons. He enjoys the “laid-back atmosphere” of baseball and the rhythm of the game, announcing the batters as they walk toward home plate.
Wesley Ruff
It may seem obvious that a person can receive a Distinguished Service Award from the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation only once.
The Utah Section PGA’s annual Wesley Ruff Award is different, and that’s also a good starting point for the story of Wesley Ruff’s Distinguished Service Award.
After the Section administrators chose Wesley as the Golf Citizen of the Year for a third time, they went ahead and renamed the award in his honor. The award is presented to someone who “sacrifices their own time and efforts for others.” The definition also cites traits of “kindness, courtesy, unselfish service and integrity.”
Those words capture Wesley’s nature, while also endorsing his Distinguished Service recognition.
He’s known as an advocate of Utah sports at all levels, frequently acting as a keynote speaker or MC for events and celebrations of athletes and their achievements.
His professional career is a story in itself. In October, Wesley will observe a 40th anniversary as an ABC4 sportscaster and anchor, a remarkable run. He’s a five-time Utah Sportscaster of the Year, as selected by members of the National Sports Media Association.
Wesley proudly traces his love of sports to his youth in Springville, where he would grow up to compete in golf, basketball and track and field for the Red Devils’ high school teams.
Wesley’s knowledge of a wide variety of sports is his hallmark as a sportscaster. No member of the Utah sports media is more conversant in the likes of hockey and gymnastics, beyond the more traditional, high-viewership sports. He’s also immersed in high school sports and is a champion of college athletic programs throughout the state, including the less visible schools.
Of course, it would be a disservice to Wesley for any biography of him to gloss over his devotion to golf. After all, when once asked to list his hobbies and interests outside of work, he mentioned ”golf” four times in one sentence.
He’s the only honorary member of the Utah Section PGA, the statewide organization of golf professionals. In 2021, the Utah Golf Association gave him its highest honor, the Gold Club Award, for his contributions to the game. The award goes to “an individual who through significant achievement or unselfish service has contributed to the history and tradition of the game of golf in Utah, and whose personal integrity, sportsmanship, common courtesy, loyalty and friendship earn him the love and respect of fellow golfers.”
2024
Nancy Weir
No one has ever worked harder at their occupation than did the athletic trainer of Weber State University, Nancy Weir. The Ogden native and Bonneville High School graduate received her higher education degrees at the University of Utah and Western Illinois University. From 1979-1980, Nancy worked at Snow College as the head athletic trainer. In 1981, Nancy became certified with the National Athletic Trainers Association. From 1982-1983, Nancy worked at Montana State University as an assistant athletic trainer before returning home to Ogden to work at Weber State University.
From 1983 through 2020 Nancy worked as the assistant athletic trainer at Weber State University (with the exception of 1987-1988, when she worked as the interim head athletic trainer at Weber State University). In her decades of service as an athletic trainer at Weber State University, Nancy oversaw the total health care for hundreds of athletes, including injury prevention, examination, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of medical conditions and emergent acute and chronic injuries related to sports. Nancy was also an adjunct professor at Weber State University in the athletic training major, and she worked as a clinical instructor where she mentored numerous athletic training students. Nancy authored two publications in the Journal of Athletic Training: “Medical Assessment of the Prospective Student Athletic,” and “Attitudes of Intercollegiate Football Players Toward Drug Testing.” Nancy retired from Weber State University in 2020.
In addition to her years of work at Weber State University, Nancy was also involved in many other areas of the athletic training profession. In 1984, Nancy did an internship at the United States Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs, Colorado in preparation for the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles, California. In 2000, Nancy was the trainer for the Junior National Hockey Championships. In 2021-2022, Nancy was the athletic trainer for United States Olympic Curling and World Cup Figure Skating and Bob Sled Championships.
Over the years Nancy enjoyed volunteering at local junior highs and high schools working with students on various career days. She also volunteered at the Utah Summer Games. Nancy is involved with the Utah Athletic Training Association as an officer and with the awards committee.
In 2009, Nancy received the National Athletic Trainers Association Service Award. In 2012, Nancy was inducted into the Rocky Mountain Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame. In 2021, Nancy was inducted into the Utah Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame.
2023
Chris Santacroce
You might say flying is in Chris Santacroce’s blood. He started as a full-time paragliding professional in 1992 and traveled the world as an elite Red Bull athlete. He flies everything from airplanes to powered and unpowered hang gliders, paragliders, and para-motors. He has done hundreds of skydives and BASE jumps.
His world changed dramatically in 2009 when he suffered a paragliding accident. He injured his spinal cord, which resulted in him spending almost a year in a wheelchair. After making a full recovery, he had a different view of life. He said he went from a wholehearted “Look at me and what I can do” sort of mentality to a world where the only question was “What can I do for you?”
He decided to devote the rest of his life to taking everyone flying, with no exceptions and no cost. Thus his Project Airtime was born. Santacroce now spends almost every day at the Point of the Mountain in Draper, as well as around the country getting the physically challenged into the air.
The 50-year-old owner of Superfly Paragliding Instruction has won numerous community awards for his service. He was honored by Real Salt Lake in 2015, was featured in a segment of HBO Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, was inducted into the Paraglinging and Hang Gliding Hall of Fame, and honored with the “Above and Beyond Award” at the 41st Annual Dinner of Champions at the University of Utah.
Santacroce is a Colorado native who came to Salt Lake City to get his undergraduate degree from the University of Utah. He and his wife Susie are parents of Zane and Cloe.
2022
Ernie Schneiter, Jr.
Ogden native Ernie Schneiter Jr. has been an integral part of the northern Utah golf community for nearly 90 years.
Two-time State Amateur champion Arlen Peacock once said of Ernie, “He is just such a remarkably friendly person that it is a joy for all of us golfers to be able to spend a few minutes with him. That really is his trademark.”
Earning recognition such as a Distinguished Service Award from the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation requiring more than merely a good personality, but that’s certainly the starting point for Ernie. Born into Utah golf’s legendary Schneiter family, he has personified the gracious nature of the game ever since turning professional in 1950 at age 20, and has been described as “a pillar of the Ogden community.”
His father, Ernie Schneiter Sr., is a charter member of the Utah Golf Hall of Fame. Ernie Jr. joined him in that group in 2004, having distinguished himself in recent decades as an owner and operator of Schneiter’s Riverside Golf Course in Riverdale (where the city renamed a street Ernie Schneiter Drive) and Schneiter’s Bluff in West Point. They are known as welcoming, playable courses that serve their communities and help grow the game.
Ernie won the 1964 Idaho Open and the 1966 Utah Open. As a golf professional, he has spent nearly his entire career in Utah, except for a stint at Blue Lakes Country Club in Twin Falls, Idaho. He was the head pro at Oquirrh Hills GC in Tooele and Ben Lomond GC in Ogden, as well as an assistant pro at Ogden Golf & Country Club.
He took over Schneiter’s Riverside in 1968 when his father died. In 1985, he purchased an additional 39 acres, then redesigned some holes and added nine more to create an 18-hole layout. He then built Schneiter’s Bluff in Davis County in 1999, further establishing an imprint in the area.
In addition to his Utah Golf Hall of Fame induction, Ernie has been recognized by the Utah Section PGA and the Utah Golf Association. The PGA named him the Professional of the Year in 1997 and gave him the Gentleman Jeff Award in 2000. That year, the UGA presented him with the Gold Club Award, given annually to someone whose service to the game has “earned him the love and respect of his fellow golfers.”
A father of four, Ernie and his wife, Arnell, live in Ogden.
Lori Rupp
A graduate of Roy High School and Southern Utah University, former softball star Lori Rupp became one of Utah’s foremost experts in drill team and cheer performance and competition.
She was instrumental in drill team becoming a sanctioned sport by the Utah High School Activities Association and in cheer becoming a club sport. She’s a leading authority in the safety aspects of those activities, writing and producing training material for coaches that highlight the prevention of injuries and provide guidelines for athletic directors who oversee those groups.
Lori was a founder of the Utah Drill Team Coaches Association and the Utah Cheer Team Coaches Association. Many of Utah’s high school coaches have performed in her Crimson Line at the University of Utah or in her professional dance company. Her background is in secondary education, as an award-winning teacher during a 29-year tenure at Cyprus High School. The Cyprus Dance and Drill Company performed in the 1993 inaugural parade in Washington, D.C.
She and her husband, Oregon State assistant basketball coach Kerry Rupp, are parents of two daughters and Lori is a coach at heart. Describing her philosophy, she said, “As a coach, you can prepare the path, show them the path and even show them the best way to travel the path, but they have to take the first step.”
Prior to her receiving this Distinguished Service Award tonight, Lori has been widely recognized. She was inducted into the UHSAA Circle of Fame and earned a Distinguished Community Service Award from the Utah State Legislature. Her community involvement included extensive work as an organizer of celebrations connected to the 2002 Olympics, as well as volunteer coordination for the NCAA gymnastics championship.
She also provided service as the executive director of the Karl Malone Foundation For Kids. In that role, she said, “I was able to give my college and high school athletes an opportunity to volunteer at many fund-raising events and teach them that service off the court can feel as good as success on the court.”
Lori herself was immersed in the charitable effort of Malone, the former Utah Jazz star who is a member of the Utah Sports Hall of Fame. As detailed in the Deseret News, Malone annually made a major gift to a family on Christmas Eve, often involving Lori’s efforts to validate the need.
Lori is now a consultant with Utah Risk Management as a spirit safety specialist.
—2020-21 – No inductions to due COVID-19—
2019
Brad Hawkins
A graduate of Bonneville High School and Brigham Young University, Brad Hawkins became legendary in the Layton High School community as a 36-year teacher, coach and athletic administrator. Brad was a three-sport athlete at Bonneville and played football and baseball at Weber State. After the school dropped baseball, Brad transferred to BYU and played his senior year for coach Glen Tuckett.
As Brad once told the Deseret News, “What a great experience for me. I mean, that man, he changed a lot of things in me. Probably the one year I spent with Glen Tuckett was as big a life-changing thing for me ever. I never met a guy that was just so passionate about the game and passionate about the kids.”
Brad played three years in the Boston Red Sox organization and scouted for the Red Sox and St, Louis Cardinals. He began his teaching career at Bountiful High School and moved after two years to Layton, where he was the head baseball coach for 16 years and assisted with the football and basketball teams. He also spent three seasons helping his longtime friend, Steve Gardner, coach baseball at Utah Valley State College, then a junior college program.
As he reflected on his coaching and administrative tenure, Brad said, “The best thing is the relationships you have with the kids and the coaches and the good times that you have together. It’s just like coach Tuckett said many times to us: ‘Guys, I don’t have a job. I go to school every day and play with the kids.’ And that’s really how it is.”
He did acknowledge there were times when coaching those teenagers made him want to pull out his hair. In any case, he’s proud to have spent 36 years at LHS. “You think of that right now and that’s crazy, because people don’t do that anymore,” he said.
Brad spent 29 years as a Layton athletic administrator, developing close relationships with longtime coaches including Robert Ferneau and Jim Batchelor, who also played for him at LHS. He was involved in many facilities projects and committees for Layton and Davis School District, including the committee for ninth-grade participation in high school athletics. He has received numerous awards of appreciation, plus a Distinguished Service Award from the Utah High School Activities Association.
He’s a professional fly fishing guide and an avid participant in triathlons and other recreational activities. Brad and his wife, Laurie, are parents of three children and live in Ogden.
2018
Becky Anderson
A graduate of Skyline High School and the University of Utah, Becky Anderson excelled as a three-sport coach at Murray High School and became a mainstay of the Utah High School Activities Association as the first female assistant director. Becky grew up with six brothers and loved sports, leading her to play softball for Utah and make a career of coaching. In turn, she chose to give back by becoming an activities administrator. As she said upon being hired in 2008, “Sports have dramatically changed since my competitive days as a female athlete; the shorts have gotten longer, the basketball has gotten smaller, the softball glows in the dark and the net is an effective weapon in volleyball. However, one constant is the indispensable role the Utah High School Activities Association plays in governing inter-school activities to the benefit of thousands of Utah student athletes. I am thrilled at the opportunity to assist in that mission.”
As a coach, Becky will be remembered for Murray’s state softball championship in 1990, the first season when the sport was sanctioned by the UHSAA, earning an inaugural “Coach of the Year” award. She coached volleyball, basketball and softball at Murray, while working as a counselor.
Becky joined the UHSAA in 2008 and made a considerable impact for six years. When she retired in 2014, UHSAA Executive Director Rob Cuff said, “On many occasions, she has taken difficult assignments and made them successful with her enthusiasm and electric energy. Becky’s passion for high school activities will be missed not only by our staff, but across the state.” He also admired Becky’s ability to “keep calm in stressful situations and always directed recognition to students.”
Becky was instrumental in elevating girls high school sports in Utah, particularly in volleyball, softball and drill team. She also was at the forefront in the “Raise the Bar” program and established the annual “Dare2Lead Student Leadership Conference.” Working with Bart Thompson, Becky helped establish the Unified Sports programs in soccer and track and field, a cooperative effort between the UHSAA and Special Olympics Utah.
Becky has received many awards along the way, notably earning one of the 2018 National Federation of State High School Associations (NFSHS) Citations, considered among the most highly regarded achievements in high school athletics and the performing arts. In retirement, Becky is a valued member of the USHOFF’s Board of Directors and lives in Salt Lake City.
Dave Hoch
A native of Idaho and a graduate of Weber State University, Dave Hoch became a successful baseball coach at three northern Utah high schools and administered a strong program as Northridge’s longtime athletic director. Dave also is known for his community service, having directed the Japanese American Citizen League Basket-ball Tournament for 20 years, worked as volunteer softball coach in the Weber School District and coached competitive youth teams for 10 years. During his tenure as Northridge’s athletic director, the Knights won six state championships and 38 region titles in various sports.
Dave’s hallmark is a personality that drives him to serve selflessly, not seeking fanfare or awards. One colleague wrote, “His dedication to his students, athletes and school community are second to none. He exemplifies what the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation stands for: service to others.”
Dave became one of Northridge’s original faculty members when the school opened in Layton in 1992. He was the baseball coach for nine years, while also assisting in football, and added the athletic director’s duties in 1997. While he is being honored for his service and not necessarily his athletic achievements, Dave deserves credit for being an outstanding baseball player in his own right. As a youngster, he once broke a Babe Ruth World Series record for chances and assists in an inning and a game. He was an all-conference selection for both Gonzaga and Weber State and was signed by the Seattle Mariners, playing for Salem in the Northwest League in 1978. Dave later became a mainstay of the Smithfield Blue Sox, a semi-pro team that was a major part of the summer culture of Cache Valley in the early 1980s.
As the baseball coach of Bonneville, Clearfield and Northridge, he was known for fielding fundamentally sound teams that “did more with less,” according to one observer. He then focused on coaching his daughters’ teams in softball and produced several college athletes, including two of his daughters. Tracee played at SLCC and BYU and is now coaching at Snow Canyon High. Haylee played at Utah and SUU and later became Roy High School’s softball coach. In a Standard-Examiner story about Northridge’s softball coach, Dave displayed his insight into the coaching profession. Jasey Fatongia, he said, “has been around softball players her whole life and she knows what it takes to be a good player both mentally and physically, and a lot of times, emotionally. She can understand how all the girls are feeling … [and] say the right thing to the right people at the right time.” Dave and his wife, Janice, are parents of three children and live in Roy.
2017
Jerry Bovee
A graduate of Ben Lomond High School and Utah State University, Jerry Bovee has accomplished a lot in seven years as Weber State University’s Athletic Director. The attitude and work ethic that has earned him a Distinguished Service Award from the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation became evident long ago, when he worked in sales, marketing and promotions for USU. Whenever anyone asked who was responsible for a particular aspect of the Aggies’ game operations or other athletic department functions, the answer invariably was “Oh, Bovee does that.”
He may be delegating more tasks these days as the Wildcats’ athletic director, but Jerry is still getting things done. And he’s thriving on a campus where he grew up attending Weber State events and developing a love of sports in Utah. After earning a degree from USU and working for three years in the Aggie athletic department, Jerry moved to the Utah High School Activities Association. In his 12 years as an assistant director with the UHSAA, he served as vice-chair of the football rules committee for the National Federation of State High Schools Association. He organized and managed state tournaments and was involved in coaches and officials education programs. Jerry took direct responsibility for football, boys basketball, softball, tennis and wrestling during his UHSAA tenure.
When he moved to Weber State, Jerry initially worked in a campus administrative position, not necessarily intending to become the athletic director. Yet he willingly took on an interim assignment when the job became open in September 2009 and was given the permanent position eight weeks later. Known for what one WSU administrator described as his “boundless energy,” Jerry has earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from WSU and applied his skills to restructuring of the Wildcats’ marketing and promotional efforts with a new branding program and has improved several key facilities to benefit each of WSU’s 16 sports.
Jerry has overseen the Wildcats’ Big Sky Conference championships in basketball, track and field, cross country, soccer and softball during his tenure. He has succeeded in retaining coach Randy Rahe and the WSU football program has made tremendous strides after his hiring of coach Jay Hill. In addition, he has supervised the initiative to improve the Academic Progress Rating in each sport and has been involved in national efforts to raise graduation rates.
Jerry and his wife, Julie, are parents of four children.
2016
Gary Stevens
Tom Welch
Deb Willardson
2015
Craig Hansen
Bruce Woodbury
2014
Paul James
Bill Marcroft
Kathy Taylor
2013
Ward Armstrong
Paul C. Smith
2012
Jack Bishop
Earlene Durrant
Jay Fullmer
Larry Harrison
2011
George Curtis
Paul Dart
Garth Fisher
Lamar Hirschi
2010
Dale Gardner
Mae Miya
Jay Monsen
Larry Palmer
Frank Tremea
2009
Mike Dmitrich
Hal Hardcastle
Steve Heiner
Al Lewis
2008
Randy Hollis
Dale Mildenberger
Don Norton
Joe Watts
2007
Bill Bean
Jimmy Brown
Stella Welsh
Dave Wilkey
Rich Wilson
2006
“Mr. Mac” Christensen
Lee Dickemore
Tony Stilinovich
2005
A. Lex Baer
Harry Burchell
Robert L. Rice
Vaughn Soffe
2004
Bill Anderson
Nolan “Red” Burnett
John Caputo
Gary Totland
Cal Watts
2003
Marvin E. Casteel
Lyn “Swede” Larson
James “Jim” Lundberg
Jack B. Parson
Karl Thalman
2002
V. Loraine Cox
Richard V. Hansen
H.L. “Pete” Haun
“Pete” Suazo
2001
Angelo Cerroni
Geneva Hillman Fife
J.D. Harris
Steve Lunt
Kimberly Ann Norman
Douglas A. Muir
John Worley
2000
Robert Chiodo
Jon M. Huntsman, Sr.
Jim D. Laub
David Nordquist
1999
Dr. Robert F. Bitner
Gary Crompton
Pete Harman
Joe Lee
1998
Glen Beree
J. Elliott Cameron
Spencer Eccles
1997
Dr. Marlowe Goble
Don Mayne
Dr. Gerald Sherratt
1996
Fred Ball
Karl Brooks
Carl Hansen
1995
Tee Branca
John Keysor
Ray Schwartz
1994
Ned Alger
Ted Jacobsen
Pete Witbeck
1993
Ken Hackmeister
Elaine Michaelis
1992
Greg Marsden*
Paul Ream
Denise Parker
1991
William “Bill” Larson
Del Markham
John Mooney
1990
Pat Miller*
Doug Padilla
Joe Whitesides
1989
Missy Marlowe
Henry Marsh
Merrill Miner
Karl Tucker*
1988
LaVell Edwards*
Frank Gilbert
Harvey Hansen
Jack Kobe
Bruce Osborne
1987
Frank Brickey
Bob Howard
Delmar “Swede” Larson
Harry Louie
* Denotes Having Coached a National Championship