Merry Christmas!

We're taking this week off with highlight posts. Catch you next year!

In Memorium: Heather Gross

Heather Aron Gross

6/28/81 ~ 12/14/08

Heather was never meant to die of old age; instead she died causing international news. The inbounds avalanche at Snowbird, on December, 14th, ended her life at age 27. She was an avid Snowbird skier and would never want her death to stifle anyone's love for skiing or for the resort. Our daughter did a life's worth of living in her 27 years. Her candle burned brightly but not long enough. She needs the many people whom she has touched, to keep it burning. Her prayer for you would be to remember her goodness and zest for life and continue to share and spread it. Heather had a passion for adventure and learning. Travel was a part of who she was. She open mindedly accepted and befriended people from all over the world. She combined travel and learning with studies in Spain, China, Argentina, and more. She will be deeply missed by her parents, Dennis and Alyce Gross of Salt Lake City, and her sister, Emily Gross, of Ft. Collins, Colorado. Heather left a void that will be partially filled by hilarious memories. Anyone caring to memorialize Heather should make a donation to the Utah Food Bank in her name. As an infant she was baptized on August 23, 1981 into the Body of Christ and anointed with the Holy Spirit at Zion Lutheran Church, 1070 Foothill Dr., where the Celebration of her Life will be held on Saturday, December 20th at 3 p.m. Guests will be greeted as early as 2 p.m.

[via source]

Boasting Bengal: Emily Gledhill

Emily Gledhill, now Emily Watterson, studied Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Utah. After taking a break from 2002 to 2004 to serve an LDS mission in Guayaquil, Ecuador, she graduated from the U in 2007. Emily enjoys working as the Training Manager at Deseret First Credit Union, where we're sure she occasionally gets to use her Spanish skills and tell people to vuelva trabajar!

Emily married her husband, Jake, in 2006. Currently they don't have any children.

[Learn more about Emily's credit union (and maybe some solutions to your financial needs) here.]

Boasting Bengal: Heather Gross

Reisa (Hall) Faller used her Facebook account to post a memory of Heather. We decided to post it here as well as a tribute to Heather's legacy and her variety of interests in life.

Note from Reisa: This is from the Brighton Barb. I have the actual paper, but couldn't attach it. I kept it because I felt it was a great article. Heather had a great voice. This is what she wrote.....

"I am, you are, we, are the last graduating Bengals of the century. Is that what defines me? Am I just a Bengal? I hope not. I was a Bengal for three years. I have been a student for thirteen, and have been Heather Aron Gross for eighteen years. But, who am I?

Who are you? What defines you? Is it a stereotype? Don't let it be. Wake up in the morning and think, "What stereotypes am I going to break today?" or "Against what label should I rebel?" So, who are you?

Are you a car with a boyfriend and some clothes? Maybe you have a musical preference and a snowboard. I know; you are that girl who uses three bottles of hair spray every day and laughs like a horse. Just Kidding. I don't know her. I do know that people are too complicated to categorize. I'm a sister and a daughter, a friend and a mentor. I am an individual.

We aren't Generation X, nor Generation Next. We are a generation of individuals. How much have times changed? We assume a parent will love a child born retarded. Would you love a child born gay? Can you predict that reaction?

Don't limit yourself. Leave some space between college, your mission, maybe that bar you're going to own and operate, and your married life as a parent and an adult, for your dreams. Do what you love. I KNOW that Europe and running are in my future.

Find something you believe. Forget your inhibitions. I'm not saying, "Don't stop at any more red lights," but I bet you don't even know that some of those dreams exist because all you have ever let yourself be was a golfing basketball player with a turtle named Joe. So, who are you?

Perhaps you have been a runner your whole life. Don't forget to walk sometimes. Maybe you have been with someone so long that he or she has begun to define you. I thought I was my boyfriend's other half until I realized I couldn't breathe. Hey, maybe you HAVE found your soul mate. You can still dream. You can still be a Bengal. Just, be yourself for yourself, before you are defined by what you're not.

Y, para Ustedes que hablan Espanol, FELICITACIONES!
CONGRATULATIONS!

Don't forget, you will always be a BENGAL.

-Heather Aron Gross

Contribution Update for Heather Gross

New article in the Deseret News today about her life: read it here.

The article states that in lieu of flowers or money, the family has asked that donations be made to the Utah Food Bank. Even if you no longer live in Utah, the Food Bank has several online contribution options that you can read about on their website.

If you would like to send a note to Heather's parents, here is their address:
Dennis & Alyce Gross
2764 Coventry Ln
Salt Lake City, UT 84121-5216

Classmate Update: Heather Gross

Many of us recently learned that the effects of a avalanche at Snowbird ski resort claimed the life of our classmate, Heather Gross. She passed away yesterday afternoon, Sunday, December 14.

For more details you can visit a few news sites:
KUTV news
Deseret News
Salt Lake Tribune

We'll post information about the funeral and condolences as it is made available.

Boasting Bengal: Haleigh Gustaveson

Haleigh Gustaveson, now known as Haleigh Vance, studied Viola Performance at Indiana University. Since her graduation, she has remained loyal to the music profession. She is a certified Suzuki teacher and currently teaches 12 violin students. She also co-runs the Suitland Strings Youth Ensemble, a youth strings group (ages 4-16) that play all over the D.C. area, as well as partipates in two professional for-hire string quartets, The Briar Rose String Quartet and the Southern Maryland String Quartet, both of which service the greater Washington D.C. area. If that isn't enough, Haleigh is also the president of the Mormon Orchestra of Washington D.C., which mirrors the Orchestra at Temple Square in many ways and also plays all over the greater Washington D.C. area.

When Haleigh isn't focusing on music, she spends her time with her husband, Mike, whom she met at Indiana and is a professional saxaphone player. Married in 2000, Haleigh and Mike moved to Washington D.C. after Mike was accepted to the United States Army Pershing's Own Band. She also enjoys taking care of their four wonderful and active kids, Isaac (7), Hannah (5), Laura (4), and Stephen (18 months). (As an adventure story, Haleigh says that Laura was born in the front seat of the car on the way to the hospital, with Mike playing the role of the doctor, until the ambulance arrived!)

[View pictures and updates about Haleigh & Co. at her blog here.]

In Memorium: Zach Eastman

Zach Eastman

6/29/81 ~ 12/10/04

Zachary Scott Eastman died in an avalanche December 10, doing what he loved best, testing himself against nature while back-country skiing. He was born June 29, 1981 in Salt Lake City to Scott and Tami Eastman.

Zach was an Eagle Scout. He graduated from Brighton High School in 2000. Zach served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Florianopolis, Brazil. While planning for a career in nursing, Zach was working for Discover Card. Zach was one who really lived every day of his life; each day was a new adventure to be experienced. He was the eternal optimist, a young man who saw only the best in everybody and everything around him. Calling himself a "Wasatch Disciple", Zach aspired to be as stable, as strong, and as beautiful as the hills he loved. Zach is survived by his parents, Tami Eastman of Salt Lake City, and Scott Eastman of Las Vegas. He also leaves behind three younger brothers, Josh, Powell, and Colton, all of whom looked up to him both physically and emotionally. Zach also leaves grandparents, Dan Eastman of Farmington, LaVelle Eastman of Salt Lake City, Dorretta Probasco of Salt Lake City, John L. Anderson, Aiea, Hawaii; plus numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and countless friends.

A funeral service will be held Tuesday, December 14, 12 noon at the Brighton 5th Ward, 2561 E. Bengal Blvd. (7600 S.) Visitation will be held Monday evening from 6-8 p.m. at the Cannon Mortuary, 2460 E. Bengal Blvd. (7600 S.) and Tuesday from 11-11:45 am at the church. Interment Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you consider contributions to the Avalanche Forecast Center, 2242 W. North Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, 801-364-1581, in Zach's name, in recognition of his love of Utah's natural beauties. In the words of Zach's favorite musician, Bob Marley, "every little thing is gonna be all right."

[Via source.]

Boasting Bengal: Spencer Janke

Another Brighton alum in the real estate world is Spencer Janke. He is part of a company called Utah Cribs, obviously specializing in Utah real estate. In the past five years Spencer and his business partner have closed over $100 million dollars in real estate from residential to commercial--you name it, they sell it!

[Visit Utah Cribs here, and for some fun and interesting real estate commentary, visit Spencer's blog here.]

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're taking this week off with highlight posts...see you next week!

Boasting Bengal: James Barlow

James Barlow ranks high at the top of our list of people with interesting adventures since leaving high school. Since leaving Utah in September 1999, he worked as a hospital corpsman with the Marines at Camp Pendleton, CA, for 3 years before moving to Iceland for 3.5 years and learning Icelandic while working at the Naval Hospital there. When the base in Iceland closed, he was transferred to Naval Air Station Willow Grove, PA, where he was then deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for 6 months of scuba diving and relaxing on the beach, with a little work here and there. Currently he lives just outside of Philadelphia, PA.

James received his BA in History from the University of Maryland in 2007 and is currently attending Temple University in Philadelphia as a full-time MBA student. He is also in an officer commissioning program, and when he graduates, he will go into the healthcare administration field for the Navy. James was recently selected as one of the the Vice Presidents of the Temple MBA Student Association by his fellow students and school administration.

James spends his weekends with his son, Aidan Glenn Barlow, who recently started kindergarten in nearby in New Jersey, and is one of the few five year-olds on the block who has lived in Iceland and visited Cuba. James has been involved in the 2008 elections and recently had the honor of speaking at a campaign rally in front of a Veteran's group with his Congressman, Patrick Murphy (D) PA-8th, about the new GI Bill and how Congressman Murphy's work on drafting the bill is helping veterans across the country go to college.

[Learn more about the Temple MBA Student Association here, and be sure to check out all of James's fascinating photos on his Flickr account here.]

Boasting Bengal: Andrea Burton

Currently living in Idaho with her husband and three children, Andrea Burton has developed a love for sign language over the past 10 years and has developed a website dedicated to teaching parents the benefits of sign language. Some benefits include clarification, improvement in verbal skills, faster language acquisition, and others. She demonstrates sign language abilities via online videos with her four-year-old daughter, Annie.

[Learn more about teaching your baby to sign on her blog here.]

Boasting Bengal: Justin Wood

It looks like Justin's been up to...well, wherever he wants to go! He's become a mastermind behind the art of rock climbing and outdoor adventures. If you've every had questions about the great outdoors and what it takes to be a serious rock climber, Justin's your man.

[Check out all of Justin's documentaries here, but especially see this post--these photos are enough to make even his mother nervous!]

Boasting Bengal: Emily Goodman

Emily (Goodman) Stinger started Bizzy Bee Creations, a company that specializes in custom invitations and note cards. From birth announcements to thank you notes, Emily can help make your perfect design a reality. Also check out her occasional sales and monthly newsletter!

[Visit Emily's creative outlet here.]

Boasting Bengal: Anne Allen

Another member of our graduating class who is in the photography business is Anne (Allen) Spencer. Living in Salt Lake City, Anne mainly specializes in commercial photography, but she says she'll occasionally do wedding stuff if friends ask. Her work is intriguing and spectacular--our favorite photos are in her "places" collection.

[View her amazing portfolio here.]

Senior Mosts: Doug Nielsen

Best Sense of Humor

Doug our basketball man earned a finance degree from the University of Utah and has been a real estate agent for over 4 years, specializing in the Salt Lake County market. He is married to his beautiful wife, Jami.

Doug's been continuing his love of basketball by helping coach the Brighton sophomore team. We hear he is a great coach!

[Visit Doug’s website and real estate profile here.]

Boasting Bengal: Emily Hedrick

Emily Hedrick is helping to change the world through her love of digital media and Macintosh hardware. Currently a digital media student at Utah Valley University, Em has been fortunate enough to visit Namibia twice in the last two years to help the country digitize and save their records, as well as teaching a local university how to expand their local presence with podcasting.

Recently Em and a friend started their own mobile media/podcasting business called Alchemedia. Best wishes ladies!

[Read about Em's Namibia experiences on her blog, and check out her new business venture here.]

Save the Date!

We need your help more than ever to spread the word about our reunion, mainly because we have set the date!

Mark your calendars for Saturday, 1 August 2009.

More details coming after the new year!

The Word is Getting Out!

Thanks to your efforts, we've been able to contact quite a few people and gather contact information for our reunion. But we're not through yet! So keep those email addresses coming.

Also, we've noticed that a few of you have added this blog to your own blog sidebars, which has been great because people have linked on that link and found our site! So, if you have a blog and haven't done so yet, please place a link from your blog to our BHS haven. The power of linking sites together in the online world is more powerful than you may think...

Thanks for helping us out!

Senior Mosts: Roane Noel

Biggest Heart

Roane Noel was no stranger to the class of 99, and he’s still making large strides to make an impact in the world.

After serving an LDS mission in Italy he graduated from Brigham Young University in August of 2006 with a B.S. degree in Molecular Biology. He passed the patent bar in July of 2008 and now works as a registered patent agent. He enjoys serving the Salt Lake community as a vocational trainer for adults with disabilities.

Roane lives in Murray with his beautiful wife, Katie.

[Check out Roane’s fabulous company profile here.]

Boasting Bengal: Stephanie Scothern

One fun thing about collecting everyone's contact information has been unveiling the stories behind the addresses! Stephanie is no exception; her email reveals her success in the photography business. Currently residing in Lehi, Utah, Stephanie has started a business called Photography By Steph and specializes in newborns, children, babies, maternity, and family photography.

[To schedule a family portrait session with a familiar face and professional in the field, check out Stephanie's website here.]

New Blog Layout

We've gotten some comments that the previous blog layout we were using had bad days...meaning some of you couldn't see the text in the sidebars. Well, to avoid that issue, we're going back to a standard Blogger template. Let us know if you see any more problems, but hopefully this HTML code is good to go.

Senior Mosts: Kazuki Arakaki

Unique Name

Kazuki has a strong interest in animation and cartoons, so it’s no wonder that he chose a career in technology. Among his various skills, he is a Microsoft Certified Professional, so if any of you are having problems with your Microsoft computer, see if he can help you out.

Kazuki’s unique name earned him the shorter nickname of “Zuke” after he entered the workforce post-high school. It's probably also easier for his three younger children to pronounce, right?

[He and his wife, Melissa, have a personal blog, but for all you tekkie, trekker, and game lovers out there, Kazuki has a tekkie blog for your enjoyment.]

Boasting Bengal: Ken and Andrea Merkley

You'll probably recognize Andrea by her maiden name, Nordgren, but Kenneth and Andrea got married in 2002. Both of them went to Brigham Young University. Andrea loves being home with their two children: Joseph and Elizabeth.

Kenneth kept pursuing his education, receiving his MACC from BYU's Mariott School of Management, and his long hours of studying and academic achievements earned him a prestigious PhD placement at the University of Michigan. While at BYU he also assisted in writing a research document that was submitted for publication this year.

Kenneth just finished his second year of coursework and has participated in several activities at Michigan, such as being a speaker for the 2007 accounting workshops.

[Read about Kenneth's prestigious PhD placement in the Marriott School's 2006 newsletter. Also check out the Merkley's adventures in Michigan on their blog.]

Senior Mosts: Adrienne Martin

Best Sense of Humor

Adrienne graduated from Brigham Young University in 2006 and immediately cashed in on an opportunity in the Big Apple. She has worked as a brand planner at the prominent marketing communications agency of Young & Rubicam (Y&R) for over two years now--and she can't believe the time has gone so quickly! If you're in the advertising/marketing industry, there's no better person to get to know.

We recently saw Adrienne dazzling the scene of New York City with her cheerful personality and awesome sense of humor. Her favorite hangout is Pinkberry, the home of swirly goodness and chilly bliss (also known as yogurt with mixed-in awesome ingredients).

One of the major planners of our 10 year reunion, Adrienne says hello and is excited to see everyone next year!

[Take a glance at Adrienne's other accomplishments on her LinkedIn profile.]

Boasting Bengal: Becky Hale

Becky (Hale) Heumann sang her way through high school, first in A Cappella choir and then with the ladies ensemble. Now married with two very active children, Becky has still made time to focus on her passion. Recently she was in the ensemble for Sandy City's "Ragtime" and had a great time revisiting the stage. She says she'll continue to pursue theater opportunities as often as she can. She's also participated in two separate 48-hour film projects directed by her husband, Steve. Becky and her family live in Cottonwood Heights.

[Read all about Becky's latest theater experience here. Also check out her film debuts, Shift and Firefly.]

Boasting Bengal: Tristan Gale

Most everyone loves to watch the Olympics, but one of our very own got to participate in the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games. Unless you have been living under a rock, you probably know by now that Tristan Gale won a gold medal in the skeleton competition--the Salt Lake games was the first time skeleton was an official Olympic sport.

[Check out Tristan's very own Wikipedia page, which includes other cool Tristan links.]

Senior Mosts: Trent Colarusso

Original Dresser

Our ever-loving Trent Colarusso graduated from Brigham Young University in Construction Management. He currently works for Magleby Companies as part of the renovation team. Feel free to contact him any time about all your renovation needs!

We recently saw him down in Provo--he’s doing really well with his little family and still dressing in the know!

[See Trent’s fantastic company web photo here.]

Senior Mosts: Meredith Hinckley

Most Likely to Win an Academy Award

Meredith Hinckley is still pursuing theater after all these years as a drama MFA student at Cal State Fullerton. She’s been in several plays there and was nominated for an Irene Ryan scholarship in 2007.

[Read about the play that gave her the nomination here.]

Boasting Bengal: Ty Perry

For years we watched the local TV anchors tell stories about our community. Now, one of our very own is making strides in the media world. Ty Perry has joined KUTV 2 News; if you've missed seeing his face all these years, tune in on weekends and (some) weekdays to see his live news broadcasts. Or if you no longer live in the state, you can search for his broadcasts and watch streaming videos online. Lucky you, Ty!

[See Ty's bio on the KUTV newsteam link here.]

Senior Mosts

Wonder what happened to all those people in the "Senior Mosts" of our Yearbook? We're planning to stalk some of them and find out! So stay tuned...

Boasting Bengals!

We have an awesome graduating class--many of us in the last 10 years have done pretty amazing things. Maybe you are a local television anchor, or you started your own company, or you were awarded the congressional medal of honor. (Maybe all three!) Or maybe you know someone else who has done these things, or other events worth mentioning. We want to know about them!

If you have something pretty cool you'd like to share, email us and give us all the info. Web links are great as well. Feel free to tattle on other people too, if they're too humble to admit their accomplishments themselves.

If we get enough responses, we'll try to feature someone every week. If we don't...we might just do some Internet stalking and post when we can.

Planning "Party"

We are having a planning meeting for our reunion Tuesday, July 8. If you are interested in helping, you are invited and we would love to have you!! Email us and we'll give you more details :)

Finding Friends

Hey, so this blog is to help BHS 1999 alum find friends, keep in touch, and announce upcoming events (ie... ten-year reunion!!!) or whatever else you all would like to share. If you have a post you'd like to make, email brightonhigh99 (at) gmail (d0t) com. We will gladly post your pics, updates, or blog links. Also, if you'd like to participate in planning the exciting reunion coming up, email us and let us know. BHS rocks!