Thursday, February 26, 2009

Boasting Bengal: Jenny Davis

After graduating from Brighton, Jenny Davis (now Taylor) attended the University of Utah. During her sophomore year, she moved to Washington, D.C. for an internship in Congressman Chris Cannon's office and have lived in the D.C. area ever since. From 2001-2006, she was Congressman Cannon's Executive Assistant. After 5 years on Capitol Hill, she started working at the Washington Speakers Bureau where I am a Senior Event Coordinator. Jenny graduated from George Mason University with a B.A. in Communication and concentration in Public Relations.

Jenny currently lives in Alexandria, VA, a suburb of Washington, D.C., with her husband, Paul. She and Paul met in 2003 when she was working on Capitol Hill and were married in August 2007. He is the Chief Republican Council for the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties at the House Judiciary Committee.

Fun fact, Jenny was on the TV show Trading Spaces in 2004.

[Learn more about the the Washington Speakers Bureau here.]

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Boasting Bengal: Heather Cooley

Heather Cooley is now known as Heather Cooley Jenkins and has been married to her husband, James, for 4.5 years. They live in Salt Lake City; he is the director of finance for a tech company, and she loves working as an interior designer. Naturally Heather also enjoys designing and decorating the new house they just purchased.

Since high school, Heather and her husband have done a lot of traveling--they've visited Hawaii, Grand Cayman, Florida, Canada, Mexico, Chicago, New York, Tennessee, Thailand, Alaska, and most recently, Forks, Washington. They don't have any children, but they do have a spoiled cat named Lillie.

Heather and James also spend their free time working with the Ouelessebougou Utah Alliance, a charity that helps the people of Mali, Africa. They try to volunteer at an annual benefit dinner held every spring.

[Learn more about Heather's volunteer work by visiting the Ouelessebougou website here.]

Friday, February 13, 2009

Boasting Bengal: James and Karen Bates

James and Karen (Vargo) Bates currently live in the D.C. area. James is attending his second year of law school at Georgetown, and Karen works for a D.C. law firm in their IP group. On December 19, their daughter, Sophia Bates, was born into their family. They've never been happier!

[Learn more about Georgetown University Law School here.]

Monday, February 9, 2009

Boasting Bengal: Adam Archer

Since graduation, Adam has spent quite a bit of time seeing the world and adding adventure to his life. His first adventure with the military lead him to his wife, Cori, and her three-year-old son; Cori and Adam were married in August of 2003. They lived in Aviano, Italy, for the first year of their marriage, and then moved to Ft. Hood, Texas.

After completing 5 years of military service in the US Air Force, Cori was discharged from the military after becoming pregnant with their third child. Shortly thereafter they moved back home to Utah. They purchased a home in Layton in June of 2006 and lived there until September of 2008. Meanwhile, Adam jumped back into his undergraduate degree and enrolled full-time at Weber State University. Not only did they have three children, but he also managed to work 40 hours per week in Salt Lake City and attend night classes in Ogden. It was pretty wild and strenuous, but thanks to an amazing wife and understanding kids, he was finally able to earn his undergrad--or at least, he says, he lacks one class and will earn it this May 2009, a BA in Philosophy with a Minor in Construction Management.

Adam started working in commerical construction management in Texas in 2004 and have been pursuing a career in it ever since. He really enjoys it.

Adam and Cori now live in Sandy next to Alta High school and added their fourth child this past September. (Technically, he says, since they already had one child with their marriage, they have only had three children in five years--not as insane as having four in five years.) He says he can't claim any credit for his children as his wife does everything. "I struggle to remember our daughter's birthday. I cook dinner and 'bring home the bacon,' but other than that she pretty much does everything. Good thing I married up."

Says Adam, "We are really happy and feel very grateful. Life has been very good to us, void of tragedy and despair. We are certain that those unfortunate days are sure to come but thankfully we have our great family and good friends to help us through those times when they arrive. We really anticipate seeing everyone at the reunion; it will be fun to enjoy and share in your many successes and triumphs."

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Boasting Bengal: Brian Griffiths

Everybody remembers Brian Griffiths, one of our favorite classmates who is always smiling and happy. Brian has put his cheerful disposition to good use throughout the years.

Brian continued cheering for college at SLCC, and eventually at the University of Utah, and won 2 National Championships with the squads there. He served an LDS mission in Sacramento, California; became a member of the Utah Jazz Dunk Team performing at NBA Games; worked as a DJ for Radio Disney for 3 years; and last but not least, worked as a counselor for 3 years in the LDS church's summer youth program called Especially For Youth.

Brian will complete his Bachelors of Finance degree from the University of Utah at the end of this year. He currently works as a financial paraplanner for Ameriprise Financial, helping clients invest in securities like stocks and bonds, and advising them on their retirement accounts--a task that he'll be doing for the rest of his life. In his spare time he enjoys playing racquetball on a daily basis.

EFY proved the highlight of his early 20s years because he fell in love with one of his fellow counselors, Laura Ethington, and they were married in October 2006. In Brian's good-hearted nature he says, "We have had a blast starting our lives together!" Brian and Laura live in Sandy, and they love traveling, camping, roller-blading, and any random creative activity they decide on. Laura makes handmade jewelry and is in school for Cosmotology and will graduate this summer.

[Learn more about Brian's company and his current sponsor on their website here.]