OCR Text |
Show : dMi98wii , JZ "Bonham and Keetch" ' Y Von was on the same PG High debate team as Mark E. Bonham. The two were good students. After high school Mark went on to earn a degree in economics from BYU. After graduating from BYU he went on to Harvard Law School. Mark has worked for over 20 years as a top ranked corporate and securities lawyer with one of the top law firms in Silicon Valley. He has represented hundreds of companies in formations, venture financings, IPOs, mergers and strategic transactions worth more than 10 billion dollars. In 2008, Mark became a founding member of SageCreek Partners, a "mentor capital" firm dedicated to helping mentor executives, serve on boards, grow companies and help serial entrepreneurs succeed faster and in a bigger way. More recently Mark has headed the Venture Practice of one of Salt Lake City's largest and most respected law firms. In 2009, Best Lawyers named him Utah Corporate Lawyer of the Year and in 2010 they named him M&A Lawyer of the Year in the Salt Lake City area. money than inferior quality cabinets. I wasn't surprised. I remembered the days when Max Thorne, from here in Pleasant Grove, was over maintenance in the Alpine District and each summer he would hire shop teachers to build cabinets and do maintenance work in the schools. These people did wonderful work. Max loved quality work and expected the best for the students and teachers who attended and worked in the schools. Max knew that a lovely school helped create a better environment for learning. Speaking of learning, I hoped you noticed more success by two graduates of Pleasant Grove schools. On page 9, of the April 16, 2011 issue of the LDS Church News is a photo of Von G. Keetch and other general authorities. Von was recently made a member of the fifth Quorum of the Seventy in the LDS Church. Von is a shareholder in the law firm of Kirton and McConkie and a . member of the Constitutional, Religious and Appellate Practice section for that law firm. Von has been the Chief Outside Counsel for the Church of Jesus Christ . of Latter-day Saints. Von graduated from Pleasant Grove High and went on to complete a degree in Political Science from BYU in 1984. He then went on to graduate summa cum laude from the BYU J Reuben Clark Law School in 1987. He was the. Managing Editor of the BYU Law Review and was ranked first in his law school class. Von served as a judicial clerk to Chief Justice Warren Burger and Associate Justice Antonin Scalia of the United State ' Supreme Court. He has testified before Congress and was the former Chair of the Utah Appellate Court Nominating Commission (2006-2009). In one context or another Von has represented almost all of America's mainstream religious organizations. Von is also a member and advisor to the American Law Institute. Mark was recently appointed to the board of Soar Winds, an NYSE traded enterprise software company, where he serves as Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee. Like Von, the list for Mark's accomplishments could fill pages. Von and Mark are great examples of just what young people can accomplish if they take' advantage of their educational opportunities and listen to ' good parents. Both have solid values and are humble about their respective accomplishments. Both are wonderful husbands and fathers. The people of our community can be very proud of these two fine Pleasant Grove High graduates. I would match these two with any graduates of any school in the world. Continued success to Bonham and Keetch! by Mark Bezzant Recently I had the opportunity to visit the Alpine District Education Center, commonly called the district office. I was greeted by a very pleasant lady in the lobby and she directed me to the office where I needed to go. As I entered the office, I was impressed with the order and beauty of the office. When I commented on the lovely decor the ladies told me these lovely and expensive looking cabinets were the work of district employees. They were built for far less |