Contratulations to Chad Beck! He has been named our Citizen of the Year for July 2023-24!
From www.heraldextra.com
Chad Beck, a life-long resident of Spring City and descendant of the town’s early settlers, takes great pride in his deep-rooted connection to its history. Growing up, he cherished the time spent with his father and grandfather, tending to the sheep and farm. From an early age, Chad developed a strong bond with the local farming community and found joy in assisting others. Fond memories of his childhood in Spring City are filled with lifelong friendships and a sense of belonging.
One of his most beloved tasks was taking the sheep to the mountains during the summers alongside his father. Checking on the herd became a cherished routine, and upon graduating from high school, Chad decided to become the herder himself. For a couple of years, he and his wife, Jackie, herded sheep, even during the summer of 1981 when their first child arrived.
Chad’s commitment to the community extended beyond his personal pursuits. He served as a member of the volunteer fire department, taking particular enjoyment in organizing fundraisers like selling landowner pheasant hunt permits on early opening mornings. For over 30 years, he has been an integral part of the Horseshoe Irrigation Company, dedicating countless hours to tasks such as visiting property owners, verifying maps, and researching company shares when assigned to the city system.
Skilled in various areas, Chad worked for a local building contractor and later spent several years driving live turkey trucks at the Moroni Processing plant. In the mid-80s, he embraced full-time farming and shepherding while obtaining his CDL to haul cattle and sheep. Although he made the tough decision to sell the larger sheep herd in 2000 and joined UDOT (Utah Department of Transportation), Chad’s love for shepherding never faded, and he continues to maintain a small herd alongside his UDOT responsibilities.
Known for his warm and friendly nature, Chad possesses a remarkable ability to strike up conversations and bring smiles to people’s faces. He willingly extends a helping hand to those in need and is widely recognized throughout the community. In Spring City, asking anyone about Chad Beck would undoubtedly yield a positive response, as his reputation for friendliness and willingness to engage with others remains unchanged. Chad always finds time to visit with anyone, often joking that he could become a millionaire if talking could generate income. When passing by in his truck, he never fails to offer a wave or a friendly honk.
His daughter beautifully captures Chad’s essence, stating, “If you know him, you are his friend. My dad doesn’t have enemies. He is so willing to help. I know if I or any of my family calls him, he will be there to help. Every time I talk to him, he is busy helping someone. My Dad has taught me what hard work is all about and what to look for in a husband.”
Chad and Jacquelyn have been happily married for 42 years and have raised three children, with their 12th grandchild soon to join the family. While Chad has come to appreciate the world beyond Spring City through various family vacations and trips with Jackie and friends, he considers his hometown the ultimate destination.
Chad also actively participated in the Spring City Sportsman Club, organizing numerous trap shoots. When the church decided to discontinue hosting the 24th of July activities, Chad, Jackie, along with the Watsons, Blains, and the Brewers, formed a 24th of July committee to ensure the continuation of the Spring City tradition. For about four years, they diligently organized and coordinated the festivities until eventually transitioning the responsibility to the city.
Tom Crisp named Spring City Citizen of the Year 2022-23
Tom Crisp is honored to be named Spring City’s Citizen of the Year and will be Grand Marshall for the Pioneer Days Parade. His ancestors were among the first to settle Spring City. He is a lifelong resident and loves the town he calls home. He often talks about growing up on the family farm and shares fond memories of his childhood.
Tom takes pride in everything he does and in 1978, he started his own construction company. He continues to work as much as he can, and is known for his hard work, honesty and kindness to everyone that meets him.
Tom has worked on many projects throughout the state including I-15 in Salt Lake and Ogden, Current Creek Dam and Tunnel, Starvation, and Soldier Creek Dam. He has also worked on numerous projects in Sanpete County including building roads for the Forest Service, sewer and water systems, irrigation ponds, and turkey pads. Additionally, he has completed excavation work on many of the local schools including Moroni Middle School, North Sanpete High School, Fairview Elementary and Wasatch Academy, and businesses including Terrels, Kent’s Market and Horseshoe Hardware. The highlight of his career was working on the Alaskan Pipeline.
In the fall of 1983, a very early snowstorm stranded a large group of elk hunters in the mountains above Spring City. He spent several days clearing the roads to rescue the hunters. The snow was over seven feet deep and was higher than the Cat Bulldozer. He found 39 hunters with one still missing. The missing man was finally found off the road under a tree. He told Tom that if he had not cleared the road and found him, he would have died. Tom also worked on the floods of ’83 and ’84.
Tom has enjoyed traveling all over the world with his wife, Norma, and has had many unique travel experiences. Some hobbies have been flying his Cessna, riding motorcycles, water skiing, and annual fishing trips to Alaska. As a teenager, he loved to fix up hot rods. He still enjoys taking his wife on road trips and getting off the highways and exploring the backroads.
Tom has been married to his wife, Norma, for almost 63 years, and together they have 4 children, 9 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. His family is his greatest joy. He enjoys spending time with his family, friends, and neighbors and telling stories. He loves Spring City and quietly helps others when he sees a need.
Congratulations to Virginia Thompsen! She has been named our citizen of the year for July 2021-22
Paraphrased from the Sanpete Messenger:
SPRING CITY-Spring City has selected a generous neighbor and friend as both its Citizen of the Year and Grand Marshal of the Pioneer Day parade on Saturday.
Virginia Thompsen, 88, was recognized as the 2021 Citizen of the Year at the Saga of Spring City program held on Tuesday, July 20. The parade begins at 10 a.m. Saturday July 24.
Virginia was born on November 21, 1932. and she is the daughter of Charles and Adalaide Thompsen. She has four brothers and one sister. She attended elementary and junior high school in Spring City and then graduated from North Sanpete High School in Mt. Pleasant.
After graduation from college, she began her 39-year teaching career with seven years at North Sanpete High School, after which she took a break from teaching to pursue a Masters degree at Utah State University before ultimately teaching again at the high school in Preston Idaho for
the next 31 years. After her retirement in 1992, she returned to Spring City to live in the family home. She still takes care of her mother’s rose garden and apple tree orchard.
After a secret grandparent activity with her Spring City LDS Ward Young Women she became a special grandma to Brianna Williams. They later became visiting teaching companions where Brianna was able to witness Virginia’s dedication to serving others. Virginia continues
involvement with Brianna’s family through Christmas and birthday cards and participation in family functions.
Virginia loves to play cards with her favorite game being Five Crowns. Brianna noted she is a rule enforcer and extremely competitive.
Virginia is a faithful member of the LDS Church and served as a temple ordinance worker at both the Logan Temple and the Manti Temple for a total of 21 years. She also set a goal to complete temple work for 100 names every year. She has served as a faithful visiting teacher and sang in the ward choir. Virginia spends part of each week with her only surviving sibling, a 90-year-old sister who lives in Kearns. Often on her travels home from Kearns, she will stop at Kentucky Fried Chicken and pick up a few buckets of chicken to deliver to people in town who might need some help with an evening meal.
Virginia is known in her community as a very independent, hardworking lady and a wonderful neighbor and friend to all. She is very generous and kind. If you ask her bow she is doing, her favorite line is: ··Good as I can be.”
Congratulations to Vanoy Hansen! He is our Citizen of the Year for 2021.
From the Sanpete County Messenger:
Life of good deeds earns Spring City man
‘Citizen of the Year’ award
7-9-2020
SPRING CITY—Known as man of “good deeds,” longtime resident Vanoy Hansen has been chosen as the Spring City’s Citizen of the Year for 2020.
According to Mayor Cynthia DeGrey, Hansen’s propensity to always volunteer and his desire to welcome others was singled out at a city council meeting on July 2.
Hansen has always had a desire to help others, DeGrey said. He has provided countless hours of service to our community using his own equipment and providing his own fuel. He volunteered to mow the city streets for one year. Using his own equipment each winter he plows the sidewalk to the elementary school and plows the drives of 54 other families in town.
He provides constant care and assistance to his sister Barbara and another neighbor, Virginia Thomson year-round, DeGrey said.
He is known as the self-appointed welcoming committee for Spring City and enjoys sharing stories about Spring City’s history with new residents as well as taking them on a trip northwest of town each winter to view the large number of eagle nests.
Hansen has spent hours researching and collecting names on Spring City’s veterans for the new Veterans Memorial that was completed a couple of years ago, DeGrey said.
He is just the type of person who, when he sees something that needs to be done, just goes ahead and does it, DeGrey said. He does not wait to be asked, he does not expect to be recognized or thanked for his service—he just quietly goes about his day looking for opportunities to serve in whatever ways he can. “That pretty well sums up Vanoy; he’s our resident ‘good deed doer,’” DeGrey said
Hansen is the oldest son of Bernice and Willard Hansen. His siblings include Howard Hansen, deceased, Barbara Hansen Strate and Richard Hansen. Another sibling died at childbirth. Hansen attended elementary and junior high school in Spring City and then attended North Sanpete High School.
Hansen attended one year at Snow College before serving an LDS mission. When he returned home from his mission, he attended USU until he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served two years. Upon his honorable discharge from the Army he finished his education at SUU in Cedar City. He married Evon Olsen of Ephraim and they moved to Orderville, where he taught elementary school. When he returned to Spring City, he taught school one year at Moroni Elementary and then finished out his teaching career at Mt. Pleasant Elementary. He retired after teaching for 32 years.
Hansen and his wife Evon have also been asked to serve as the Grand Marshalls for the July 24 Pioneer Day drive-thru town parade.