USU Homecoming Week Honors Rich Traditions
Utah State University is celebrating its rich traditions during Homecoming week, Oct. 18-23, with activities scheduled throughout the week.
Favorite Aggie traditions include True Aggie Night and the Homecoming Dance Oct. 22, and the Homecoming Parade Oct. 23. The week culminates Saturday with the Aggie football game against the University of Hawai'i on Merlin Olsen field at Romney Stadium, where a new statue of Aggie football great Merlin Olsen will be unveiled. A complete schedule wiith times is online.
A new event added to this year's schedule is the All-Aggie Homecoming Reception Friday, Oct. 22. Food, entertainment and a no-host bar is set at Hamilton's Steak & Seafood, 2427 N Main St., Logan. The event is designed to allow participants to meet with former classmates and this year's homecoming honorees.
The 2010 Homecoming honorees are: Gary and Marjorie Anderson and Margaret Anderson, Alumni of the Year; Joey Blanch, Distinguished Young Alumna; and the Grand Marshals for the Homecoming Parade are the 1960 and 1961 football teams.
The Utah State 1960-61 Football Team: Homecoming Grand Marshals
The players from the 1960-61 Utah State football teams will be grand marshals at this year's homecoming parade.
The greatest two-year stretch in Utah State football lore was in 1960 and 1961, when these two teams combined for an 18-1-1 regular season record and claimed back-to-back co-Skyline Conference Championships.
The team was led those years by Hall of Fame Coach John Ralston. In 1960 the team won the Sun Bowl against New Mexico with a score of 20-13. This milestone for the Aggies could not have been achieved without this stellar team.
And in 1961 the Aggies played in the short-lived Gotham Bowl, held in New York City. The Utah State team in 1960 also made it to #10 in the national rankings. There were many memorable games during the '60- '61 season including defeating BYU both years.
The '61 team is also the last in school history to go undefeated during the regular season. Tackle Merlin Olsen was a consensus, first-team All-American, and when he won the 1961 Outland Trophy as the country's top lineman, he secured his place in Aggie football history. Merlin Olsen was also immortalized in Aggie history when Utah State's football field was named after him.
The 1960-61 Aggies included future NFL notables who were drafted to teams such as the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings. More than a dozen other members of these teams had lengthy pro football careers in both the NFL and CFL, including Clark Miller who played for San Francisco, Doug Mayberry who played for Minnesota, Chicago Bear Clyde Brock and Lionel Aldridge, two-time Super Bowl winner with the Green Bay Packers.
These Aggie teams put Utah State on the map during its golden years of football.
Joey L Blanch: Young Alumna of the Year
As early as middle school, Joey Blanch could waltz her way around a mock court room and pull confessions from tearful classmates. During her high school years, Joey discovered a love of the courtroom that would ultimately lead her to pursue a dual degree in philosophy and political science from Utah State University where she graduated cum laude in 1993. That same year, Joey received the USU Robins Award for Woman of the Year.
After earning a juris doctorate from Harvard in 1996, Joey began her career at the Los Angeles law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobsen. She then joined the United States Attorney's office in 2002 so she could focus on practicing criminal law.
She currently serves as the assistant United States attorney in the Central District of California specializing in criminal law, with a particular interest in pursuing predators who stalk and target children. Her work in this area has led to her appointment as deputy chief of the General Crimes section and as the area's coordinator of "Project Safe Childhood."
Her career in law has not only protected children, but has also brought justice to countless others.
“What I love about my job is that I get to do the right thing every day,” she said.
Joey's work gives her the opportunity to take part in many high-profile cases involving murder and organized crime. Her efforts were rewarded when she received the Attorney General's award for Distinguished Service in 2007 for the prosecution of a violent prison gang. In 2008, Joey received the Anti-Defamation League's Sherwood Prize for Combating Hate and was named the Los Angeles J. Reuben Clark Society's Young Lawyer of the Year.
Even though life as a high-powered L.A. attorney keeps her extremely busy, Joey makes a point to make time for hobbies and fun pursuits. She takes advantage of all the entertainment options and fun the Los Angeles area has to offer. She also loves traveling abroad and has visited Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico, Belize, Italy, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. And while she enjoys her free time, Joey's passion for law still continues to provide her the most satisfaction.
Joey's post in the federal court requires her to work on interstate cases only, the majority being prosecutions of Internet-related child pornography offenders. As a result, Joey doesn't often get to meet the clients she is protecting. Although, she said, it's the absence of such victims that makes it worthwhile. "We know there are predators out there, and we know there are many more young people who won't become victims now."
Margaret, Gary, and Marjorie Anderson: Alumni of the Year
Margaret, Gary and Marjorie Anderson are philanthropists, community-minded and, of course, Aggies. The family members, who all exemplify community service and excellence in business, are 2010 recipients of USU's Alumni of the Year Award.
Margaret, who graduated from USU in 1952 with a bachelor's in child development, worked as an elementary school and kindergarten teacher for a total of 17 years.
After teaching, Margret turned one of her personal passions into another career. A self-proclaimed "super cocoa drinker," Margaret became an investor in the Stephen's Gourmet Hot Cocoa Company, and later, she became the company's owner.
Her love for cocoa doesn't distract from her dedication as a philanthropic leader in her community. Margaret works with the foundation named for her late husband, the DeLonne Anderson Family Foundation, and is currently supporting various charity organizations. The Anderson family, along with its foundation, and Stephen's Gourmet Hot Cocoa sponsored the DeLonne Anderson Memorial Golf Tournament, which supported the USU athletics department.
While continuing to support Utah State and her community, she also pursues her favorite interests, including reading, spending time with her family and spending time on her Wyoming ranch. She is the mother of three children, who all attended USU, and she has 13 grandchildren.
Gary Anderson, Margaret's son, graduated from Utah State in 1978 with a degree in accounting. He started his career at the Pillsbury Company and in 1992 became involved part-time in a new product, Stephen's Gourmet Hot Cocoa. His interest in that product led him to work with it full-time and to later become president of Excellent Foods, Inc. Gary later sold both companies but continues in other business pursuits.
Gary also helped with the Autism Foundation of Utah, served on the advisory board of Altius Health care and worked with his family in sponsoring the DeLonne Anderson Memorial Golf Tournament. In his time free of business Gary enjoys spending time with his family, golfing, traveling, scuba diving and serving in church.
Gary's wife, Marjorie, attended Utah State from 1975-1977. She follows the pattern of her family in philanthropic work. She is actively involved in the PTA, swimming programs and church callings. Her work extends to helping those in need by working with children who have cerebral palsy, with autistic children and at the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind. Marjorie also enjoys reading and music.
The Anderson family exemplifies community service and excellence in business. Margaret, Gary and Marjorie Anderson each continue to serve their communities and are active participants in helping those with disabilities
