Eight Utah State University alumni will be honored Saturday, March 8, at a Founders Day ceremony that will celebrate the university’s 120th birthday.

Dick Motta, Charlie Denson and Kent and Donna Alder will each receive the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Two couples, Merrill and Betty Daines and Peter Thomas and Jacqueline Stewart, will receive the Distinguished Service Award.

 

The Distinguished Alumnus Award and the Distinguished Service Awards are given by the USU Alumni Association Executive Board to those who have made significant impacts in their communities, whether it is in public service, business, academic scholarship or the creative arts.

 

“The task of honoring great Aggies is difficult because we have so many who are indeed great,” said Wally Odd, executive director of the Alumni Association. “But these Aggies have a sincere and generous concern for the good of mankind and are committed to make an appreciable difference wherever they are found. Their efforts bring great credit on Utah State University and our Alumni Association.”

 

Motta received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from USU in physical education. He went on to coach the Weber State Wildcats basketball team, leading them to their first NCAA tournament. Motta was hired as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls in 1968 and was named NBA Coach of the Year in 1970. Motta’s teams won 935 games, ranking him number eight for wins by a coach in NBA history. He also coached the Washington Bullets, Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings and the Denver Nuggets until he retired from basketball in 1997. Motta is the owner of Bluebird Chocolates in Logan as well as the Bluebird Inn Bed & Breakfast in Bear Lake. He is a member of the USU College of Education Advisory council, Old Main Society, Pi Kappa Alpha, Alumni Legacy Board, and he funds a scholarship in the HPER for students interested in a coaching career.

 

After playing football for USU in 1976-1977, Denson graduated from USU with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing. In 1979 he got his first job with Nike as the assistant store manager of the Athletic Department. Denson then went on to hold several positions in the company before becoming president in 2006. Denson has returned to USU multiple times to speak and currently serves as a member of the College of Business Advisory Board.

 

Kent Alder received two bachelor’s degrees from USU, one in finance and one in accounting. Alder was CEO of Lundahl Astro Circuits, a printed circuit board company in Logan. He was the CEO of ElectroStar Inc. and vice president of Tyco Printed Circuit Group Inc. from 1997-1998. Alder is currently CEO of TTM Technologies, a company named “Hot Growth Company” by Business Week magazine in 2006. He attributes much of his success to his wife, Donna, and to USU. Both are members of the Old Main Society and Platinum Members of the Big Blue Club.

 

“Success in the business world started with the fundamentals from the university, and it has been a true husband and wife effort,” Alder said.

 

Merrill Daines, the first medical director of Logan Regional Hospital, is an Old Main Society officer and member of the Alumni Association at USU. Daines is currently, or has been, chair of the hospital’s ethics committee, director of Sunshine Terrace, president of the Utah Heart Association and delegate to the American Medical Association.

 

Betty Daines, also a member of the Alumni Association, studied nursing at a hospital in Salt Lake City. She has worked and volunteered more than 7,000 hours at Logan Regional Hospital and served as president of Cache County Medical Auxiliary. Logan Regional Hospital has dedicated its Logan Cancer Treatment Center to Merrill and Betty Daines.

 

Thomas received his bachelor’s in electrical engineering from USU in 1968. He is currently a managing director of ATA Venture Firm, which he co-founded in 2004. Thomas is a member of the USU Foundation Board, and in 2006 USU’s College of Electrical Engineering recognized him with the Distinguished Alumni Award.

 

Thomas and his wife, Jacqueline Stewart, have made contributions to USU’s College of Engineering to assist with the completion of the new Engineering Building.

 

“We are supporters of education,” Stewart said. “It’s one of the fundamental elements for improving the lives of all of our society.”

 

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