1

Kris Burns
December 9, 2015
Cell Number
Home Number
Email
ENGL 2100

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7758 South 1100 East
Midvale, UT 84047
November 21, 2015
Brigham Young Acceptance Committee
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University Provo, UT 84602
Dear Acceptance Committee,
I would like to apply for enrollment at Brigham Young University and attend as a
transfer student. Being a cougar has been a desire of mine since my youth. My
standard of living, volunteer service, extracurricular activities, and educational
journey will contribute to strengthening the student community and align with your
schools purposes.
My standard of living is directly aligned with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints. My family has been in the Church for generations and I have willingly
followed the teachings and standards throughout my life. Currently, I live in
harmony with the Honor Code and the Dress and Grooming standards of the school.
One of the results and aiding factors of my lifestyle was serving as a full-time
missionary in the New Zealand Auckland Mission from 2013 to 2015. Living a
higher standard of conduct, leadership experiences, teaching, training, immersing in
the gospel, and more are experiences treasured and applied in my life today. Skills
that I gained in those two years aid me in my endeavors since then and will help me
be a successful BYU student.
Sports and music are the dominant extracurricular activities in my life. Currently, I
play rugby and volleyball for Salt Lake Community College on a competitive level.
There are many other athletic activities that I enjoy as well. Music and singing are
passions of mine as well, contributing to opportunities to uplift others.
My academic journey is young and in process. I graduated from Brighton High
School with an honors diploma, scored a 29 on the ACT, and am currently enrolled
at Salt Lake Community College for my general education. My GPA in high school
was a 3.5 and my goal is a 4.0 for college, which is a success thus far. My abilities
and studies will reflect the BYU student that you want to produce.
Thank you for this opportunity to apply. I look forward to the opportunities and
direction that you can provide. I can be contacted on my email at
kburnzy@gmail.com .
Sincerely,

Kris Burns

Table of Contents
Cover Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
........... 2
Table of
Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.... 3
Writing Samples
The Maori Marae (Description of a traditional Maori building)
..... 4
How to Install a Plug Outlet (Technical Instructions) . . . . . . .
....... 5
Entrepreneurial Writing (Research Paper on Technical Writing
and Organizational Culture in Entrepreneurship) . . . . . . . . .
........... 6
Resume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . 22

The Maori Marae

The marae is a community meeting place for specific tribes of the Maori
people, New Zealand natives. As such, it is a focal point of familial, spiritual,
recreational, and even political activities and multiple maraes can be found among
cities and villages in New Zealand. It can be described as a sacred meeting house
or even as a temple.

What am I looking at?

The Maori word marae means meeting grounds. In the images below, the
wharenui, or main, carved meeting house is shown. It is the main building on the
meeting grounds. There is also a kitchen, eating area, bathroom, and shower
house. The carvings, as well as the architecture, are symbolic of a human body
mainly a head, welcoming arms, spine, and inside the wharenui, the ribs. They are
also rich with religious meaning and symbolism. God speaking to their ancestral
and modern prophets, chiefs, or leaders.

Figure 1: Labeled marae. http://www.education-resources.co.nz

https://virginiavagabonds.files.wordpress.com

Figure 2: Marae.

What is the marae used for?

The marae is used for any tribal activity. Most common are tangis, or
funerals, celebrations, meetings, and weddings. However, there are specific rules,
because of its sacredness. You must leave your shoes outside, you cannot eat or
drink anything inside, and you generally must be welcomed onto the marae with a
formal, traditional greeting. You also must gain permission from the eldest leader to
use the marae, speak, or do almost anything.

The Iconic Maori Tradition

The uniqueness of the Maori culture and its use of the marae are interesting
learning adventures. The marae is a focal point of the Maori people, and yet
territorial as well. Its sacred nature is to bring families, sub-tribes, tribes, and
communities together in business, celebration, mourning, and any other aspect of
life.
No ISO standards found for these buildings

How to Install a Plug Outlet

Tools Needed

Plug Outlet
Screwdriver or Drill
Wire Strippers
Razor Knife

Procedure
Warning: To avoid electric shock, make sure the wires of the
circuit are not hot or live.
1. Strip the number 12 wire in the junction box with the razor knife or
wire strippers so that you have all 3 wires separated the black, white,
and ground (bare copper) wires. If there are 2 wires coming into the
box, strip each one so you will have 6 wires in total to work with.
2. Strip off about an inch of the end of each individual wire with the wire
strippers so that the ends are bare.
3. Using the wire strippers, curl the end of each wire. You will want a nice
U shape.
4. Wrap the wires around the corresponding screws on the plug. The
black wire goes on the gold screws, the white wire goes on the silver
screws, and the ground wire goes on the green screw. Tighten the
screws with a screwdriver

Figure 1: Bare plug wiring. http://ww2.justanswer.com

5. Push all the wires into the junction box and make sure to not let any
bare wire touch other bare wire or metal.
6. Screw plug into junction box with a drill or a screwdriver. Make it level
before tightening it tight.
7. Screw in the cover plate with a thin flat head screwdriver
8. Turn on your circuit and test the plug. If it is not providing electricity,
you must troubleshoot to find the issue.

Entrepreneurial Writing
Kris Burns
ENGL 2100
October 4, 2015

Abstract
This report analyzes the writing valued by the field of entrepreneurship and
analyzes the organizational culture that influences that writing and thereby
success of the business. Every company is different because of the product,
service, or process they are selling, but the process to start a company is the
same and calls for the same types of writing. However, there are necessary
technical writing skills unique to each industry, but communication through
email is mandatory in any business. The culture of the company effects the
type of technical writing, and if focused on good morals, will bring success to
any entrepreneurial venture.
Keywords: writing, organizational culture, entrepreneurship

Introduction
Entrepreneurship is a thriving line of work around the world. Many
entrepreneurs find success while others cant maintain their endeavors. In
many ways, entrepreneurship can change the way we live, but it also
changes according to the way we live. The focus of this paper is to define
entrepreneurship to the reader, help the reader understand why
entrepreneurs are important to society, analyze the similarities and
differences of the genres, content, design, format, and styles of writing in
different businesses, and analyze how the organizational culture influences
the writing produced. I have chosen to research different entrepreneurial
ventures and research the differences in writing and communication. Among
businesses I have chosen are restaurants, small business with specific
products, educational development, and construction companies. All fall
under the umbrella of the term entrepreneurs, but all are unique. My main
source of research is the actual owners of different companies, in an effort to
get diverse facts and experiences. Communication through email will be the
most prominent and important writing done in this field, and the industry the
company is in will partially determine the organizational culture of that
company, even though all entrepreneurial ventures are unique and different.
Also, all successful businesses and companies are structured around good
moral values.

Methodology

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Internet Resources
The first source I used was the Internet. I did a google search with the
words entrepreneurship and its effect on society. There were many
scholarly articles and I chose an article written by a financial writer named
Shobhit Seth.
The next step I took was searching steps to start a business in order
to understand the basic parameters and principle type of writing that all
entrepreneurs will have to perform to start their business venture. I read the
article written by the Small Business Administration.
Prior to finding a restaurant owner last, I researched types of
communication needed to run a restaurant. I selected an article by Sam
Ashe-Edmunds and I found lots of examples on how to communicate in a
kitchen.
I also utilized the Salt Lake Community College library and found
similar articles and PDF files, but I did not use any of that information in this
report.
Personal Interview
The main bulk of my research was with owners of companies.
Entrepreneurship is so broad and general that I decided to interview owners
of companies that varied in industry. I targeted 4 different types of
businesses: a restaurant, a fitness supplement business, an educational

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technology business, and a construction/engineering business. Due to

location and busy schedules of business owners, most of these interviews
were conducted over short phone calls. I interviewed Garrett Ferguson, Brett
Horrocks, Tom Pitcher, and Ron Paul. I asked these entrepreneurs 2 main
questions to find out about the types of writing they participate in frequently
and the organizational culture that makes their company unique. I also
asked them sub questions to better understand the topic.

Results
I first researched more of the background and definition of what being
an entrepreneur means. The definition is, starting and maintaining a
business in order to sell a product, service, or process that they believe will
benefit individuals and society.
In starting a business, there is a specific pattern that everyone must go
through. You must first create a business plan, finance your business by
loans if needed, register a business name with your state government,
register for taxes, and obtain business licenses and permits (SBA. n.d.). This
process will involve much writing and communication, and will be a common
thread through all businesses and companies. Other similarities in writing
and communication will be communication with employees, clients or
customers, and the state government.
Restaurant

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Communication in a restaurant involves a lot of interaction with the

staff and employees. Much effort in writing involves advertisements, menus,
and recipes which are more creative writing. More technical writing in these
businesses include planning the staffing, scheduling, and bookings (AsheEdmunds.S. 2015). I interviewed the owner of H&D Barbeque, Garrett
Ferguson. I first asked him the prominent types of communication, including
writing, he does in order to start and maintain a restaurant. His answers
included emailing venders and suppliers and oral communication within the
restaurant between employees.
The second topic of my questions were focused on the culture of his
business, what makes it unique, if there are any values or beliefs that are
integral to his business, and the demographic of his body of employees.
Garretts answered that the type of food he makes determines a lot about
the main feeling of the restaurant. The value that he helps everyone focus
on is honesty. When asked about his body of employees, he told me that
none of them are barbeque-ers but they are mainly servers, cashiers, and
waiters/waitresses. Also, everyone there has a connection with each other in
some way, whether they are good friends, previously met somewhere, know
each other through other people, etc.
Fitness Supplement Sales Business
A business or company can be made around anything that people in
society want or need. The next business I studied is Surge Supplements,

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owned by Brett Horrocks, a 20 year old entrepreneur. Brett started this

business 7 months ago and the product of this company is fitness
supplements used as aides in exercise and improving individual health. I
chose this company because of the specificity of the product and the success
of the company. In 6 months, Surge Supplements will surpass the top
supplement-selling company in the state, one that has been running since
2008. I first asked questions about the communication and writing that he
uses most in his company. Brett was clear with me that nearly all of his
communication is through writing. He informed me that, 90% of
communication is through writing: texts, memos, invoices, and mainly
emails. 80% of sales specifically come through emails, 15% come through
phone calls, and the remaining comes from face-to-face contact, (personal
interview, 2015).
Shifting the interview into the culture of his company, I learned the
values, unique qualities, and the demographic of his company. Brett focuses
on a family-oriented culture existing in his company. The values of loyalty,
love, and trust are most important to what he is trying to achieve in forming
that culture. As long as his employees are willing to work hard, be aligned
with the purposes of his business and its goals, and be family-oriented at
work and at home, Brett will hire anyone no matter their background. This
makes for a diverse body of employees, but does foster the desired culture.
Educational Technology Business

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A company called iSchool, owned by Tom Pitcher, was my next focus.

This business focused on educational technology and digital curriculum for
schools. Also notable, Tom had a business designing and building charter
schools in the state of Utah prior to iSchool. In my interview with Tom, I first
focused on questions of communication and writing. He told me the
importance of communication in a promotional nature, truly selling their
product. He uses video clips and demonstrations with the actual product to
help the client fully understand what they are offering. One main form of the
writing he does are thorough documents called investor books. They are
large summaries, profusely specific to every aspect of the company,
industry, the product, and purpose of what they are doing as a business.
Much more of the communication through writing is through emails to
superintendents, teachers, and legislators. Tom informed me that, 60% of
communication these days is through email, 10% comes through promotional
material, and 30% is oral communication, (personal interview, 2015).
In answer to further questions about the culture of his business, I
learned that Tom uses a variety of methods to promote openness, teamwork,
positive energy, no secrecy, and inspiration. They use the fish bowl
concept and even have a fish bowl room. The concept is that you can
clearly see everything going on, it is open, it is free, and it is flexible. The
room is an actual circular conference room, again implementing this idea of
unity and integrity. There are no walls that are not glass, they use thin tables

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and chairs to even further gain a feeling of openness. iSchool has gone to
great efforts to apply the fish bowl concept.
Construction
The final company I researched was Focus Surveying and Engineering,
a two-tier civil engineering company. I not only interviewed the owner, but I
had the opportunity to spend time at the company, observing some
communications and getting a feel of the atmosphere. There is a lot of oral
communication, especially through the phone, but when asked about
technical writing, Ron had a lot to say. They must provide analyses of many
different things, give narratives of designs, provide notes on design plans to
explain the pictures, etc. He also told me how communication is done in his
company. Texting and emailing are the easiest and most frequent medium,
however he prefers face-to-face conversation in many instances. Ron said
that the communication done in his company is 40% by phone, 40% is by
email, and 20% is in person.
I experienced more of the culture of this company than any others I
researched. There are 5 tenets of Focus Engineering customer service (he
focuses on the most), communication (a close second in importance),
honesty, ethics, and the team concept. The focus is always on the customer,
and Ron wants a good atmosphere in the company. He doesnt advertise to
hire people, but rather prefers references or word of mouth. His desire is for
his employees to have established basis relationships and build a team that

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know each other well. He will reward his employees by buying the whole
company lunch if they met or surpassed their monthly goals. The
demographic of his business is that it is male-dominated. Out of 26 workers,
2 are women, and their positions are receptionist and secretary. The men
are generally middle aged, educated, outdoorsy, and Caucasian.
Ron created 5 tenets of Focus customer service (he ranked as most
important), communication (he stressed as a close second), honesty, ethics,
and the team concept. He will reward his employees by buying the whole
company lunch if they met their monthly goals. I had the opportunity to
attend one of those lunches, a sign that the company is doing well. The
dynamic and demographic of his employees is that they are mainly middleaged, educated, Caucasian males. He does not exclude or not hire women,
but he spoke about how that is the culture of the industry. Out of 26
workers, 2 are women, and they are the receptionist and the secretary. The
culture of the industry effects the culture of the company. Ron doesnt like to
advertise for hire. He much rather prefers references or word of mouth. He
values established relationships and aims to build a team that knows each
other well.

Discussion
According to the financial writer Shobhit Seth, there are many reasons
why entrepreneurs are important to society. They are, entrepreneurs create
new businesses, add to national income, create social change, and

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encourage community development. . . . Entrepreneurs can change the way

we live and work. If successful, their innovations may improve our standard
of living. . . . They also create jobs and the conditions for a prosperous
society, (Seth. S. n.d.). With a greater understanding of what entrepreneurs
are and why they are important, I will share with you information I gathered
from the different companies, particularly highlighting their type of writing
and organizational culture.
Restaurant
It is no secret that communication in a restaurant is absolutely vital.
With products so specific to each individual customer, there is hardly room
for miscommunication if you want to succeed. Unlike the other companies
that I studied, using email as a main source of communication was not the
most common type of writing. Due to the industry and also only having
studied one restaurant, the need for communication would be mainly oral. If
you reflect on times you have been to any restaurant, all of the
communication is done face-to-face with customers. Most if not all of the
communication between employees is oral as well. The only times they
would truly need email are to contact venders and suppliers or communicate
with employees off of work hours, which has the potential to be the majority
of their writing.
The culture of this business is completely influenced by the industry.
Garrett said, BBQ is way different than sushi, thats for sure, when asked

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about what culture his restaurant has (personal interview, 2015). With the
product being BBQ food, that creates a whole theme for the decoration,
appearance, and feeling of the restaurant. The organizational culture in this
way is formidably influenced by the industry it is in and the product they sell.
When asked what values they focus on, he immediately said, honesty. Do
what we love and do it the right way, (personal interview, 2015). He also
noted that everyone there has a connection with each other somehow.
Everyone knows each other or had met previously somewhere, so there are
already established relationships at H&D BBQ. With everyone already
knowing each other and cultivating good values, Garretts business is seeing
success.
Fitness Supplement Sales Business
Surge Supplements is definitely a business on the rise as I stated
before. Brett Horrocks shared with me some vital information on
communication, backing up the idea that email is the most common form of
writing in entrepreneurship. He explained that people are so busy that
emails are the quickest and simplest way to contact anybody, anywhere.
Also, if it takes him 2 to 3 minutes to walk to his secretary and explain
something in person, and has to do that multiple times per day, that can
amount to 20 minutes of communication, versus the much faster method of
emailing. He also shared that it is so much easier to cut down small talk
conversations; for example, avoiding conversations about how the company
started, how they developed the product, how well the company is doing,

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etc. can be completely cut out through email. They are simple, to the point,
and lightning fast. With this evolving method, he shared that he is worried
that people skills and social skills will decrease if the emphasis and majority
of effort to communicate is through the medium of the Internet. However,
this could play a huge role in the success of his company.
The conversation about the culture of his company was interesting. As
stated before, he has implemented a family-oriented culture into his
company, with the values of loyalty, love, and trust being focused on the
most. He will literally hire anyone if they are just willing to work hard, be
aligned with the purposes of the company and share its goals, and as
previously mentioned, be family-oriented. He even revealed to me that
when interviewing people, if they hand him their resume, he will tear it into
pieces and discuss his values with them. If they agree, they are in. It is that
simple. He quickly told me that I would never find another business that
hires people in this way and he receives a lot of negative reactions because
of some of his methods. It also makes for an extremely diverse body of
employees. When telling other entrepreneurs this method, Brett was told
that his business will fail because of his family-oriented culture. Brett then
told me, When this older business owner told me that, I wrote it down and
framed it, put it on my wall, and look at it often, (personal interview, 2015).
His focus on family values has generated so much success in a short amount
of time, and he informed me that there is true trust within his company
between him and his employees. Despite his unique ways, he is successful

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at achieving his desired culture and it is directly effecting the success of his
company.
Educational Technology Business
iSchool is also a company that leans a lot on emails. Out of all of the
businesses I interviewed, iSchool was the one that seemed to have the most
technical writing. We discussed the promotional nature of what they are
trying to achieve, which defines the why to technical writing. However, even
with the bulk of writing that is their investor books, Tom still said that 60% of
communication is from emails. It is possible that the majority of writing and
technicality will come through the investor books, but to have an efficient
company, email again is the most frequently used resource of writing.
Out of all businesses I interviewed, iSchool seems to be the business to
put the most effort into the physical environment in order to have the open
spirit prosper. I received a lot of insight into how they go about that.
Namely, the fish bowl room, the furniture, the glass walls when walls are
needed, etc. This effort has successfully achieved the desired values of the
company and definitely contributes to its success. One notable method they
use to inspire each other is to place painting of the most influential people in
history on the wall, along with their quotes. He said that, people who are
crazy enough to try to change the world, often do. That is one of my favorite
ideas and something we are committed to, (personal interview, 2015).
Again, we have similar values and themes among these successful

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entrepreneurial ventures. Promoting products for young elementary school

children, they are harnessing the big eyes, excitement, willingness to learn,
and energy that [our customers] have, in our company through this
openness concept, (personal interview, 2015). Again, if you cultivate good
attributes and moral values into your company, the trend is that you will be
successful.
Construction
This last business reflects similar themes spoken of already, and
strengthens the evidence. There is much technical writing in the field of
engineering, an effect due to the industry and base of the company.
However, Ron makes communication an important tenet of his company. He
stressed the importance of good communication by saying,
We are in essence trying to prove that we are correct. We use
memos. . . its important to calculate things correctly as an engineer,
but if you cant explain it to someone who didnt get trained in
engineering, you wont be a successful engineer. If you are accurate
and correct, what good is it if you cant help someone else understand
it? In our minds, if we can communicate better than the other
companies, we will be more successful than the other companies,
(personal interview. 2015).
Ron believes that being able to write and communicate within and without
the business is directly proportional to the success of your business.
Although Ron gave similar percentages of the different types of
communication, he is strongly opinionated that the amount of
communication should be equally distributed between the modes of
communication, namely email, by phone, and face-to-face.

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The industry of engineering has created a specifically male-dominated

culture in his company. With 2 out of 26 employees being women, Ron was
emphatic that he does not exclude women, but it is just the culture of the
industry that brings that result. Either way, his tenets remain the same.
Aligned with the other results from the other companies, his moral values are
focused on wholesome attributes such as honesty, ethics, and selflessly
being part of a team. Continually working on this, and also factoring in how
there are established relationships, has resulted in success for Focus
Engineering. Ron informed me of his reward system, that if they achieve
their goals, he buys everyone lunch. He told me that they have had a
company lunch every month this year so far. Focus reaches its goals every
month, and they continue to raise those goals. This success can be
attributed to the good communication and the solid organizational culture of
the company.

Conclusion
In conclusion, there is much evidence of the success of good
communication, especially through writing, and having an organizational
culture based on good values. Communication through email is the most
prominent and important writing done in this field. There are specific writing
skills needed in different industries, but every business researched uses
email most frequently. Going into this field of work means learning to be
concise and direct through email, but also learn specific technical writing

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skills to perform successfully in the industry of choice. The foundational

writing of businesses are the same, but there are multiple styles and types of
communication that are mandatory for success. A product of fitness
supplements will not need to make notes on construction plans for a house,
and an educational technology founded business will not need to create
menus. The industry directly effects the writing done, but also the culture of
the company. It will attract certain types of people and in turn promote
specific practices. Also, as my studies have shown, successful businesses
focus outward on clients, fellow employees, and just each other to be at the
optimal level of production and innovation. Although the industry will affect
the culture of your company, you have control over the values and practices
of your entity, and if you are able to be successful, you can even change the
community for the better. It takes communication through email, and good
morals to have success in entrepreneurial endeavors.

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References
U.S. Small Business Administration. (n.d.). 10 steps to starting a
business. sba.gov; Retrieved from
https://www.sba.gov/content/follow-these-steps-startingbusiness
Seth S. (2015). Why entrepreneurs are important for the
economy. investopedia.com; Retrieved from
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personalfinance/101414/why-entrepreneurs-are-importanteconomy.asp
Ashe-Edmunds S. (2015). Effective communication in restaurants.
smallbusiness.chron.com; Retrieved from
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effective-communicationrestaurants-61264.html

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Kris Burns
7758 South 1100 East, Midvale, UT 84047
(801) 864-4742 ~ kburnzy@gmail.com
Education
Salt Lake Community College Expected Graduate 2017 with Associates Degree
Brighton High School Graduated 2012, earned Honors Diploma

Work Experience
Focus Surveying and Engineering
Field and Survey Crew Use surveying instruments to accurately stake
construction projects, following the engineering plans.
Electrician Apprentice Install electrical systems in residential and commercial
buildings
Utah Lawn
Landscaping Crew Beautify residential and commercial properties with rocks,
bark, flowers, dirt, etc. in Salt Lake Valley
Dimple Dell Recreation Center
Volleyball Court Manager Helped manage, supervise, and referee kids
volleyball league

Skills
Strong work ethic
Two years of experience in teaching and training
Eagle Scout
Cold calling experience
Can work well in a team environment or individual

Volunteer Work
Missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Proselyted for 2 years
in Northland and
Auckland New Zealand as a teacher and representative of the Church while
giving community service.
Volleyball/Basketball Coach Coached Junior Jazz and Brighton Mens Volleyball Club

Awards and Activities

Eagle Scout
Brighton Mens Volleyball Club: 2010 2012
3rd place in state tournament
All-state volleyball team, 2012
SLCC Mens Rugby Club: 2015
SLCC Mens Volleybal Club: 2015

References

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Frederick K. Balli President of New Zealand Auckland Mission, rickballi@gmail.com
Adam Fernandez Brighton Mens Volleyball Coach, (818) 943-5726.
Richard Allen Paul Grandfather and Supervisor, (801) 859-7568.
rakopaul@netzero.net