Favorite SVA Memories from Our Director

Written by Marty Matheson, Executive Director

I love when all of SVA students and staff get together for an activity. I love the Heber Valley Campouts, and love when we are all playing games in the pavilion and when we have our evening programs. I love our clean up/work days - cleaning inside and out of SVA, and at the Hale Theater. 

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I love our fundraising activities for the team work that it generates. For example, during the Galas, staff and students come together and work hard to prepare for the event, and work hard to put it on, and to clean up. There is such a great feeling of team work when staff and students are cleaning up after the Gala. Everyone is tired, but music is often playing, and people are singing, having fun, and working hard to clean the building up.

I love the Family Days at SVA when students, their families, and staff come together for a great day of instruction, food, and fun. I love seeing students take pride in showing their families around SVA and showing them things they are involved in doing. 

Doug Gale (our previous director) and I went to the NAPSEC Legislative Day in Washington D.C. for the first time in 2012. We took an evening city bus tour in the middle of a heavy wind and rainstorm. The bottom level of the double decker bus was full of people and dry but the windows were fogged up, so we were the only ones to brave the upper deck which was not sheltered but it gave us a great view of the city. Within minutes we were completely soaked, and our newly purchased umbrellas and rain jackets were shredded and ripped because of the wind. Both Doug and I laughed hard throughout the 2 1/2 hour tour (picture Doug laughing uncontrollably at me holding an umbrella that looked like it had been shredded by a wild animal) That evening we saw beautiful sites of our nations capitol, and we had a lot of fun, laughed hard, and made great memories as we chose to have positive attitudes and make lemonade out of lemons. It was a wonderful experience.