USU Eastern Press Release
Utah State University Eastern hosted its annual Legacy Dinner on Oct. 8, celebrating this year’s Legacy award recipients. The award recipients were honored for their remarkable service and commitment to USU Eastern and the community.
“Each of these individuals has had a profound impact on this campus and our community,” said USU Eastern Associate Vice President Greg Dart. “I am proud to associate with them and call them friends.”
Bradon Bradford received the Community Service Award, John and Jeri Houston received the Giving Heart Award, and Terry Johnson received the Upon Their Shoulders Award.
“It is difficult to quantify the work Brady, Terry, John and Jeri have done,” Dart said. “They each have showcased how one individual can change countless lives.”
Bradon Bradford – 2021 Community Service Award
As the COVID-19 pandemic raged throughout the state of Utah, Bradford led the Southeast Utah Health Department and made a marvelous impact. In part due to his tremendous work, the SEUHD has been a rock in Southeastern Utah and a tremendous help to all residents during a worldwide pandemic.
Bradford joined the SEUHD 16 years ago, beginning his career as an epidemiologist covering all of Southeast Utah before transitioning to environmental health. He has been the Executive Director and Health Officer of SEUHD for the past four years. He loves the variety of challenges presented by public health issues in different rural communities, although he is looking forward to the time where there will be a little bit less public health work to do.
In 2014, he won the Reed Roberts Memorial Award from the Utah Environmental Health Association for his work in environmental health, and in 2017 the Utah Association of Local Boards of Health presented him with the Outstanding Public Health Professional Award.
Bradon, together with his wife Melody, has six children and he spends time coaching his kids’ soccer teams and serving in church.
John and Jeri Houston – 2021 Giving Heart Award
John and Jeri Houston have given their time, talents and resources to improve Price, Carbon County and Utah State University Eastern. Their commitment to the community and campus made them obvious choices for the Giving Heart Award.
John and Jeri are both Carbon County natives, having both graduated from Carbon High School while Jeri graduated from the College of Eastern Utah. John began his career as an electrician and had moved to several companies through his early career, including working for Utah Power and Light’s Mining Division (Emery Mining). Through his experience, John saw the need for repair services and technology support for the coal mining industry in the western United States. He decided to begin his own company, Intermountain Electronics, in 1985.
The company began doing electrical component repairs. With the help of his wife Jeri, the business began to grow and expand beyond just repair services. The duo expanded the business into providing power equipment manufacturing and technological support. The company has now grown into one of the fastest-growing, independently-owned companies in the United States, employing over 300 people, and growing at an average of 20 percent.
Their son, Bobby, also graduated from Carbon High School and went on to earn a degree from the College of Eastern Utah and Arizona State with an electrical engineering degree. He too has joined the family business and is an essential part of the company, working as the director of the Mission Critical Sector.
Terry Johnson – 2021 Upon Their Shoulders Award
Terry Johnson was born and raised in Carbon County, and went on to graduate from the College of Eastern Utah. His journey to graduation was a tumultuous one, however, as he entered college as a struggling student with no real idea of where his future would lead. Taking night courses, taught predominantly by local adjunct instructors, he was supported and encouraged to do well in his studies. In fact, he became the valedictorian of his graduating class from CEU and this instilled in him the desire to continue furthering his education. He went on to earn a business degree from Southern Utah State College, again graduating as valedictorian.
Johnson held numerous positions after college before he returned to CEU, including a local forest shop, gas company, pharmaceutical representative, and a heating and cooling contractor. However, when a position opened up as a recruiter for CEU, Johnson knew it was the perfect place to start giving back. He wanted to help other students learn about the amazing school that CEU was and how it would help them succeed, just as it did for him. In this position, Johnson worked as a new ambassador team yearly and developed relationships with high school counselors and parents.
He was in this position for five years before he transitioned to the position of SUN Center Director. Johnson again saw this as an opportunity to help students succeed in such a rewarding area of life. This also afforded him the opportunity to give back to that community where the adjunct instructors who gave him a successful foundation came from. He enjoyed projects ranging from providing water access in homes on Navajo Reservation, gardening at the local community garden, United Way’s Day of Caring, Bread and Soup Nights, Angel Tree, and varied Bureau of Land Mangement projects throughout the San Rafael Swell and Nine Mile Canyon, not to mention the hundreds of projects completed at local residential homes.
Johnson’s love of students and the mission of the institution (now Utah State University Eastern) has made an impact from which many have benefitted. Johnson worked for the university for more than 16 years and feels honored to receive the Upon Their Shoulders award.