Who will be the Utahn of 2013?

From the Salt Lake Tribune: A fascinating list of the good, the bad and the ugly in Utah this year---representing a diverse group of Utahns, for sure. I wonder if they shouldn't have had a "naughty" and "nice" list, as the nominees can be clearly classified. There are some days I'm really proud to live in Utah, and I think it's a wonderful state with incredible people and resources. Then someone from Utah does something stupid or awful and I cringe and I'm hoping everyone isn't judging Utah by that person's behavior. 

About this list: I hope Redford gets an Oscar. He's a great citizen of the state and deserving of the accolade. And of course he's the founder of the Sundance Film Festival...

I do think the beavers whose dam prevented a major oil spill onto protected, delicate wetlands deserve some sort of honor. Maybe an extra treat (what do beavers like to eat, I wonder?) They had to be carefully rehabilitated from the effects of the spill, and relocated so they can do what beavers do best: build a dam. 

Take a look at this list. There are some remarkable individuals on it. Some not so remarkable. Those are the cringeworthy ones I was talking about. 

Maybe the Utahn of the year lives next door to me, quietly going about doing what they do best. They may not be famous at all, but I think the Everyman and Everywoman should get a nod, too. 

Here's the list. Who would you vote for?

Who should be the 2013 Utahn of the Year?

Becky Lockhart: The Utah House speaker initiated a bipartisan House investigative committee to explore allegations against former Utah Attorney General John Swallow with an eye toward recommending possible changes to Utah law to prevent similar scandals.Dan Farr: He founded Salt Lake City’s inaugural Comic Con, which drew huge crowds to the Salt Palace Convention Center in September. Attendance surpassed that of all the 600-plus other licensed events nationwide except for those in San Diego and New York City.Geralyn Dreyfous: The Oscar-winning producer this year founded Gamechanger Films aimed at funding film projects by women filmmakers. She also earned the International Documentary Association’s Amicus Award, whose only other recipients in the past 29 years have been entertainment lawyer Michael Donaldson, Discovery Channel founder John Hendricks and director Steven Spielberg.Glenn Taylor: He elicited international ire in October after pushing over a “goblin” rock formation in Utah’s Goblin Valley State Park while a friend videotaped the action.Hero beavers: The two beavers are credited with mitigating the harmful environmental effects of a March diesel spill at Willard Bay State Park. Dams they created slowed the spill from reaching Willard Bay reservoir.Jason Kreis: The Real Salt Lake coach led Salt Lake City’s Major League Soccer team to its second MLS Cup on Dec. 7.Jeremy Johnson: The indicted businessman’s allegation that now former Utah Attorney General John Swallow helped broker what Johnson believed was a bribe to make a federal probe against him disappear sparked multiple investigations into alleged wrongdoing by Swallow.John Swallow: Utah’s former attorney general announced his resignation on Nov. 21, a day before a state report implicated him in five alleged violations of election law. Misconduct allegations, many of which are still under investigation, first surfaced four days after he took office in January and continue to dog him.Mike Lee: The Republican senator joined Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in leading the fight against the Affordable Care Act in Congress this fall that resulted in the 16-day partial government shutdown.Pam Perlich: The economist at the University of Utah Bureau of Business and Economic Research, through demographics research and analysis, has become a leading authority on the changing face of Utah and a valued adviser to Utah policymakers.Rachel MacNeill and Alexis Somers: The sisters fought for six years to prove their father’s guilt in their mother’s murder. A jury in November convicted Martin MacNeill of Michele MacNeill’s murder following 13 days of testimony.Ricardo Portillo: The volunteer soccer referee died in May after a 17-year-old player punched him in the head during a game. Portillo became a symbol for the need to address poor sportsmanship and violence in sports.Robert Redford: The 77-year-old actor reached a career pinnacle with his acclaimed role in “All is Lost,” which is widely expected to earn an Oscar nomination. The film already has garnered Redford a best actor award from the New York Film Critics Circle.Sarah Hendrickson: The reigning world champion ski jumper has high hopes to become one of the first Olympic gold medalists ever in ski jumping at the 2014 Sochi Games if she recovers from a knee injury soon enough to compete.Sim Gill: A review by the Salt Lake County district attorney led to the dissolution of West Valley City’s Neighborhood Narcotics Unit and the dismissal of more than 100 narcotics cases. Gill also surprised many when he determined two West Valley City police officers were in the wrong when they shot and killed Danielle Willard on Nov. 2, 2012.Ted Ligety: He won six downhill races on the World Cup circuit last season and is considered a gold-medal favorite in the 2014 Sochi Games.The 19-year-old female LDS missionary: LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson in late 2012 lowered the age when women can go on church missions from 21 to 19, leading to a surge in applications in 2013 by women who previously had made up only 1/5 of all missionaries but whose numbers accounted for about half of the new applications.Write In

- See more at: http://choiceawards.sltrib.com/polls/view/7#sthash.49gEFZa1.dpuf

And I like to remember that the east and west railroads were joined not far from my home, at Promontory Point, in 1869. You could actually take a train from coast to coast. What a boon to the country. The occasion was marked with a spike made of gold. After the ceremony the spike was removed for safekeeping and is on display somewhere....and a regular one was put in its place.