Press
Utah Summer Games Hall of Honor Inductees Announced
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
David Barnes and Richard Barnes
For David and Richard Barnes, it's always been about family. Even though the two bothers are separated by about four years; growing up they shared a bedroom, along with a talent for swimming long distances.
The Barnes family started out in Southern California, spent time in Kansas City, Missouri, and ultimately ended up in Utah. Both boys swam competitively from a young age and continued to do so as they grew up. Eventually their love of swimming would take them places. David played Water Polo for the University of Utah and Richard swam for BYU. But their talent would take them even further, across the English Channel to be exact.
David remembers seeing a special on television about a man attempting a Channel crossing when he was about ten years old. The TV show left an impression on the youngster that stuck with him for years. He and Richard, late at night as they fell asleep, would sometimes talk about it.
The English Channel, the swath of the Atlantic Ocean that separates France from Great Britain is 21 miles across at its narrowest part. But that is as the crow flies. Extremely strong currents, tides and weather conditions usually force swimmer to go much farther. Jelly fish, passing freighters and 60 degree water make it even more interesting.
About 12 years ago, the brothers decided that it was time to stop talking about it and start planning for it. They knew that it would take time. David was in medical school, training that has him now working in the emergency room, and Richard would end up pursuing a law degree. But the seed and been planted and both knew that it would be just a matter of timing.
Three years ago this summer, the training began. About a year before the attempt was made, it was stepped up a notch. There were lots and lots of laps in the pool. The brothers trained together, usually four days a week. Three days were dedicated to about 5,000 meters and the fourth day would produce a three to four hour swim, sometime in Jordanelle or Deer Creek Reservoirs in an attempt to get used to cold water swimming.
With financial, emotional and spiritual support from family, August 6, 2005, the day of the attempt, finally arrived. At 3:30 A.M. the two brothers entered the frigid water, admittedly somewhat naive to what was in store for them. Both were decked out in a Speedo and goggles, the only attire allowed for an official attempt. Almost immediately, the two brothers were split up, something they had not planned for.
With six foot swells, seasickness became a problem for both swimmers and ultimately forced David to pull out after about six hours of misery. Richard continued on with the encouragement of his younger brother in a boat along side him, who lied to him all the way, saying that David was right behind him. Eventually, Richard would swim about 36 miles and for 16 hours and 43 minutes before he reached the French side of the channel. As he stumbled onto the beach, he became one of only about 680 people, less than half that have climbed Everest, to cross the Channel. Richard also became the very first Utahan to ever accomplish the feat.
The story does not end there. While David was satisfied at the time, that he had given his all, he felt that he had some unfinished business. With encouragement from his wife, a few months after returning home he decided he needed to make another attempt. David hit the water again to train, often times accompanied by his brother Richard. To better prepare himself for the cold water and ocean swells, he took a few trips to the San Francisco Bay.
On August 26, 2006, just after midnight, David once gain entered the frigid water, determined to swim until there was no more water. Late in the attempt, Richard joined his brother in the murky coldness to offer encouragement and finally, fourteen hours and one minute after leaving English soil, David climbed out of the water in France. Success!
David is married to Heather and they have three children, Braxton, Carson and Madison.
Richard is married to Darcee and they have five children; Rachel, Ellie, Richard, John and Sarah. Both brothers live in the Salt Lake Valley.
Debra Stark Clark
As a performer and as a coach, few gymnasts have achieved the level of success attained by Debra Stark Clark. From 1969 to 197, Clark was the Colorado State All-Around Champion. In 1970 she was a member of the U.S. Games Team and was named All-American. In 1972 she represented her country in the Munich Olympic Games and went on to be a member of the United States Pre World Games in 1973. For five years she was a member of the U.S. National Team. Clark also holds the distinction of being the very first American to compete against Nadia Comaneci. In all, over a hugely successful gymnastics career, Clark competed in 49 states and 39 foreign countries during her competitive years.
Clark not only excelled as an athlete herself, but has helped others excel from the sidelines. For 10 years, Clark helped lead the BYU Women’s Gymnastics team, where she reinvigorated a faltering program. Under her guidance, the Cougars had three consecutive top-ten finishes at the national level, and two athletes earned four All-American citations. Recognizing the importance of international experience, she organized and executed three separate over-seas tours, visiting Venezuela, England, West Germany, Hungary, Austria and New Zealand. Clark also owned the Denver School of Gymnastics based in Denver, Colorado.
Clark was not only a force in the gym, but in the classroom as well. Clark received her Bachelor of Science from Weber State University, in Elementary Education, graduating Cum Laude. She is currently working on her Masters in Education from Southern Utah University emphases in mathematics. Clark has been touching young people lives for over 12 years as an elementary school teacher. She currently teaches at J. R. Smith Elementary in Heber City, Utah.
As an Olympic Gymnast, Debra Stark Clark strives to instill the Olympic ideals in her own children, as well as the third-graders in her classroom. She has always maintained her ties to the Olympic movement and was a torchbearer for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Games. She has served on the Utah Olympians Association for ten years and is now the president of this organization.
Clark is married to Matt Clark and has two children, Troy Hill and Lara Fitts, and two grandchildren, Chloe and Devin Hill.
Larry H Miller
In a many ways, the name Larry H. Miller is synonymous with business and professional sports in Utah. Miller was born on the April 26, 1944. As a youth, he attended Salt Lake City public schools, graduating from West High School in 1962.
Over the past several decades, Miller has amassed business holdings that can only be termed an empire. Out of high school he worked construction, later following his love of drag racing, he worked as an auto parts store clerk. Before long he was managing the parts and service departments for a Utah auto dealer, eventually opening his own dealership on May 1, 1979. Three short months later he bought a second dealership and many since. Miller made perhaps his most famous purchase when he inked the deal to become full owner of the Utah Jazz on June 16, 1986. Today his holdings also include movie theaters, sporting paraphernalia stores, a restaurant and a television station. Miller is truly an American success story.
Not one to sit idly on the sidelines, Miller is an accomplished sportsman. His love of softball and drag racing helped launch his careers in sports and automobiles. From 1963 to 1970 Miller raced cars, and from 1962 to 1985 he was an outstanding fast-pitch softball player, pitching in the Salt Lake City Metro League and the Denver Metro League, involvement that would eventually land him in the International Softball Congress Hall of Fame.
Continuing to follow his love of sports, Miller built the EnergySolutions Arena in Downtown Salt Lake City (formally the Delta Center) to house the Jazz NBA team. He acted as an unpaid consultant in the project to construct Franklin Covey Field, now the home of the Salt Lake Bees. He purchased the team in 2005. He also owned the Salt Lake Golden Eagles ice hockey team, which he purchased in September 1989. Miller was the owner of the Utah Starzz WNBA team from 1997 until 2001. Miller owns a racetrack in Utah, Miller Motorsports Park, a road racing course. The Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah presented by Zions Bank is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race to name only a few of the projects in which he has been involved.
Over his lifetime, Miller has contributed to a variety of causes and organizations, including a significant investment towards a campus for Salt Lake Community College, which is now named in his honor. In November 1995, he formed Larry H. Miller Charities, whose mission statement is, "We give back to our communities by focusing our united service and corporate giving on youth and children with an emphasis on health and education." Since its inception, the foundation has raised more than $1 million, distributing those funds to charitable organizations in the communities where the Larry H. Miller Group does business. His public service has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Utah Minuteman Award from the Utah National Guard in 1990, an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Utah in 1991, and the Tourist Achievement Award from the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau in 1992.
Miller married his high school sweetheart, Karen Gail Saxon, on 25 March 1965, and they have five children: Gregory Scott, Roger Lawrence, Stephen Frank, Karen Rebecca, and Bryan Joseph.
Labels: History
