Riding in Style

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Left to right; Bruce Snow, Dale Darling, Waldemar Rasmussen, Janie Harris, Mark Howard, Beverly Nielsen, Roger Thompson, Kay Christensen, Mark Jones, Brent Thorne, Joe Strain, Romney Stewart

Chandra and Eric Bergeson

Riding in Style Snow Alumni Solve a Critical Athletics Need

By Jody Wood

Snow College Athletics has earned a great reputation as its teams consistently rise to the top of their respective divisions. While each team shows grit and tenacity in their performance on and off the field or court, the program has been lacking one major resource: reliable transportation to get them to their games. This lack of transportation may seem like a relatively small issue; however, as Snow College Assistant to the President for Student Engagement Rob Nielson explains, “Up until now, Snow College has been leasing buses from coach companies and flying athletes to games. This piecemeal method is not only incredibly inefficient, but it comes at a great financial cost to the school.” With travel costs continuously rising and placing a tremendous burden on athletic budgets, Rob knew that the only logical solution was to find a way to get the athletics department its own bus. He also knew that was no small feat. While owning a bus would save the school money over time, the initial investment was a major hurdle that would need teamwork to overcome. Rob knew just where to turn.

Rob took the issue to the Snow College Foundation Board, a volunteer board with the mission of providing support to Snow College through the development of charitable giving and creating community awareness. As a Snow College alumnus and former Snow College football player, board member Romney Stewart immediately understood the importance of

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the school obtaining a bus and realized that he might have the connections necessary to make this dream a reality. Romney reached out to John Landherr, a good friend of his from graduate school who is the CEO of A-Z Bus Sales, one of the nation’s leading motor coach companies based in Los Angeles, CA. He soon learned that due to the recent impact of COVID-19 on the travel industry, there was a surplus of lightly-used motor coaches available at A-Z Bus Sales from companies that could no longer afford the payments. Given this surplus of inventory, and with seemingly great timing for Snow College, buses were available at a discounted price. Romney and John were able to work closely together to secure the perfect bus for the college at about one-third of the cost of what the bus would have normally sold for.

College administrators and student-athletes are incredibly grateful for Romney’s willingness to connect the college with his network, which ultimately led to obtaining a new bus. Romney said, “My time as a Badger athlete is among the most impactful, formative, and enjoyable experiences of my life. I saw an opportunity to assist my alma mater in a small way to help other student-athletes have those same kinds of positive, life-altering experiences that I did.”

Once the specific bus was identified that would best meet the college’s needs, the most difficult hurdle was imminent— the funding needed to be obtained quickly in order to secure the deal. Longtime supporter, alumnus, and former Snow College football player Eric Bergeson, and his wife, Chandra, generously stepped up to once again support Snow College in a tremendous way—they donated the funds to purchase the bus. This incredible generosity comes less than five years after the Bergesons made a large donation to name Snow College’s newest building—the Bergeson Athletics Center. The impact made with these donations will support future student-athletes for many generations.

The new motor coach, a 2018 56-passenger Volvo decked out in a beautiful Badger blue interior and in a stunning, custom Snow College wrap, will allow the teams to travel to their games comfortably and efficiently. In addition to the added convenience, Rob estimates the purchase will save the school $50,000-$80,000 annually in transportation costs. Student-athletes will now be able to ride in style all over the nation, and saved costs can be applied directly toward other critical athletic department needs.

On behalf of the student-athletes and entire Snow College Athletic Department, we acknowledge and thank Romney Stewart for his work in connecting the college with A-Z Bus Sales, John Landherr and the A-Z Bus Sales team for their wonderful partnership, and Eric and Chandra Bergeson for their generous donation which ultimately made this purchase possible. A ceremony will be held before the first home football game of the 2022 season to unveil the new bus and honor the Bergesons for their donation.Look out for Snow College’s bright orange and blue bus, with a blaring Badger logo, on the road this fall!

Snow College Foundation Board Member, Romney Stewart and Assistant to the President for Student Engagement, Rob Nielson