Five to be honored as Distinguished Citizens at DSC graduation this Friday.

Five local residents will be honored as Distinguished Citizens at the 94th annual Commencement Exercises at Dixie State College Friday, May 6, at 6 p.m. in the college’s Burns Arena.

Paula O. Bell, Steven G. Caplin, Thomas B. Hirschi, Ronald W. Thompson, and Dan C. Watson will be the recipients of this honor, awarded for exemplary service to the college and community.


Paula Bell attended Utah State University and Colorado State University’s Management Institute at Boulder. Besides being a mom, wife and volunteer, she has managed a full-time career. She has been a legal aid, chamber of commerce executive, and was the first local coordinator of the Huntsman World Senior Games. She sidestepped those positions for seven years to become administrator of a sub-acute alcohol and drug rehabilitation hospital. After retiring for nine months, she accepted a position at Zions Bank as Premier Banking Officer. She retired from that position in June 2004. She has served as chair of the Utah Board of the American Heart Association and is currently serving a second term on the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

Bell has many firsts to her credit that include being the first woman to be elected to the Roosevelt Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, later to become its first executive director. She was the first woman pilot in Duchesne County and one of the first women real estate persons in Duchesne County. She was elected as the first woman president of the Utah State Chamber of Commerce and was the first woman president of the Noon Exchange Club of St. George. She and her husband, Charles, are the parents of five children, 10 grandchildren and three great-grand daughters.


Steve Caplin serves as president and CEO of St. George-based Steton Technology, the leading provider of application software leveraged by professionals responsible for public health, consumer safety and quality assurance. Caplin holds an MBA from the University of Texas, where he focused on high technology entrepreneurship and competitive corporate strategy. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting, summa cum laude, from Southern Utah University and is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Prior to forming Steton, he was successful in sales and business management at IBM, as well as in corporate accounting and finance at Southland Financial Corporation.

Caplin was born in Miami, Fla., and attended secondary schools in St. George. In 1979, he met Toni Brooks on the Dixie College campus and, after a short courtship, they married in 1980. Both Steve and Toni graduated from Dixie College in 1981 and look back fondly on their memories there. Today, Steton is a large employer of Dixie State computer and information technology graduates, and Caplin is currently serving on the selection committee for the college’s next president. Steve and Toni have four children and live in Santa Clara, Utah.


Tom Hirschi was born in Long Beach, Calif., and moved to Hurricane, Utah, at an early age. He was married to the late Kaye Wright of Hurricane for 35 years and has eight children. He later married Kitty Payton Campbell. Tom and Kaye began their family life in Las Vegas where, as a second career, he trained and exhibited horses. Multiple factors finally prompted him to attend Barber College and then begin practicing in Hurricane.

Besides managing two careers, a family, and making religion a strong commitment, Hirschi has thrust himself into public service. He has devoted 40 years to Little League Baseball beginning at age 17. He has coached and served as president for two years of the Hurricane Little League. He has served as chairman of both the Washington County Fair and Hurricane Peach Days and continues to play a crucial role in the latter’s success. He served nine years on the Hurricane Planning Commission and four years on the Hurricane City Power Board. For 25 years, he served on the Washington County Republican Committee and was many times a state delegate. His entry into local politics began when community leaders urged him to run for Hurricane city councilman in 1999. His success in that capacity prompted similar urging that he run for mayor in 2002, an office he currently holds.


Ron Thompson is a member of the Utah State bar and is general manager of the Washington County Water Conservancy District in St. George, Utah. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1971 with a degree in accounting and received his law degree from the University of Utah in 1974. He served as Washington County Attorney from 1975 to 1978 and has also served as the chair of the Washington County Republican Party. He is a past president of the Utah Water Users Association, a member of board of directors for the National Water Resources Association, and serves on the board of directors of the Colorado River Water Users. Thompson also currently serves on the Utah Water Development Coalition and on the board of directors of the St. George Canal Company and the Washington Fields Canal Company. He also serves as the vice-chair on the board of trustees of the Utah Water Finance Agency, which has financed over $500,000,000 worth of water projects in Utah in the last five years.

Thompson was instrumental in the organization of the Dixie Jr. Tackle Football League for 7th and 8th grade boys in the Washington County area. The program has enhanced the lives of 400 boys each year. He has managed and coached in the league for over 20 years. Born and raised in Cedar City, Utah, he and his wife, Dorothy Rice, are the parents of three boys and one girl and grandparents to seven grandchildren.


Dan Watson is a native of St. George and graduate Dixie High School, Dixie College, and Brigham Young University. He also attended the University of Utah and Northwestern University for post-graduate studies. Watson served as administrative assistant to five Dixie State College presidents and chaired the Inaugural Committee for four of them. He was Commencement Week chairman for 29 years and served as executive secretary of the Dixie State College Board of Trustees, Leadership Dixie, the Dixie Center Control Board, and Dixie Regional Medical Center Foundation. He served as president and secretary of the Dixie State College Alumni Association and member of the Diamond Jubilee Extravaganza Committee.

His civic service has included time as treasurer for the Community Concert Series and on the board of directors for Heritage Savings and Loan, St. George Area Chamber of Commerce, Dixie Medical Center Foundation, and St. George City Dance Consortium. For 30 years, Dixie students have lived in Watson’s home while attending the college. It’s Dan’s belief that Dixie State College has a destiny of great import and that offering baccalaureate degrees will be a significant factor in furthering the educational goals of all who are privileged to attend.