Graydon Johns

To: The International Softball Congress
October 25, 1999

As the International Softball Congress (ISC) and the sport of fastpitch softball continue to grow so too does the need to publicize and advertise the game. Along with growth comes the need to expand the knowledge of the sport and to distribute this information.  The ISC has a fairly newly developed Web site packed with fastpitch information designed for this very purpose, and The Fastpitch Chronicle, published by Bob and Karol Tomlinson, covers the sport as well. With so much information in North America and outside the United States and Canada, the need to grow within the media has became vital. In order to expand coverage of the game, we announce the appointment of a new writer, Graydon Johns.

Originally from San Jose, California, Graydon currently resides in North Salt Lake, Utah, which is just minutes north of the capital of Utah, Salt Lake City. He is a senior at the University of Utah, majoring in mass communications with an emphasis on broadcast journalism. He works for the number one television station in Utah, KSL channel 5, as a studio technician/camera operator and writes for the University newspaper, The Daily Chronicle.  He is the fifth child of seven and is the youngest boy. His father is a self-employed general building contractor; and his mother, after raising all seven kids, has recently been working for the Marriott Hotel in Provo, Utah as the executive secretary to the general manager. His older brothers are all engineers in one aspect or another, and Franklin Covey employs his older sister. His younger sisters are currently attending college.

He was married in November of 1997 to his beautiful wife, Jana Barton. She is from Provo, Utah where they met in high school in their senior year after he had moved from California. She graduated from Weber State in Ogden, Utah in early childhood development and currently works for Weber State in the Children's School.

Graydon comes from a family of athletes. His Dad played high school sports and his three older brothers all specialized in different sports. Graydon's love and passion fell to baseball.  He grew up with all sorts of sporting equipment in his hands but spent a majority of his time with a ball and glove. Graydon played baseball all through his adolescence up through high school and continues to play the game in the National Adult Baseball Association (NABA). He positions himself at first base and also plays the outfield. Graydon bats and throws left-handed.

Graydon has always had a love for writing and sports ever since he was a youngster. He was such a sports information fanatic that when he collected baseball cards, he tried to memorize all the statistics and personal information about all the players. He spent a majority of his time with the sports page from the newspaper and watching ESPN when he was not playing. He was so avid about getting all the sports information that he bought a subscription to USA Today, solely for the sports page. Graydon's love and desire for sports drove him to writing and to a communications major and now to this important position with the ISC.

Graydon is excited to be able to bring his skills and experience to the ISC and is eager to work with Bob Tomlinson of The Fast Pitch Chronicle, Al Doran, the ISC's new Web site Administrator and all ISC Commissioners and Specialists. He is soliciting and welcomes contact from any ISC personnel with article suggestions and comments. We are thrilled to have Graydon and his passion for the game, and we welcome him aboard and know he will be a valuable asset to our growing organization. Graydon can be contacted by using the information below.
   
Graydon Johns
850 N US Hwy 89 Apt #2G
North Salt Lake, Utah 84054
(801)-292-2690
E-mail: hgj2@earthlink.net

Milt Stark, Executive Director
 The International Softball Congress
mailto:Mdstark@aol.com