I spend most of my time writing about people who are pretty much focused on one thing: making money. That's why we call it the business section.
Soren Jespersen is also focused on making money . . . but not for himself. On April 26, Jespersen will set off from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to try and become the first person to hike the entire 2,200 miles around the Colorado Plateau. The goal: to raise money for CHOICE Humanitarian, a Utah-based organization whose mission is to save children's lives and reduce poverty in villages throughout Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, Africa, Nepal and Vietnam.
Jespersen's five-month solo journey will forge a trail through some of the most rugged terrain of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. If he succeeds, the route will be named in honor of Everett Ruess, another young explorer and writer who mysteriously disappeared in the region in 1934.
Soren, 23, is the son of Roy Jespersen, one of the principals at Wasatch Advisors, Utah's well-known mutual fund company that specializes in small-cap and micro-cap stocks. But Roy couldn't be more solidly behind his son's quest than if he'd bought Microsoft at a few bucks a share back in the '80s.
Roy is asking Utahns to help sponsor Soren's hike by pledging whatever they can, whether pennies per mile or dollars per mile.
On Oct. 26, Soren will present the checks of those who supported his trek to the chief executive officer of CHOICE Humanitarian at its annual fund-raising gala. His goal is to raise $50,000.
"Every human being has the ability to contribute to the lives of others," said Soren. "As I grew older, it became increasingly apparent to me that many people, for one reason or another, never grab on to that opportunity."
Not a bad philosophy.
If you'd like to support Soren's journey, send a check made out to Choice Humanitarian to Soren Jespersen in care of Wasatch Advisors, 150 Social Hall Ave., Salt Lake City, UT 84111.
Remember last month when I told you about the Heely Ranch auction? Well, as Paul Harvey is fond of saying, here's the rest of the story . . . and it has an interesting twist.
For those of you who missed that March 19 column (I forgive you, but don't ever let it happen again!) here's a brief recap: Ross Heely decided to put his 3,115-acre ranch near Jensen, Uintah County, up for "absolute" auction with Alabama-based National Auction Group Inc., which has pounded the gavel on some of the nation's largest and priciest properties, such as former Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen's 10,000-acre Arrowhead Ranch in Texas.
In an "absolute" auction, the owner agrees to take the highest bid regardless of how low it may be — a ploy that virtually guarantees a quick sale but not necessarily a profitable one.
"He's about to roll the dice in a big way," John Marshall, spokesman for the auction house, told me last month.
Sure enough, a dozen bidders showed up at Heely Ranch on April 3, but before the bidding could get underway, Heely called it off and then made a private deal with one of the registered bidders, Jarle Halsnes of of Steamboat Springs, Colo.
Halsnes, described as a "professional skier," bought the ranch for $6 million, or $2.5 million less than what it was appraised for five years ago.
The family canceled the auction, said Ray Heely, Ross' son, because of an unspecified dispute with the auction company. "They didn't hold up the terms of the contract and promises they made," said Heely.
The Heelys will stay on the property until the deal is closed in mid-May, and then they will move to another ranch they own in Missouri.
E-MAIL: max@desnews.com