A miner, in the early days of Bingham Canyon, who struck it rich was said to have struck pay dirt. Those miners would take a mule, shovel, pick and dynamite along with a drill bit and double jack and work hundreds of hours drilling, blasting and shoveling. With a combination of hard work and a little bit of luck, a miner might find a rich vein of gold, silver, or copper ore. This was “dirt” that paid him money or pay dirt. Striking pay dirt symbolizes a successful miner. Because of this, Bingham High School’s Hall of Fame is called the Pay Dirt Club. Jack Mannion (Class of 1955) and Robyn Hill Bergstrom (Class of 1973) were formally inducted into the Bingham High School Pay Dirt Club at the homecoming assembly on September 23, 2013

Jack Mannion was born in Copperfield and grew up in Copperton, both towns in Bingham Canyon. He attended Bingham High School when it was located in Copperton and graduated in 1955. He loved his years at Bingham High and participated in many activities including being the President of the Safety Council. He especially loved sports where he was the starting center on the basketball team and was also starter on the football team. He was named to the All-State Basketball team in 1954. He listed in the 1955 yearbook that his main ambition was to make the grades so that he could play basketball. After graduating from Bingham High, Mr. Mannion attended the University of Utah and BYU. He earned his bachelor’s degree from BYU in 1961 with a major in Physical Education and a minor in Sociology. He also earned his master’s degree at BYU with a major in Physical Education and Administration. After his graduation from BYU, he secured a job as a physical education teacher in the Clark County (Las Vegas) Nevada School District. He taught P.E., sociology, communications, health, and driver education at Jim Bridger Junior High, Rancho High School, and Valley High School. During his time at these schools, he coached basketball, tennis, cross country, and track. In 1978 he became a school administrator. He was named Dean of Students at the Southern Nevada Vocational School in 1982 and in 1983 he was appointed as an administrator at Chaparral High School where he served until his retirement in 1993. In the Las Vegas area, his contributions and achievements to education and athletics are legendary. He was honored in 1998 when they named the football field at Chaparral High School the “Jack Mannion Football Field and Track Complex” and later when the Clark County School District named a middle school the Jack and Terry Mannion Middle School after Jack and his wife.  In addition, Mr. Mannion has been heavily involved in service to his community and church. He has been involved in the Boy Scouts, community sports programs, as a member of the Clark County Recreation Advisory Commission, the national anti-drug program “Say No to Drugs and Violence,” and as an athletic motivational speaker. He has served a number of service missions for the LDS Church and is currently a LDS temple worker.  Mr. Mannion married Terry Rae Bulloch in 1957 and he and Terry have three sons, John, Pace and Greg, who were all honor students in high school and attended college on athletic scholarships…John at BYU for football, Pace at the University of Utah for basketball, and Greg at BYU and Cal State Fullerton for baseball. He has eight grandchildren and four great granddaughters.

Robyn Hill Bergstrom was raised in Riverton and also attended Bingham High School when it was located in Copperton graduating in 1973. She loved her high school years and is always proud to tell everyone that she is a Bingham Miner. During her time at Bingham, she served as president of the Girls Association, (which name was changed to the Women’s Association while shewas president). She started the Mat Maids (cheerleaders for the wrestling team) and was a member of the debate team, Drama Club, Minerettes, and Coppertonian Yearbook Staff. She graduated from Ricks College with an Associate’s degree and from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Teaching with a major in communication and minors in English and Psychology. She did her student teaching experience at Bingham High School where she was later hired, and taught for three years. She received a Special Education Endorsement from the University of Utah. Robyn continued her post-graduate education at the University of North Dakota where she received a Master’s degree in Communication and a Doctorate degree from the University of Idaho in Education Adult Organization Learning and Leadership. She has taught at Eastmont Jr. High, Bingham High School, Red

River High School, Ricks College, University of North Dakota, and Brigham Young University-Idaho. Dr. Bergstrom is currently the Dean of the College of Business and Communication and a professor of Communication at BYU-Idaho. She also has served as the Director of the Urban Studies Program in Chicago with Inner City Youth for the past sixteen summers where she supervises BYU-Idaho students who work in Chicago with inner city girls ages 10-15. Prior to becoming the Dean of the College, she served as the Associate Dean. She has received awards including: Channel 8 “Eight Who Make a Difference,” Honorary Faculty Member at BYU-Idaho, Advisor of the Year, Innovative Teaching Award, Outstanding Masters Student at the University of North Dakota, Outstanding Doctoral Candidate of Education at the University of Idaho and First Place National Communication Association Scholar to Scholar Presentation. She married Scott J. Bergstrom in 1976. He is currently an Administrator in the Academic Office and Director of Institutional Research at Brigham Young University Idaho. They have four children and eleven nearly perfect grandchildren. She enjoys swimming, cross-country skiing, shopping, and time with family and friends

Congratulations to these outstanding Bingham High School Alumni members and Pay Dirt Club honorees