Spirit Mountain was created by Tom Church and his son David in 1998 as a project to bring a sustainable and profitable aquaculture farm without the use of any man made antibiotics to reality.
In the two years prior to it’s creation, Tom began researching team members that he wanted involved with his project and they started laying the groundwork for a high tech aquaculture farm. Over the course of the next few years, he assembled a team of professionals who would meet the goals of making the aquaculture farm sustainable, to bring down the construction costs of the aquaculture farm, and to improve the profitability, all of which has now been completed.  

Here are the bio’s of our people who have helped make this happen.

THOMAS P. CHURCH – MANAGING MEMBER  
Mr. Church has spent over 30 years in the real estate industry. He has substantial expertise in complex property transactions and property assemblages, as well as in direct business management.  Mr. Church has been the president and/or managing partner of a number of successful business ventures. He has closed over $200,000,000 of properties for the Fingerhut Trust, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and over $80,000,000 of property transactions with investment foundations in the greater Phoenix area. Over the years, Mr. Church has established relationships with several eastern investment banking firms. Additionally, he has provided real estate consulting services for numerous clients including the Bank of Boston, the former First Interstate Bank, the Pillsbury Company and the Bank of China. He holds a real estate broker’s license in the State of Arizona and a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Arizona State University.

JOHN D. TORGERSON – MANAGING MEMBER
Mr. Torgerson has over 26 years of experience in sales, finance, construction management, supervision and development. He has held executive positions with credit and finance responsibilities in the construction industries. For nine years, he was President of HTS Construction of Minneapolis, Minnesota, a building contractor specializing in “ground-up” projects. He was employed by General Electric Company as a finance manager. He has significant national and international construction experience. Mr. Torgerson graduated in 1967 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance from Minot State University.

PHILIP J. ENTZ, AICP – PROJECT DIRECTOR
Mr. Entz has had extensive experience in land use, master planning project design and feasibility analysis in the public and private sectors. He is the President of UrbanTech Ltd. of Phoenix, Arizona. He has acted as project director for scores of projects in the American west, in which his duties included master planning, zoning, feasibility, approvals programming, contractor selections, construction management, design, field reporting and lender representation. He has assisted a number of Native American tribes in various economic development projects, including the Tonto Apache, Hualapai and Chemehuevi Tribes. He has also represented numerous governmental agencies including the Arizona State Land Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the City of Tucson and the City of Avondale in various projects. He has also represented developers including Westcor Partners, Tanner Companies, Smith’s Foods and Payless Cashways. Mr. Entz graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Planning in 1974, and from the University of Kansas with a Master’s of Architecture degree in 1983.

MICHAEL WALSH – DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS AFFAIRS
formally of Leader’s Magazine, Mr. Walsh has over 18 years of Business Development experience with sales, management, international relations and negotiations.  In addition to working with Sun International Hotels (Atlantis, Paradise Island), he has developed relationships with many start ups and fortune 500 companies raising money, initiating deals, selling services and structuring companies.  In 2001 he founded GS9, Inc., which has done a myriad of profitable Real Estate transactions, both for GS9 and its investment base. 

JON KIKEL – DIRECTOR OF INVESTOR RELATIONS
Mr. Kikel has been a successful Real Estate professional for the last 4 years working on his own and for his clients’ investments.  He has a network of investors with which he has built profitable relationships, and he has successfully raised capital for Spirit Mountain as well as for other projects.

Ben W. Mathews, P.E. – Engineering Director.    Mr. Mathews has over 24 years of management, development and design experience in government and private civil engineering projects.  He is the owner and Chief Engineer of USA Infrastructure L.L.C. in Mesa, Arizona.  He has been involved in numerous projects in the American Southwest in which his responsibilities included professional architectural and engineering selection, contract negotiation and project oversight, budget development and control, commercial and residential site planning, zoning, residential development platting, municipal water distribution systems, sewage collection systems, street, road and freeway design, bridge projects, riverine and channel design, storm water collection systems, flood and sediment control projects and FEMA studies.  He has engineered numerous projects, including Diamond Backs–Chase Ball Park, Bashas’ Food Stores, Kroger and Arco Fuel Stations, Arizona Mills, The Brick Yard and numerous subdivisions and golf courses.  He graduated from the University of Arizona, in 1982 with a Bachelors’ of Science in Watershed Hydrology, and completed Masters studies in Watershed Management.  Marine Corp Vietnam Vet and formerly served in the Air National Guard.

Linda L. Mathews - Project Administrator.   Ms. Mathews has served as project manager with various architectural and civil-engineering firms. She is a Member of USA Infrastructure L.L.C. in Mesa, Arizona.  She has a broad understanding of the process of design and construction of residential and commercial projects. She has managed all financial aspects of firm operations, including budgeting, cash flow analysis, staffing, purchasing and collections. She gained extensive experience in preparing project budgets, task lists, and task schedules, and coordination of design managers, support staff and contractors for multi-million dollar residential projects in central New Jersey.  Ms. Mathews earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio.

GARRELL T. BEVIRT – ARCHITECTURAL DIRECTOR. Mr. Bevirt is the Principal and Owner of Haven Design, LLC of Scottsdale, Arizona. As principal of Haven Design, he has completed designs for over $150 million in architectural projects. His clients include Cavan Investments, Inc., Pulte Homes and Motecito Homes. Mr. Bevirt was the Project Manager and Project Designer for Winfield, of Scottsdale, Arizona, a 309 acre residential development including a 14,000 square foot recreation center and 5,000 square foot sales center. Mr. Bevirt began work on the Winfield project at the initial design stage, and remained involved through final construction. The project was awarded the Valley Forward Environmental Excellence Award and the National Association of Homebuilders Gold Achievement Award. Mr. Bevirt was also Project Designer and Project Manager for the Springfield development in Chandler, Arizona. Again, he began on the project at the initial design concept phase and remained involved through final construction. The Springfield project is a 380 acre master-planned community including an 18-hole golf course, an 11,000 square foot recreation center and a 5,000 square foot golf clubhouse and restaurant. The Springfield project received the National Association of Homebuilders Silver Achievement Award. Mr. Bevirt has served as Project Designer and Project Manager on over eleven other major projects in the American southwest. He has been in practice over 19 years, having graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture in 1983.

JOSEPH M. KEZELE, M.D. – EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, FORWARD PLANNING
Dr. Kezele received his B.A. in Russian in 1971 and M.D. in 1975 from the University of Arizona. After his post graduate training in Pediatrics, Dr. Kezele embarked upon a career in Emergency Medicine, was named a Fellow of the American Board of Emergency Medicine, and a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians. He served in the Emergency Departments of Phoenix area hospitals for 26 years. During his last 10 years of practice Dr. Kezele was Assistant Director of the Emergency Department of Thunderbird Samaritan Hospital (now Banner Thunderbird) in Glendale, Arizona.  Over the years he has served in Mission Hospitals in India and Zambia, and has given lectures in hospitals in both European and Asiatic Russia and South America. He is currently President of the Arizona Origin Science Association.

SANDY K. SCHWENDEMANN – DIRECTOR OF FINANCE  
Ms. Schwendermann has 15+ years of auditing and accounting experience including 2 years of external experience with Ernst &Young.  She has currently passed 2 out of 4 parts and is on her way of securing the Internal Audit Certification (CIA) this May 2007.
Recent consulting contracts include a special project involving 1,000 person payroll for the Director of Finance at Holland & Hart and a Sarbanes Oxley documentation project for a client in the gaming industry.  Future plans include work with a major engineering & development concern.  Prior to these engagements, a majority of her experience is internal audit focused; primarily as a regional controller of a major national non-profit with primarily related to annual audits, and internal control improvements and daily centralized accounting support for 8 divisions and also as an operational field auditor for a major franchisor.  Sandra was instrumental in the acquisition of a partner to expand operations both by way of manufacturing facilities and distribution systems for the franchisor.
Sandy received her BS in Accounting from Alma College and continued her education receiving an MBA from Central Michigan University (with final gradate work at the University of Denver).  She was awarded a graduate assistantship at both universities and was an instructor of accounting.

MICHELE CHURCH – DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MARKETING
Ms. Church has worked in the real estate industry for over 15 years. Her expertise lies in the areas of strategic planning, implementation and marketing of large parcels. She has substantial experience in managing the feasibility and due diligence phases of large land projects. Additionally, she brings a list of clients who invest only in real estate development projects. Ms. Church holds a real estate brokers license with the State of Arizona and she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Marketing from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

David E. Arner – Director of International Sales and Marketing.  Mr. Arner has 28 years of Sales, Marketing, and Management experience in the Real Estate profession.  He holds a Brokers License in the state of Arizona and California. He has National designations of CSP and MIRM, has facilitated training classes for the Critical Path of Sales, Make it a Win/Win Philosophy, 7 Habits of Highly Professional People, Military Homebuyers Training Class, Regional Relocation Seminars, and Personality Selling Traits.  He has created both on and offsite training programs for the SMC, and is very knowledgeable in all forms of mortgage financing.  Mr. Arner has received numerous peer and industry recognitions, and has trained numerous sales agents that have won Salesperson of the Year awards for the companies they work for as well as the industry they serve.  He also co-founded an Education Foundation linking area businesses with schools to provide materials, mentors, resources, role models, and guest speakers to the benefit of the students.  He has been published twice in the Homebuyers Guide in California relating to the subject matter of “The Home Buying Process.  Mr. Arner has proudly served on many Process Improvement Teams streamlining procedures to provide greater efficiency, productivity, and profitability to those departments and businesses involved.