Ernest's professional
career began at Sunrise Engineering after obtaining a degree in drafting from
Utah Technical College, now UVU. His responsibilities at Sunrise Engineering
included managing surveying operations for five offices in three states. In 1995,
Ernest was hired as Chief Deputy in the Weber County Surveyor's Office. In
2006, he was appointed County Surveyor filling a vacancy in the office. That same year he ran for the newly combined
office of Recorder/Surveyor in which currently serves.
He is a licensed land
surveyor in Utah, Nevada and Illinois including Certification as a Federal
Surveyor. He is also a certified County Recorder. His service in professional
capacities include; the Board of Directors of the Utah Association of Counties,
the Board of Directors of the Utah Council of Land Surveyors (UCLS) where he
served as president in 2013. He served as president of the Utah Association of
County Recorders in 2011.
Ernest has been appointed
by Governor Herbert to serve on the Utah State Records Committee for four years
and is a member of the Weber County Boundary Commission. He teaches surveying
at Salt Lake Community college and teaches a course on mapping to the County
Recorders Association.
Ernest has received honor
by his peers as County Recorder of the year, County Surveyor of the year, and
UCLS Surveyor of the year.
He has been an Expert
Witness in several court cases on land boundary issues. Security of land title and permanence of
boundaries have been his life's work. The
combined offices of Recorder/Surveyor offer a unique opportunity for Ernest to
continue that work for the citizens of Weber County.
He has also appeared in
the TV program The County Seat in a feature on the County Surveyor.
Ernest was born in
Fillmore, Utah and graduated from Millard High School in 1976 and subsequently
served a mission for his church. Ernest
and Carolyn were married in 1980 and have raised five children and been blessed
with six grandchildren and one dog. He
also enjoys landscape and nature photography.
