Former Jazz Player's Son Plays Game of Politics

http://w3.nexis.com/new/delivery/PrintDoc.do?fromCart=false&dnldFil...

7 of 11 DOCUMENTS

The Salt Lake Tribune

June 19, 2008 Thursday Former Jazz player's son plays game of politics

BYLINE: By Lindsey Hough The Salt Lake Tribune

SECTION: SALT LAKE

LENGTH: 497 words

WASHINGTON - Maybe someday, the son of a former Jazz legend will follow in the footsteps of his father and impact Utah culture.

But for now, Ryan Hornacek, 20, is shadowing another famous Utahn - U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch - as a congressional summer intern.

Hornacek is the son of former NBA player Jeff Hornacek, whose No. 14 jersey was retired by the Utah Jazz in 2002 after he helped the team reach the NBA Finals in the 1990s.

The younger Hornacek lived in Salt Lake City from kindergarten until his freshman year of high school, attending St. Vincent de Paul school and Judge Memorial.

Though the Hornacek family now lives in Paradise Valley, Ariz., they remain connected to the Jazz, and to Utah.

"I am a Jazz fan," Hornacek said. "I grew up watching the Jazz obviously and went to enough games and it's a really great place to be."

Hatch, R - Utah, is a huge fan of the Jazz, too, and Hornacek occasionally gets to indulge in a bit of Jazz talk with Utah's senior senator.

"He's a real busy person so we don't have too many in-depth conversations about things," Hornacek said, "but he'll say 'Hi,' I'll say 'hi' to him and he'll throw in a comment every once in a while about it."

Hornacek's main job involves interacting with Utahns.

Constituents sending letters to Hatch this summer might reach the son of a Jazz icon. Part of Hornacek's duties include reading and responding to letters written to the senator.

Currently, Hatch has nine interns serving in his office. The senator is always excited to see youth involved in government.

"Internships in Congress are a wonderful springboard to new experiences and opportunities for students," Hatch said. "The hands-on education they receive here and the service they render can never be duplicated in the classroom. I've always felt fortunate that so many of our young people are eager to come here and serve their country."

Hornacek, a finance and economics major at the University of Notre Dame, isn't ready to predict any political aspirations for himself, though the senator remains a role model.

"I met Sen. Hatch in the past, and I knew he'd be a great guy to work with," Hornacek said. "I kind of looked at a lot of other things he had done in the past and it's a lot of stuff that I'm really interested in."

Hornacek adds, "He's just a guy I've kind of always known and kind of looked up to."

1 of 2 6/20/2008 9:11 AM http://w3.nexis.com/new/delivery/PrintDoc.do?fromCart=false&dnldFil...

[email protected]

The other Hatch office interns

There are currently nine interns, including Ryan Hornacek, working in Hatch's office. Here is a list of the other eight, including their hometown and college.

* Cameron Beech, 21, Vernal, University of Utah.

* Chase Carlile, 25, Provo, Brigham Young University

* Jeff Smith, 21, Ann Arbor, Mich., Brigham Young University

* Justine Pruitt, 21, Richfield, Southern Utah University

* Kasi Goodwin, 19, Salt Lake City, University of Utah

* Kjerstin Myers, 19, Ogden, Weber State University

* Maren Bishop, 21, Brigham City, Utah State University

* Michael Madsen, 30, Littleton, Colo., University of Alabama

LOAD-DATE: June 19, 2008

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

GRAPHIC: Ryan Hornacek Sen. Hatch's intern

PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper

2 of 2 6/20/2008 9:11 AM