Since he left his post as a corporate spokesman for WordPerfect Corp., he served on Gov. Mike Leavitt's Y2K Commission, worked for the World Cup Games and was part of the management team at Soldier Hollow during the 2002 Winter Games. He has consulted with the Osmonds to help produce the Fourth of July Stadium of Fire shows in addition to a variety of other projects.

He has been involved for years with the Character Connection in Lindon, producing calendars, posters, newsletters and developing seminars designed to help families and residents increase their self-awareness and self-confidence.

Acerson now is taking over the chairmanship responsibilities at the American Heritage School, a popular Utah Valley private school. He replaces Gaylord Swim, the head of the conservative Sutherland Institute, who recently died of brain cancer.

That includes trying to create outreach programs for children not enrolled in the American Heritage School and looking at the possible expansion of the curriculum to the higher grades.

He's also a sports nut, a busy husband and the father of six children, ages 9 to 20.

Acerson is from Green River, Utah. He went to Brigham Young University to earn a bachelor's degree with an emphasis on communication. That's where he met his wife, Karen.

"I'm involved (in local politics) because I had the available time and I felt it was my civic responsibility to get involved," he said. "I had acquired the property in Lindon where we now live, fell in love with it and wanted to live here. I love Lindon."

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E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com