Ralph Atkin (born Jeffery Ralph Atkin in 1943) is the founder of

SkyWest Airlines SkyWest Airlines is an American regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah, United States. SkyWest is paid to staff, operate and maintain aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by a partner mainline airline. The ...

in the United States. He founded

in 1972 and served first as CEO, then as Chairman of the Board for 20 years A lifelong resident of St. George,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

, Atkin served a mission for

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ...

in England in his late teens and early 20s. He has undergraduate degrees from Dixie State College and Brigham Young University, an MBA from Golden Gate University and a

doctorate of jurisprudence The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of D ...

. In 1970 he was elected Washington County Attorney, a position he served in one term. From 1991 to 1993 he was director of economic development for the state of Utah. Atkin has also been associated with the attempted takeover of

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

(TWA) in 2001 and with the startup of Ghana International Airlines in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

in 2004. Atkin is a member of the Utah State Bar and has a private law practice in St. George. He and his wife, Cheri Bennet Atkin, have eight children and 25 grandchildren. Professional skateboarder James R. Atkin is one of his sons. Atkin is a member of the LDS Church. Among other positions in the church, he has served as a regional director of public affairs. He and his wife have also served as representatives for the church in Turkey.

References

External links

Ralph Atkin Biography

SkyWest Airlines

Ghana International Airlines
Living people 1943 births American aviation businesspeople Airline founders {{Aviation-bio-stub 20th-century American businesspeople Utah Tech University alumni Brigham Young University alumni Golden Gate University alumni University of Utah alumni American Latter Day Saints American Mormon missionaries in England American expatriates in Turkey