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Naghi Zeenati was born May 30, 1953 in the Iranian city of Urmia. He was the second son born in the family. He also has a younger sister and brother. His younger brother died from leukemia at a very young age.
He was born during a glorious time in Iran. The Shaw Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was leading the country. The Shaw had strong ties with the West – especially the United States. The connection to the US was very important to the Shaw as he was very concerned about the influence of the Soviet Union. He looked to the United States for support in fighting possible Soviet encroachment.
The city of Urmia was a diverse community with many religions and ethnic groups. It is located in northwestern Iran, in a fertile agricultural area, about 1100 feet above sea level. It was also a major tourist destination with visitors from all over the world. It was nicknamed the “Paris” of Iran because of the wines it produced.
Naghi calls Iran, “one of the greatest countries in the world. It has diverse geography and elevations – not just desert. It has different states and different climates – just like the United States.”
Public education was a priority for the Shaw. The public schools were of the highest quality a
nd the citizens were highly educated. After completing public school and university, Naghi started to attend medical school in 1977. At this time in Iran there was a growing unrest among the students. They believed that the Shaw was spending far too much money on the military and neglecting other facets of the country.
The students organized a national day of peaceful protest to demonstrate their concerns. The Government somehow got wind of the protest and sent troupes in. Something of a bloodbath ensued with thousands of students being killed. Naghi was severely injured and lay in a ditch for three days until a kind man found him. He could not be taken to a hospital as he would have been arrested. So the good man cared for him for 30 days allowing him to recover.
Fearing for his life, Naghi decided that he must leave his beloved Iran. He was able to visit his family one last time and in 1977 left his homeland. He traveled from Iran to Egypt, then on to Paris and New York. His final destination was Jacksonville, Texas. He was able to get a student visa through a friend to attend Jacksonville Baptist College. The reason the college gave him the student visa is because his friend lied and said that he was Baptist.
An interesting side note: while attending a calculus class at Jacksonville Baptist College in Texas, he noticed an equation on the board was incorrect. He raised his hand and after being called on by the instructor pointed out the error. The instructor walked out of the class and a few minutes later the dean walked in to ask Naghi what had happened. Turned out the instructor was so embarrassed that he quit and the dean made Naghi the instructor.
The US collages would not accept his educational credits from Iran, so he started over. His advisor told him he needed to study engineering as that was what all the Middle Eastern students were studying. So he majored in mechanical engineering until he transferred to the University of Missouri where he changed to civil engineering. After earning his Bachelors of Science he earned a Masters in structural engineering at the University of Texas Arlington. Naghi is very proud of the fact that he was able to acquire all of his education in the United States on scholarship.
After graduation, Naghi got a work visa, moved to California and worked for a company that owned and operated retirement communities. In 1991 he happened to come across a copy of St. George Magazine. He was amazed with the pictures of scenery. The next day he and a friend left for a “fact finding” trip to St. George, Utah. As he dropped down into the valley from Cedar City he compared the pictures in the magazine to the scenery and he knew this is where he wanted to live.
Naghi moved to St. George in 1991 and started working in real estate and development. He met his future wife, Tweet Gardner, when he got involved with a singles organization. They were married June 4, 1993. As it turns out, Tweet had been involved with the Games from its inception, so naturally, she got him involved also. His first two years he worked in the Gift Shop. The next seven years Naghi was over the volunteers. For the last 11 years Naghi and Tweet have been in charge of the kick-off dinner for sport directors and committee chairs.
