Perry - YSA Multi-Stake Summer Conference was themed: “Hastening the Lord’s Game Plan.” All about finding answers and following promptings, the conference started off on June 6th with an YSA beach party dance at the Box Elder Stake Center.
This was followed on Saturday, June 7th, at the Perry Stake Center with a service project and workshops. The first session had the choice of: Brad King on "Being the One” or Alan Martin on "How to be an Entrepreneur." Brad King is the Vice Chancellor for Administration and Advancement at Utah State University Eastern. He has been the Utah State House Minority Whip and Utah State House Leader. He is also the first counselor in the Stake presidency in the Price Utah Stake. Alan Martin is the founder and CEO of Sidewalk. He founded the company in 2007 after completing a BA from Weber State University in technical sales.
The second session choices were: Karen Eddington’s class on “Self- Worth” or Rob Brems’ "I Don't Need no 'Stinkin' Skills." Karen Eddington is an identity researcher and the author of Understanding Self-Worth. She has founded a non-profit self-worth outreach center, continued research like “The under Pressure Project,” developed self-esteem curriculum for after-school programs and she has become sought out as an expert with media groups like American Cheerleader Magazine, ABC4, and KSL Studio5. Karen has been featured on ESPN for helping cheerleaders break stereotypes; and she performs clean stand-up comedy.
Rob Brems is president and chief executive officer of the Utah College of Applied Technology. Rob has served as bishop of the Tremonton Seventh Ward, the BYU Young Single Adults 124th Ward and the Provo Utah Young Single Adults 80th Ward. He has also served as a branch president at the Provo, Utah, Missionary Training Center.
All this was followed by a homestyle dinner, speaker Hank Smith, and a concert by Ryan Shupe. Hank Smith teaches in the Religious Education Department at BYU and is a favorite speaker for Especially for Youth, Best of Especially for Youth, and BYU Education Week.
Ryan Shupe started playing the fiddle at the age of 5. From that early age, his Dad woke him up every morning and practiced the fiddle with him for 2 hours. When he was about 8 years old, he started playing fiddle professionally in a national touring band called the “PeeWee Pickers.” Since then he has picked up the guitar and the mandolin. Throughout his career, he has performed with lots of artists and groups, including Chris LeDeaux, Powder Ridge, Salt Licks, Peter Breinholt and Judith Edelman. Around 1996, he organized Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand and continues to sing original tunes and jam on a variety of instruments in the band.
On Sunday, there was a fireside with Elder Mervyn B. Arnold at the Box Elder Stake Tabernacle. Elder Mervyn Bennion Arnold was named a member of the First Quorum of Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 4, 2009, after serving in the Second Quorum of the Seventy since April 5, 2003. He is a former president of the Costa Rica San José Mission, counselor in a stake presidency, stake high counselor, bishop, elder’s quorum president, and full-time missionary in the Northern Mexico Mission. He is currently serving as Area President in the South America South Area in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He previously served as an Assistant Executive Director in Salt Lake City, in the Temple Department, and also on the Boundary and Leadership Change Committee. He has served as the President of the Brazil South Area and as a counselor in the Brazil North and Brazil South Areas.
