2019 Speakers
10 a.m Speaker: Rhonda Lauritzen– “Feistiness and Faith – The Story of Ephraim’s Relief Society Granary”
Rhonda Lauritzen is a professional biographer specializing in placemaking, oral history, and personal stories. She is the founder of Evalogue.Life, regularly presents on the power of sharing true stories, and is the author of multiple books. In addition, Lauritzen has served as a public relations director and senior Vice President at the Ogden-Weber Technical College. Before that, she was CEO of her family’s business, which inspired first book. She has years of presentation experience, including at conferences like RootsTech, and she regularly teaches.
11 a.m. Speakers: Sandra Lanier & Kathleen Peterson: The History & Restoration of the Ephraim Co-Op Building
Sandra Lanier is retired from Snow College where she primarily worked with low income, first generation college students to help them realize what a college education can do to enhance lives, graduate from Snow, and move on to a university. In working with 80 displaced workers after the closing of the Sperry Univac plant, she became involved with saving the old Ephraim Co-op and worked tirelessly to help restore the building as a place where local crafters and artisans could sell their creations and help support their families. Helping to keep the Co-op as a viable business has kept her busy as a volunteer for over 30 years, while she has worked full time, completed a Master’s degree, supported her family of four children (now 10 grandchildren) along with a dear encouraging husband, and given active support to her church.
She has wondered at times why she has been so compelled to give countless voluntary hours to this project, as she has never earned a dime from it, but has happily spent much of her own money to keep it going. Just lately, she has discovered that her great grandfather, Enoch Gurr, was in the Utah School of the Prophets organized by Brigham Young who came up with the state-wide Co-op idea, beginning with ZCMI. She’s now pretty sure that her grandfather has been a driving force behind her Co-op effort. She’s thankful for all of his help, as well as the help of all of those living who have also believed in this dream of restoration and helping others help themselves.
Kathleen Peterson was born in Provo, Utah and studied art and dance at Brigham Young University. Kathleen has been creating artwork from a very young age and is currently mostly known for her religious paintings within the Latter Day Saint artist community. Her Mormon pioneer heritage combined with her life-long international travels have influenced and inspired her unique and narrative style.
Kathleen’s art has been featured in several galleries in Utah, California and Hawaii, and also in the Ensign Magazine. She has illustrated dozens of books including The Lesson, by Carol Lynn Pearson, A World of Faith, by Peggy Fletcher-Stack and Girls Who Choose God: Stories From Courageous Women of the Bible, by Bethany Brady Spalding and McArthur Krishna. Some of these original illustrations can be seen in the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Now that their four children are raised, Kathy and her husband Steve can be found painting and working on their farm in Historic Spring City, Utah where they raise hay, a lovely vegetable garden and enjoy caring for their many farm animals.