Stake Leadership

Steven R. Griffiths – Stake President 

Family: 

Six Children: Tyler (36), Shannon (34), Stephanie (30), Melanie (27), Brandon (24), Katie (20) and 15 grandchildren

Some of the Church Callings I’ve held:

Bishop, Bishop’s counselor, Stake Executive Secretary, Elders Quorum counselor & president, Stake Young Men’s President, Scoutmaster. 

I am employed by:

Brigham Young University

My job responsibility is: 

Managing Director of Campus Planning overseeing architectural and engineering design of on-campus construction projects.

My favorite quote is:

“We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”  - Aristotle

My dream car is:

Tesla Roadster

My favorite TV show growing up was/is: 

Gilligan’s Island.

When I have 30 minutes of free time, you can find me:

Eating :-), riding my bicycle, talking with my sweetheart, or roughhousing with the grandkids. I also enjoy weightlifting, SCUBA diving, going on cruises, reading scripture stories, and 4-wheeling.

I am currently reading:

The Uncanonized Revelations of Joseph Smith

Brian Mead - First Counselor  - Our family moved to Salem in 2013. It was our 8th move in 12 years of marriage, and we thought that Salem may just be another stop along the way. However, we fell in love with Salem and everyone around us, and I don’t think we could ever convince our family to move.

Annie and I are a BYU success story. Where else would a girl from California meet and marry a boy from small town Utah? Our versions of the story of how we met, fell in love and married are pretty different. We agree that we met, married, and fell in love. In Annie’s version, however, Brian is a little crazy, and she took pity on him. Brian’s version is a little more boring but also more accurate. We have four wonderful children, one boy and three girls.

For my career, I am part of the Religious Education faculty at BYU. It is the last career I could ever see myself doing, and I love it. We love travelling, reading, and playing games, that Annie mostly wins.

Mike Larsen - Second Counselor - I am one of 14 children born to Ferrus and Beth Larsen. I grew up in Mapleton, on a small farm, and have many cherished memories of my childhood.

I had the privilege of marrying Cindy Burningham in 1993, after serving a mission to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and we have enjoyed a wonderful life together with our five children and soon to be five grandchildren. We love spending time together as a family riding motorcycles, enjoying water activities at the lake, and traveling to new places. 

I work for Nebo School District and am the human resources director and just beginning my 29th year with Nebo having been a teacher, an elementary principal, and an administrator at the district office. 

Cindy and I have been so grateful to have ended up calling Salem our home to raise our family amongst the most remarkable, kind & loving, and hard-working people. 

We love our neighbors. We love the Lord. I love my membership in His church, and I’m grateful to be a member of the Salem Utah State

Mark Cope – Stake Executive Secretary  - Mark Cope is a skilled Systems Engineer with years of experience designing, implementing, and maintaining complex IT infrastructures. Mark holds a BS in Information Technology. Throughout his career, Mark has contributed to numerous projects involving the integration of hardware and software to optimize system performance and ensure seamless operation. Recent projects have included the modernization of cloud computing and migrating to public cloud infrastructures.

Mark enjoys spending time with his wife and kids. Mark is married to Amberlee, and they have 4 children, and 1 grandchild. Their 2 oldest children are married, one is living in Green Bay, Wisconsin and the other lives in Ephraim, Utah. Mark grew up in Salem and Amberlee grew up in Spanish Fork. They have both lived in Salem now for over 20 years. Some of the activities they enjoy include anything outdoors from hiking, to riding ATV and UTV’s, motorcycles, road trips, and spending time in the beautiful Utah mountains.

Brian Torgersen – Stake Clerk - The youngest of five children and was raised in Koosharem, Utah.  My childhood was filled with everything a small town boy dreams of.  My father was a dairy farmer and my mother was the school lunch manager at the local elementary school.  I learned the value of hard work from parents who did not have a lot, but gave everything they had to their children. 

I graduated from Piute High School and served a mission in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  I loved my mission and the foundation of faith that it gave me to continue on the covenant path.  I was set up with my wife, Amelia, while attending UVU. Amelia grew up in Springville.  We were married after just 4 months of dating on New Year ’s Eve, 2004. We now have five beautiful children - all of which play soccer year-round. As a family, we love fishing, hunting, and spending time together in the outdoors.  I graduated from the University of Utah in Civil Engineering and began my professional career with a private engineering consulting firm before taking a position with Provo City in 2010.  Since then I have been responsible for the design and construction oversight on many utility and transportation infrastructure projects, which I absolutely love!  I was the project manager for the design and construction of the new Provo Airport Terminal, which led to my appointment as the Director of the Provo Airport in 2021. 

We moved to Salem in 2014 and love this Stake.  I love the Lord and feel so blessed to be a part of His Kingdom on Earth! 

Vince Hunt – Stake Assistant Clerk – Finance - I am currently Serving as the Salem Stake Financial Clerk. My wife’s name is Jenafer, and I have four children, Mikayla age 28 is living in Marble Springs Texas, Jacob age 22 is going to School at Utah State, Andrew age 20 is serving a Mission in the Lima Peru South Mission but will be home in November 2024 and Jessie age 17 is a high school senior this year. I have lived in Salem for 26 years and worked for NuSkin for 21 years before transitioning to BYU for the last four years.  I served a mission in Brisbane Australia.  I am a member of the South Valley View ward where I held the calling as a financial clerk but also worked many years with the young men in the ward.

Simon Hales – Stake Assistant Clerk – Membership

Kassie Vance – Stake RS President - Kassie has been a “stay-at-home mom” and homeschooled her children for 18 years. She’s always up for a good adventure. She loves to travel, hike, rappel, ski, and play pickleball, among other things. She is also fond of reading and studying, especially the sciences, history, and religion. She finds satisfaction in learning primitive living and natural healing skills, but hopes to never have to use them! One of these days, she will make it to Machu Pichu. Jerry has promised. 

Pat Bradley – Stake RS 1st Counselor - My name is Pat Bradley. I have lived in the Salem, Utah Stake since it was created. My husband and I reside in the 7th ward but have lived in 6 different wards while residing in the same house for 44 years. We raised 7 children here whom have all married and left our nest blessing us with 31 grandchildren. We recently returned from serving as senior missionaries in England and are grateful for those precious experiences to add to our lives. We are happiest when we are serving the Lord.

Emily Kunz – Stake RS 2nd Counselor - My name is Emily Kunz.  I was raised in Pocatello, Idaho and married my childhood sweetheart, Troy Kunz.  We have 4 children including our daughter-in-law and one big Golden Doodle, Murphy.  Kaden and his wife Delaney live in Price, Adri is on a mission in South Carolina and Mason is a freshman at SJHS.  We have lived in Salem for 16 years.  I work for Salem Recreation a couple days a week.  I love spending time with family, indoors and outdoors as often as possible! 

Marci Hite – Stake RS Secretary - I have lived in Salem for over 18 years and I love it here! My husband and I have 3 children; Baylee-23 yrs. old, Kyler-21 yrs. old, and Elle-17 yrs. old. I work part-time as a physical therapy office secretary in Spanish Fork. I used to coach drill team/dance for high school and did that for about 17 yrs. but retired 6 years ago. I still love dance and to judge and critique dance. I love to exercise, hiking, boating and water skiing, to sew, read, watch movies, and do anything and everything with my family! I love Relief Society and serving with the sisters.

Savannah Thompson – Stake Primary President - I am thrilled to serve in this wonderful stake and to get to know all of you better! I grew up in Colorado but have lived in Utah since 2004. My husband David and I moved to Salem in 2019. We have six children. Our oldest Jordan is currently serving a mission in Japan. Taya is 17, Lincoln is 15, Eliza is 12, Sadie is 9 and Jack is 7. We love the outdoors, hiking, hunting, and archery. Our kids love to participate in various sports including cross country, track, wrestling, and Lacrosse. In between the crazy, busy moments I am working on completing my bachelor's degree through WGU where I plan to get an elementary and special ed teaching degree.  David works for Jordan School District as a behavioral special ed teacher. I guess we are a family of educators, who mostly love the schedule! I also enjoy gardening, painting, and cooking in my non-existent free time. Nothing makes me happier and uplifts my soul more than listening to music! The majority of my callings have been serving in the primary, a place I love, and think is the best place to serve. There is nothing purer and more beautiful than the simple testimony of a child! They have helped teach me that the gospel is simple. If we follow Jesus Christ, remember we are a child of God, and continue on the covenant path by keeping our temple covenants we will be happy and be blessed. 

Deborah Johnson – Stake Primary 1st Counselor - I grew up in Grantsville.  I met my husband Leigh at a 2-week computer class for high school juniors held at BYU, and we were pen pals for 7 years before we got married.  We have 4 children, a son-in-law and 1 ½ grandchildren.  We moved from one side of the country to the other, and finally settled in Salem almost 15 years ago.  I am a full-time homemaker, and I love to garden, putter around the house, and collect stories and photos for family history.  I have had the chance to serve in Primary in various ways, but this is my first opportunity to serve in the stake.  I love getting to know so many wonderful people as we visit each ward. My absolute favorite thing is to hear the children sing.

Cindy Smith – Stake Primary 2nd Counselor - Rich and I have been married for 28 years and we have 10 children - 6 boys and 4 girls.  Our oldest 3 kids are married and we have 2 beautiful granddaughters.  We moved to Salem after 20 years in Spanish Fork and just celebrated our 4th year here in Salem.  I have been a stay at home mom since my oldest was born,  but in my spare time I enjoy being creative with crafting, home decorating, wedding planning, and more.  We have a lot of football players and cheer leaders in our home which keeps me hopping at all times! Rich and I love to travel, with and without kids and have loved every where we have ventured!  

Jennifer Groberg – Stake Primary Secretary