2014-11-04 Melissa is elected to the SLC School Board!

We are thrilled that Melissa won a seat on the Salt Lake School board replacing Laurel Young. Melissa campaigned diligently, had her ups and downs, managed to not spend too lavishly, met a lot of people, had wonderful support of her friends and neighbors. We're sure that she will do an admirable job as a board member. Laurel could not have been more complementary about Melissa and was thrilled to be able to turn over her board seat to Melissa.

Melissa Ford - school board candidate

Stitch by Stitch 

School-board candidate Melissa Ford emphasizes that simple acts can lead to big changes

By Eric S. Peterson @ericspeterson

• Melissa Ford with her husband and four children

A stack of ratty street-urchin pants stands as a testament to Melissa Ford's school involvement.

Ford learned how to sew the pants when she helped design costumes for a Clayton Middle School production of Oliver!

"I probably made a hundred pairs of orphan pants," Ford says.

Ford, a mother of four who's campaigning to represent the east bench in District 6 of the Salt Lake City School Board, also has more experience in parent-teacher associations than you can shake a ruler at. And she says her involvement in the school system has helped her learn that small changes can make a big impact, including fostering a culture of involvement and success between students and parents.

Those orphan pants and other behind-the-scenes volunteer efforts, Ford says, helped the annual Clayton play become more than an average school production featuring a handful of students. In recent years, productions have included as much as half of the student body, which averages about 750 students annually, performing in The Little Mermaid, Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and others.

It's a simple way that students, parents and the community can get more involved and strengthen ties with one another, Ford says, and it's those kinds of efforts that she would prioritize if she were on the school board.

Ford is keeping her focus hyper-local, she says, unlike her opponent Weston Clark, a former chair of the Salt Lake County Democratic Party, who'd like to use the position to lobby the Legislature or other levels of government.

"It's not supposed to be about politics," Ford says "It's about the students."

Ford has been active in her four children's schools since she moved to Salt Lake City in 1999, when her husband's work brought him from Washington, D.C., to the Beehive State.

She says she first realized the value of school boards in the early 2000s, when the district sought to change the boundaries for the local elementary school but not the middle or high schools. It was a small move on the boundary map and would only have affected about 10 kids in Ford's neighborhood, but she thought it would be a negative for those kids—including her own—to have to say goodbye to their elementary school friends and make all new friends at the next grade.

So, Ford says, she gathered some signatures, told the district that the boundary shift wasn't fair, and the board agreed.

"Every thing I've done involved with the schools since then has been to give me the experience to serve on the school board effectively," Ford says.

And she's done plenty with schools in her district since then. She's served on the Bonneville Elementary Parent Teacher Association since 2000, including as vice president, and has been co-president of the Clayton Middle School Association since 2012. Since 2011, she's been active with the Salt Lake City School District Community Council for East High, which decides how to spend state trust-lands money, and has been the council's chairwoman since 2012. She also coordinates ski and snowboard trips every season for students from Bonneville Elementary School, is active in the East High Football Boosters Club and has also been involved in the Joint Educator Evaluation Committee.

Having kids in the school system has helped her stay passionate about education, and so have the perks of being active in the community, she says—like the salary paid out in smiles and high-fives from elementary school kids.

Ford has strong opinions about the Common Core, citing a fondness for benchmark standards while also not being crazy about penning in how teachers instruct their classrooms, but says she's realistic about what she and the board could do about it.

"Like it or not, I don't feel like as a board member, I would be able to change the fact that Utah has adopted the Common Core," Ford says in a statement on her website. "But the school board should and will influence the actual curriculum that is being taught to ensure that allstudents reach the benchmarks of the Common Core."

But Ford says that being realistic about impact doesn't mean that anyone's throwing up their hands—her recent experience with Clayton Middle School, she says, is an example of how simple programs can have ripple effects in the community.

When Ford came on as co-president of the Clayton Middle School PTA, she says, the association's budget was about $11. There wasn't even money enough for a fundraiser, so she helped roll out a Cash for Clayton campaign that told parents that if every one of them donated $20, the association would have more than enough to provide services.

The simple campaign garnered roughly $12,000 that was then able to help fund service efforts, like a Christmas store for students with disabilities and a Community Caring program to stop bullying and promote inclusiveness in the school. Money also went to support the annual school play that includes more than 300 students acting, singing in the choir and helping in other roles.

The annual production, Ford says, is a perfect example of a program that's helped promote a culture of involvement. The play helps students who might not otherwise be performers get out of their shells and gain confidence, Ford says, and also involves the community. The play often has more than 100 volunteers—and not just parents, Ford says, but also those who are simply active in local theater and arts.

Ford says that parents can also get involved in small ways that can have a ripple effect. She's an advocate of registration forms that offer a variety of volunteer options for parents, whether larger responsibilities like supporting the play or simply committing to one hour a year. Starting somewhere with volunteering is the perfect way to help parents get more involved with their students' academic life, she says.

Ford's seen this all firsthand, and says that one of her favorite memories from her children's education is when her son played King Trident in the Clayton Middle School production of The Little Mermaid. It brought her otherwise reserved and somewhat shy son out of his shell, she says, showed how much a community can do for their children, and also reminded her of where home is.

"I've been here in Salt Lake City only 14 years," Ford says. "I didn't grow up here, I didn't go to high school here. I wasn't connected before, but this is my home now ... because of that involvement."

Jon C. Carpenter
1938 ~ 2014
Jon Carvel Carpenter passed away at home May 25th, 2014 after a courageous battle with cancer.
He was born January 19th, 1938 in Washington, D.C. to Samuel and Kathleen Carpenter. He married Donna Kay Richards of Logan, Utah on May 1st, 1962 in the Salt Lake temple.
Jon received his undergraduate degree from the University of Utah in 1962 and earned an MBA from Santa Clara University. His 33-year career at IBM took him and his family to Helena, MT, San Jose and San Francisco, CA, Austin, TX, and New Canaan, CT. He retired to Deep Creek, MD and Salt Lake City, UT.
As an avid outdoorsman, Jon worked at Grand Canyon National Park as a teenager. He went on to serve many years as a B.S.A. scoutmaster (receiving the Silver Beaver), and enjoyed back-country hiking, from the High Sierras in California to Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa.
Jon served for 2½ years as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Finland. He later served as a bishop, high councilor and in many other capacities. In 2011 he and Donna Kay returned to Finland to serve as senior missionaries in the Helsinki temple.
Jon is preceded in death by his oldest son, Rick Carpenter, and is survived by his wife, Donna Kay, his four children, Scott (Diane) Carpenter, Curt (Hedi) Carpenter, Emily (JP) Hanson, Katie (Jon) Groberg, and 15 grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, Craig Carpenter, and his sister, Kathie Coon.
A memorial will be held at the LDS Ensign Peak ward building, 125 East North Sandrun Road, Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 31st at 10 am for visiting with friends and family. Service at 11:30 am.

Published in Salt Lake Tribune on May 29, 2014

2014-05-25 Rose Sutton visits

We picked up Rose from the airport and she stayed overnight before leaving for her mission in Rome Italy

2014-05-21 Yorktown/ Kitchawan Ward reunion

We met a few members from Yorktown Ward at Clayton and Denise Williams's home on the occasion of Andy and Lori Phillips being in town for a family funeral. A list of people we met: April and Don Stirling, Kevin Greenlese, Sharon and Bob Lape with Rob and Alice Lape, Les and Cindy Ward, Dave and Lena Clark, Kathleen and Franklin West, Alex Mojica, Tony Capone, Daniel Carlisle, Lisa ?, Steve Richardson.

2014-05-03 Sarah is baptized

 Sarah was baptized by her father on May 3, 2014. She was excited and glowing - partly from the fuss we were making over her - but mostly because she was doing the right thing. It's a wonderful blessing to have grandchildren being taught the doctrine of Christ by their parents who lead by example. Sarah was surrounded by both sets of grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and a group of wonderful friends.

Abby led the music and offered the closing prayer. Will spoke on the Gift of the Holy Ghost using props. I 'm sure he was helped by his mom and dad.

After the baptism we had a doughnut buffet at the Christensen's. Doug Christensen asked Sarah if she had had time to sin. She giggled and said 'no'. He taught her that all of us would sin, and that's why continued repentance is important.

2014-04-12 Justin is baptized

Justin was baptized in Colorado Springs on April 12, 2014. We flew to Denver on April 11 and returned to SLC on April 14. Ashley conducted the music and played a piano solo of 'I am a child of God'. Katelyn spoke on baptism. Grandma said the opening prayer. The grandfathers were witnesses. It was a family affair, enjoyable and spiritual.

Justin is our 15th grandchild to be baptized. We're thankful for faithful children and their spouses who are raising and teaching our grandchildren.

While we were visiting we went to watch Ashley play volleyball at the YMCA, we watched all the Egberts swim at Lifetime Fitness, we had our teeth cleaned and inspected by Hans, we enjoyed holding Liam, and we generally enjoyed seeing the Egbert family.