LDS Scene

Hospital Board Names President

The board of directors of the corporation formed to take over the former Church hospitals recently selected a president.

Scott S. Parker, administrator of Hoag Memorial Hospital-Presbyterian in Newport Beach, California, is expected to assume the new post April 1. William N. Jones, chairman of the board, made the announcement and said the appointment “will permit Intermountain Health Care, Inc., to move toward its independent status.”

The divestment of the hospitals was announced in September of last year when the Church moved its emphasis towards disease prevention and general health care Church-wide rather than hospital operation.

Two Stakes Formed In Chile Mission

Two new stakes were recently formed from units of the Chile Santiago Mission. Organized under the direction of Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Council of the Twelve and Elder William N. Jones, Regional Representative of the Council of the Twelve, were the Vina del Mar Chile Stake and the Santiago Chile South Stake.

The new stake presidency in Vina del Mar includes President Jose Leyton I., with first counselor Daniel Canoles S. and second counselor Hector Camacho Z. There are 4,229 members in the stake.

Eduardo Ayala A. was sustained as president of the Santiago Chile South Stake with counselors German Cordero L. and Guilleruui Ubal V. The stake has 3,651 members.

Two Named to Press, Hosting Positions

The First Presidency recently announced two new appointments in the Church’s Public Communications Department. Jerry P. Cahill has been named new director of press relations, and W. Stanford Wagstaff is the new coordinator of Church hosting.

Brother Cahill, who has been associate director of press relations for the Church since 1973, succeeds Brother Henry A. Smith, who retired at the end of last year. Before joining the department, Brother Cahill worked for 16 years at the Deseret News.

Don LeFevre has been named as associate director.

Brother Wagstaff, a retired oil company executive, will be assisted in his hosting duties by his wife, Oma, and Sister Arma H. Eddington, who has been named administrative assistant. Brother Wagstaff succeeds Irene E. Staples, who also retired last year after serving nearly ten years as Church hostess.

Bishop Receives Hospital Award

Bishop Sherwood D. Smith of the Lakeland Ward, Tampa Florida Stake, has received the Award of Merit, the highest honor the Florida Hospital Association gives. He is executive director of Lakeland General Hospital, the second largest hospital in Florida.

Bishop Smith was also elected a trustee of the American Hospital Association and serves as chairman of the Regional Advisory Board, among other honors.

Bishop Smith has served as bishop of the Lakeland Ward for the past nine years. He has five children, two of whom are now serving missions.

Temple Landscaping Draws Recognition

The American Association of Landscape Contractors and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America have both presented awards to the Church for the landscaping around the new Washington Temple.

The AALC’s Gold Award, its highest honor, was accepted in behalf of the Church by Irvin T. Nelson, 82, who planned the landscaping, purchased the materials, and supervised the work at the temple. He also accepted the ALCA award of merit.

Landscaping around the temple includes more than 800 trees and shrubs of 113 different varieties. There are 1,200 Ilex (holly) plants, which thrive in the Washington area. Still to be planted are 500 plants and trees, including 200 pink and white Dogwood and Red Bud trees.

BYU Adds London Program To Study Abroad Offerings

Brigham Young University has announced a new Study Abroad program in London, to begin its first session in June and run through December. It is the fifth study program to be organized by the BYU Division of Continuing Education in a city outside the United States.

Other study programs are located in Salzburg, Austria; Grenoble and Paris, France; Madrid, Spain; and Jerusalem.

It has been recommended that the program in London feature English literature and political science, with supporting courses in humanities, English history, and the history of the Church.

Although a February 28 deadline was set for BYU students to enroll in the program, interested persons are still being accepted. Complete information is available from the BYU Study Abroad Office, 341 MCKB, Provo, Utah 84602.

Genealogy Class Begun At South Dakota Library

Brother David Rave, a member of the Aberdeen Branch, South Dakota Rapid City Mission, has begun teaching genealogy at the local public library in response to a request put in the library’s suggestion box.

Approximately 20 nonmembers attend the weekly class to learn such things as how to find out what research has been done, what can be found on vital records, and how to use libraries in finding information. Brother Rave has organized the class informally, and those who have more background in the subject help the newcomers.

Activities of the class were reported in the local newspaper, the Aberdeen American News, which said, “It is the hope of some class members that once the series is complete, the group may continue to gather to share their finds, learn advanced techniques, get new ideas, and stimulate interest in genealogy.”

London Young Adults Aid Peers on Missions

Young Adults of the London England Stake have accepted the challenge of their stake president, John Cox, to help each missionary sent from their stake with a contribution of $5 per month.

This currently amounts to a total of about $100 a month, and Young Adult President Andrew Lighten, along with the other Young Adults, accepted the challenge, and have hosted barbecues, dances, and other activities to raise the needed funds.

The Young Adults recently organized a social aboard a boat on the river Thames, cruising past the houses of Parliament, Big Ben, the Tower of London, and St. Paul’s Cathedral while dancing and enjoying dinner. This activity not only provided funds for their missionary project, but proved to be a valuable fellowshipping opportunity for nonmembers who accompanied them.

Member in California Receives Law Award

Dale Walther, Special Interests representative in the San Diego First Ward, California San Diego Stake, has taken first place in the 1974 Nathan Burkan Memorial Writing Competition at California Western Law School.

Brother Walther earned the honor for a paper he wrote titled, “Antitrust Aspects of International Copyright Law.” The competition is sponsored by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.

Brother Walther serves as President of the International Law Society at the law school and was recently selected as an oralist from the Intramural Jessup International Moot Court Competition to represent his school in the 1975 Regional Arguments.

He served a mission to Japan in 1968–70.

Sunday School President Honored for Teaching

Brother Donald Ashdown, Sunday School president in the Lubbock First Ward, Lubbock Texas Stake, has been named the top professor of entomology in the United States.

He was nominated for the honor by alumni of Texas Tech’s College of Agricultural Sciences. Brother Ashdown has built up the study of entomology at the school; only one class when he arrived in Texas in 1954, the department has expanded to a curriculum now taught by four professors.

Brother Ashdown and his wife, Teresa Marie, have seven children, six of whom have university degrees. They were named 1958 family of the year in Lubbock.