Instructors

Dean C. Jensen- Keynote Speaker- Dean is 1st Counselor in the Mesa Salt River Stake Presidency. He is married to the former Jean Hoopes from Thatcher, AZ and they are the parents of 7 children and have 22 grandchildren. He served a mission as a young man to the Sioux and Chippewa Indians in South Dakota and Minnesota. The Jensen family have also served as full-time missionaries at Adam-ondi-Ahman in Missouri and as humanitarian missionaries in Oaxaca, Mexico and La Paz, Bolivia. In 2002, Brother and Sister Jensen were called to serve a full-time mission in the Jakarta Indonesia Mission. The following year he was asked to serve as mission president and it was during that service that he was able to assist with the relief effort by the Church following the tsunami that devastated Indonesia in December 2004. He enjoys gardening, hiking, backpacking and being a grandpa.

Justin Cooper- Smoked Meat Booth- Justin is owner of a local BBQ business in the East Valley. He and his wife love brisket almost as much as family, and always have some form of smoked meat in their fridge. Cooper is excited to share his knowledge of how to cook with only charcoal and wood to provide amazing, mouthwatering, succulent, perfect and indescribable food that can only be described as "Food fit for Zeus himself."

Lori Ann Mecham- Gardening Troubleshooting in AZ"- Lori Ann grew up  in the Valley where her Dad always had something growing.  She has taken this to a new level and  transformed her backyard into an urban farm.  She loves producing food her family can eat, sharing it with friends and neighbors and creating dishes from whatever is in season.  She has had success with everything from watermelon to edible flowers.  Along the road she has also had her share of trials.  In her class she will help you identify trouble spots and give you tips to work through them.

Robert and Cindy Cluff- Love Languages with Kids & Frustration-Free Parenting. The Cluffs have been in the Salt River Stake for 14 years.  Brother Cluff served on the Stake High Council and as Bishop of the Viewpoint Ward and currently teaches the Stake Parenting Class with his wife Cindy.  Sister Cluff has served in the Relief Society and Primary organizations on the ward and stake level. The Cluff’s have been married for 28 years and have five children.  

Carol Harris- Budgeting 101. Carol and her family have been meticulous budgeters for 40 years. Based on practical experience, teaching classes and helping individual families for 35 years, she has a bone-deep conviction that a family budget can bring rich dividends. Carol has a B.S. degree from BYU in family relations. Family spending patterns relate directly to family relationships.

Dr. Jared Dayton DO- Health Insurance Tips-. Jared has a beautiful wife and 4 boys. Zach is 19- in Portugal on a mission. Brig is 16- Junior at RMHS. Mason is 14- Freshman at RMHS. Ammon is 9- but thinks he is 13. Dr. Dayton went to medical school in Kansas City, with a residency here in Mesa, and has been in practice for 11 years.

Rusty Bowers- Educational Resource- EVIT-Rusty is also the External Affairs Director for the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT), a public high school and adult training center. He'll have information for your review - learn how to make portable smokers...and start the chain all over again.

Johnny John- Dutch Oven Cooking- When Johnny was growing up his family spent most of their vacation time and many weekends camping, hunting and fishing.  Every time they went out they always cooked their meals using a dutch oven.  He always loved these times and has treasured the valuable lessons he learned, especially how to cook in a dutch oven.  At age 17 he was asked to be Assistant Scout Master where he continued  the tradition of cooking meals in dutch ovens.    He has been in scouting his entire life.  He especially loves working with the scouts/young men and has made a point to teach them the art of  dutch oven cooking.  As a husband and father he and his family now enjoy carrying on their own family traditions of spending time time together outdoors and cooking in dutch ovens making delicious memories. 

Ammon Woods- Nutrition and Exercise & Fitness- Ammon is a native from Mesa, AZ who grew up playing all sports but excelled in swimming and basketball. Ammon’s love of sport and fitness drew him to the weight room at a young age where he became fascinated with the human body and the changes and adaptation that can be achieved through training. Ammon lives in Mesa with his wife Brooke of 12 years and his 4 children. Ammon is the owner of a Gym, in Mesa where he specializes in Total Body Transformations, helping people lose hundreds of pounds all over the world.  Ammon’s life goal is to help as many people as possible achieve their fitness goals and live healthier, happier lives. He is a CrossFit Level 1 & 2 Coach, NASM Certified Personal Trainer, US Weightlifting Certified, Transformational Specialist.

Krista Bluth- Food Storage 101- Krista is the mother of 6 children. She has 22 years of experience in gathering growing and preserving a year supply of foods during many economical situations and continues to practice storing preparing and cooking for her family. 

Leah Brown- Solar Oven- Leah has enjoyed solar cooking and baking as a novice- hobbyist for 10+ years. She began with a desire to learn how to cook in "worst case scenarios" and has since discovered that it can be an easy way to cook Sunday dinner almost every week of the year in Arizona (since we have sun ALL the time).  It doesn't require much to become experienced, you just put it in the sun and after a little trial and error you know how to cook or bake. Voila!



Judy Spencer- Tools & Methods to Stretch the Dollar- Judy and her husband, Lance both grew up in Utah.  Twenty-eight years ago, they met in a singles ward while both attending BYU. They were married they eventually moved to New Hampshire where they raised their four children.  Their oldest son and wife are ready to finish undergraduate school in Provo.  Their oldest daughter will soon be returning from a Spanish speaking mission in Washington DC and will return to BYU-Idaho to finish her schooling.  The two youngest son and daughter both attend Red Mountain High School.  Judy was a stay at home mom for over twenty years.  When the family moved to Arizona, Judy went back to school to get her master degree in School Counseling.  Now, she is in her second year of working at both Fremont Jr. High School and Mesa Academy. While living on the expensive East Coast, Judy learned how to budget and live on less.  Her favorite saying is “Less is More” and her favorite title to be called is “Super Shopper”.

Lance Spencer- Retirement Planning, Top 10 Financial Tips- Lance Spencer is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC) who has worked in the financial Services industry for 23 years.  He is married to Judy Snow Spencer and has 4 children.  He graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) with a BS in Finance and a MBA from Boston College (BC) in Finance.  He has assisted thousands with investment and retirement planning over the years and will share some basic building blocks for building and maintaining a sound financial future.

Wade & Twila Ficklin- Stake Marriage Class Instructors (Booth in Cultural Hall)- Twila and Wade have been married for 32 perfectly blissful years (and if you believe that,  you really need to attend their class!) Seriously, they are the parents of five children and four grandchildren. After meeting at BYU, they were married  in the Seattle Washington temple.  Over the years they have had many opportunities to serve in different positions within the church. They have lived in Provo Utah,  Laie Hawaii, Glendale Arizona, Toronto Canada, Cleveland Ohio, Evansville Indiana, Spokane Washington, and as of seven years ago, Mesa Arizona .  They enjoy traveling, spending time with family, sports and laughing!

Ken Armstrong- Survival Basics- Ken and his wife Vonnie, have been married for 39 years, have a Temple marriage, and have 6 beautiful children and 13 grandchildren. Ken has been camping and hiking and experimenting with the outdoors for as long as he can remember (well over 52 years of experience). He has experimented most of his life with the outdoor experience. He has over 35 years with the Boy Scouts of America. He has owned and operated his own survival school “Cherokee Mountain School Survival ”and has taught hundreds of adults and children (entire families) not only the basics about survival but he has taught ancient aborigine skills, rock crumbling techniques, how to make a bow and arrow from scratch, shelters, controlling your environment, along with many other modern and primitive skills. Ken is an expert at making both modern and primitive fires. Oh, by the way, I’m a convert and “Yes, I’m A Mormon!”

Lucy Ulrich- Smart Shopper- Lucy has her degree in Business Management from BYU. Her and her husband Matt have been married for 22 years and have 3 beautiful daughters, 1 handsome son in law, and the most adorable granddaughter you have ever seen! Together Matt and Lucy own and operate a water treatment business in Mesa. In 2007 when the economy started to take a nosedive Lucy and Matt decided they needed to bulk up their food storage. Being self employed their financial future was very unpredictable so it was important to do it on a budget. Lucy got online to see what help was out there and found tons of websites that do most the work for you. She quickly learned how to match up coupons with sales for huge savings, and in no time her family had dubbed her the “Coupon Queen”. Once you know how it is super easy and you will be amazed how quickly you can build up your food storage.

Geneva Anderson- Tools & Methods to Stretch the Dollar- Geneva has an extensive background in ignoring her budget. Thankfully it is paired with an ability to start awkward conversations with other people about how they budget.  Through years of research in the field of her spending and talking with other people, she finally found some budgeting tools that work for her family. Come and learn about budget options beyond a notepad or excel spreadsheet.

Tanya Howell- Natural Medicine- I was raised by my mother,  'Medicine Woman' of Gilbert, cookbook author and herbalist, Erleen Tilton.  With that upbringing, I learned how to use natural remedies and herbal methods to treat common ailments and sickness at home.  I'm also a massage therapist, certified holistic wellness coach, and have studied natural healing modalities. In the past few years I've become immersed in the study and application of essential oils as another form of natural medicine. I now travel the states teaching classes on natural health solutions using essential oils and whole foods, and empower families to take control of their health by being more self reliant with natural, safe, and very effective remedies.

Keri Maughan- Personal Effectiveness, Effective Relationships, Doing Hard & Loving It and Doing Hard is Loving Them- Keri and her husband of over 36 years are the parents of 4 daughters and grandparents of 13 grandchildren. She brings a lifetime of experience and a keen understanding of relationships to each of her coaching, speaking or teaching engagements. She is a certified coach specializing in relationships at all levels including life, family, parenting, and marriage; as well as organizations such as business and education. Her certifications include Arbinger Mastery Training for Coaches, Love and Logic®, multiple Marriage Education and Relationship Coaching Certifications and is a member of the International Coach Federation. Keri has had the opportunity to train and coach individuals, families, business executives, school teachers and administrators all over the United States. She fully believes in and strives to live by this maxim: “The quality of our life is in direct relationship to the quality of our decisions and our efforts.”

Eda Clarkson- Gardening Basics- Eda is a fourth-generation low-desert-dweller who knows the difficulty and the satisfaction of gardening in the Sonoran Desert.   A florist and an accredited Master Gardener through the University of Arizona Extension Office, Eda appreciates both the aesthetic beauty of all things growing—including her four beautiful blossoming daughters!—as well as the functionality of gardens, flowers, fruit trees, shade trees, and everything else that are our privilege to grow.

Eric Ellsworth- CPR- Eric is as charismatic about teaching others how to save lives as he is in doing it himself! He has been with Superstition Fire & Medical District for over 8 years and enjoys being a Paramedic serving the people of Apache Junction and Gold Canyon. He is a highly adored husband and father of 5 children and he loves to spend time with them as well as write books and poetry, hike, fish, cook, see things grow and take his kids on 'Daddy Errands' in the truck.