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| Camille Lund - Debbie Wood - Mendy Hunter (Dec 2018) |
Debbie Wood, President
I was born and raised in the beautiful city of Portland, Oregon. I was the 5th of 8 children born to wonderful, loving parents who lived the gospel by example and teaching. My family’s home was filled with all the fun and activity of a large family and with music. Our family loved to sing together and all the children were encouraged to learn to play musical instruments. I was drawn to the piano and violin and studied both from elementary through high school as well as the organ in my later high school years. I also loved to sing in choirs. Music has always been an important part of my life and a great source of joy for me.
I attended college at BYU, studying elementary education. I met my husband in an unusual way through my sister, who was my husband’s MTC teacher. It all began with a plate of homemade cookies to cheer a poor missionary in my sister’s district who wasn’t getting any letters, as his parents were traveling back across the country. Elder Wood was very surprised to receive the cookies and wrote a thank you letter back. We started a friendly correspondence by letters which lasted the full two years of his mission in Canada. We were able to meet in person at BYU after his mission. All worked out (by heavenly plan I believe) and we were engaged and then married in the Portland Temple in May 1990. My husband and I both graduated from BYU a year and half later. I received my Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Music. Five months later, our first daughter, Nicole was born. We lived two more years at BYU while my husband finished his Master’s Degree. A month after graduation, our second child, Joey was born. And then our adventures around the country began.
We moved first to Georgia (near my husband’s family,) then to Rochester, New York when my husband was accepted into a graduate program at the University of Rochester. Our 3rd child, Jesse was born while we lived in Rochester. A few years later, we moved across the country with our three little ones to Palo Alto, California where my husband attended Stanford University.
The next twenty years were filled with many life experiences -- many joyful ones as well as some very spiritually growing ones and many opportunities to serve. As we raised our family, we were led by Heavenly Father to accept further schooling and job opportunities for my husband and to live in new locations around the country. We have special places in our heart for each of them -- upstate New York, California, Georgia, Utah, Kansas, and Maryland. Our youngest daughter, Emily was born during our 8 years in Utah. I also taught piano in my home for ten years. We have lived here in Maryland, now for 6 years. Each place has been unique and wonderful and made even sweeter by new friends. The later years have also brought exciting changes for our family, including Spanish-speaking missions for our two sons (in Arizona and Chile), the marriages of our three oldest children and the birth of four grandchildren. Our married children and their families live in Utah, Idaho and Missouri. Our youngest daughter, Emily (17), is still at home. She is finishing her Senior year of high school.
My current interests and hobbies include: family history research, gardening, reading, history, anything to do with homemaking, emergency preparedness, gentle yoga, and cooking for special dietary needs.
I have a great love for Relief Society and am excited to serve in my new calling and get to know the sisters in the Stake!
Camille Lund, 1st Counselor
I was born and raised in Provo, Utah, the third of eight children. I attended Brigham Young University majoring in Elementary Education. Lorin and I met while attending BYU, though not at BYU (we both lived at home and were in the same stake). We married in December of 1984 and graduated together the following August. I taught school for two years while Lorin earned a Master’s Degree and then we moved to Maryland where Lorin took a job with the Department of Defense. We have lived in Maryland ever since, raising our family and supporting each other in our callings. We have five children ranging in age from 33 to 15. Three of our children are married, one is in her first year of college at BYU-Hawaii, and the youngest is at home, a sophomore in high school. We have six grandchildren. I like to crochet, garden, cook, teach piano lessons, read, and do family history work. Most recently I have been serving as the Relief Society President in the Columbia 2nd ward.
For me Relief Society is a place of faith, love, and service. Sisters from many backgrounds work together to learn, grow, and help others experience more of the Savior’s love. I feel happy and blessed to be part of this great work.
Mendy Hunter, 2nd counselor
I was born in raised in York County, PA, the 4th of 8 children. I grew up in Shrewsbury--the same town my dad's family has lived in since the 1730s! After graduating from high school, I attended BYU where I majored in English. Before graduating from college, I served a mission in Romania where I fell in love with the warm people and the breathtakingly beautiful Transylvania. After my mission, I graduated from the Y, backpacked through Europe with a friend, and then married Michael Hunter. While Michael finished his schooling, I worked in the staffing industry until our first baby, Maia (20), was born. When Maia was only 3 months old, Mike and I decided to move from Utah back to the east coast, where most members of our families lived. With Mike's family in Virgina and my in Pennsylvania, Mike suggested we move to the middle: Laurel, MD--and that's where we've been for the past 19 years! Here, we have added a son, Mason (18), and two more daughters, Marlee (15) and Mackenna (12), to our family. I have remained a full-time homemaker and enjoy volunteering at our kids' schools, reading, doing crafts, and learning new DIY skills. I love Relief Society and I am especially excited to get to know more of the sisters in the stake through this calling.
