Carlsbad CA— On Sunday, January 6 there was a leadership change of the Carlsbad California Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A stake president is a lay leader of a geographic subdivision, similar to a Catholic diocese. Jack Shirley has been asked to volunteer his service in this position to oversee Church programs in Carlsbad and Oceanside. He, along with two counselors, is responsible to help the members of his stake in their efforts to follow Jesus Christ. President Shirley, age 44, was born in Oceanside; his father is retired Oceanside Police Captain Mike Shirley. He and his wife Kathy Packard Shirley have lived in the Oceanside-Carlsbad area most of their lives. He works full-time as a certified public accountant (CPA). President Shirley feels humbled to serve in this capacity and loves “meeting and serving the many wonderful members in the stake.” A stake president typically serves for about nine years.
A stake president is assisted by two counselors and a group of 12 men called a high council. These leaders have a significant amount of local autonomy to make decisions regarding the members in their stake. The two new counselors are Dr. Mike Willes and Brandon Walker.
President Willes, 54, is an orthodontist and has lived in Carlsbad for 22 years with his wife Heidi Jackson Willes. He looks forward to serving members of the stake and helping them in their quest to follow Christ and become more like Him.
President Walker, 45, works for Biogen as a regional account manager. He has been married to his wife, Sara Vreeken Walker, for 18 years and they have lived in Oceanside since 2007. President Walker commented, “I hope we can help people in the North County area better understand why their Latter-day Saint friends are anxious to share their beliefs and what joy can be found as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
President Shirley had been serving as a counselor in the previous stake presidency. The outgoing members are Steve Pynes and Adolf Singh, who both served in the stake presidency for eight years.