Ronald C. Hills

Ronald Cree Hills was director of Church Educational System Youth and Family Programs and developed the popular EFY program that served over 900,000 youth over 43 years.

In the first summer of operation, only 172 youth attended and Hills thought the program would be discontinued. But the numbers of participants grew. The traditional program was essentially discontinued with the creation of the FSY program in 2019.

Hills was born on October 3, 1932, in Salt Lake City. He attended the University of Utah and later graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in sociology and psychology. He retired from BYU after 35 years.

He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in numerous callings, including full-time missionary to Japan, temple worker, tour guide at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, and several church-service missions. He also served in the U.S. Army based in Japan.

He and his wife, DonnaRae, raised six children. He passed away on August 25, 2007.