Church of Jesus Christ Welcomes New Regional President

From left to right: 2nd Counselor Paul Hedgecock, Stake President Kyle Gillett, and 1st Counselor Craig Poole (photo provided)

PRESS RELEASE (11-06-2023)
CHURCH OF JESE CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has appointed a new Stake President and two counselors for the Asheville North Carolina Stake, a geographical division of the church that encompases most of Western North Carolina from Proctor, Nantahala, and Topton in the West to Forest City, Marion, and Spruce Pine in the East.

Kyle Gillett, the new Stake President, is a Medical Family Therapist and business owner who grew up in Arizona and moved to Arden in the summer of 2012. He has served as a volunteer at the church in various capacities since then, including most recently as Bishop of the Asheville congregation. His first counselor, Craig Poole, has lived in Hendersonville for 20 years, but grew up in Spartanburg, SC. Poole works as an optometrist at MyEyeDr in Hendersonville and has been a member of the Henderson County Board of Health for 9 years. He was Bishop of the Hendersonville 1st Ward prior to this calling. Gillett's second counselor, Paul Hedgecock, manages Brightbell Virtual Receptionists and has lived in the area for 11 years, moving recently to Burnsville, where he was Bishop of the Weaverville Ward.

Because The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints operates locally using a lay ministry, all three men will serve in this Presidency in a voluntary capacity for about the next ten years. The previous Stake President, Bart van Oostendorp of Arden, had served in that role since 2014. About their calling, President Gillett says, " As a new Stake Presidency, we look forward to uniting with followers of Christ in our surrounding community as we love and serve God’s children throughout Western North Carolina."

Background

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been established in Western North Carolina since 1838 when a few locals were baptized after hearing Jedediah M. Grant preach in the Western Piedmont area. The church now has about 5000 members in the area, divided into 11 congregations.