Meet Jay Lessley

Jay Lessley—I am not originally from Utah. I lived in the Billings, Montana area until I was 13. In 1986, my family and I moved to Mesa, Arizona where I graduated from Westwood High School, home of the Warriors. After graduating from high school, waiting and working about seven months, I came to Provo where I attended BYU for one semester before serving an LDS mission in Georgia and South Carolina. I returned from my church service in 1994 and once again attended BYU.

Within a few months of returning home, I met my wife Heather and we were married in May of 1995. The two of us continued to work and attend BYU for the next few years. Heather completed her degree before we had our daughter Samara in October of 1999. I continued to work full-time while attending BYU part-time.

In July 2000 I started my career in law enforcement as a police officer at Brigham Young University. I stayed with the BYU Police Department until June 2004 when I took a position as a deputy with the Utah County Sheriff's Office. I have served with the Sheriff's Office for the past six years, completing assignments in the Patrol Division. I am currently assigned as a negotiator, pilot, emergency vehicle operations instructor, standardized field sobriety instructor, and drug recognition expert instructor.

I completed my formal education while working at BYU, finishing my undergraduate work in psychology in April 2001 and then my graduate work in public administration in April 2004.

I came to SMART at the invitation of Lt. Perschon who believed I might find SMART’s activities helpful in my regular duties. After my first meeting last fall, I really enjoyed the different perspectives being offered and the many contributions SMART’s members were putting forth with the hopes of reducing substance abuse within Utah County. Readily apparent to me was that SMART had collected a group of dedicated people who were passionate and willing to move forward with innovative ideas to combat drug abuse. Having recognized the great cause SMART and its members represented, I wanted to become part of it and here I am.

Outside of family and law enforcement, my greatest interest is aviation. I am a certified flight instructor and teach regular at a flight school in Spanish Fork. Outside of aviation, I like spending time with my two favorite girls, completing do-it-yourself projects around our home, woodworking, and education.

I may be the only police officer in Utah County that has had the wonderful opportunity to perform with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. While completing my undergraduate work, I sang with the BYU Men’s Chorus under the direction of Mack Wilberg. During my tenure with the choir, we performed at many venues but the most memorable for me were the two times we sang with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for Music and the Spoken Word at Temple Square.

I am grateful for the opportunity to serve with other members of SMART. This is a truly remarkable group of people who bring with them their desire to make a significant difference in our community. Society little recognizes, I believe, the massive impact substance abuse has on our community and country. As such, I am pleased to offer my limited talents and commitment to help Utah County in reducing substance abuse in any way possible.

Meet Kenny Rose

Kenny Rose—Born and raised in Pleasant Grove. I moved to Lehi just prior to getting married in 1998. I have 4 children, ages 11, 9, 4, and 2. I will be graduating from UVU in April with a Bachelor’s in Emergency Services Management and plan on continuing my education with a Masters in Public Administration. I have been with Lehi PD since 1999 and worked for the Utah Department of Corrections for 2 years prior to coming to Lehi PD. I have worked on a lot of different types of cases, including time with the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force as well the Sex Crimes Task Force. I am currently assigned to the Patrol Division as a Patrol Sergeant. I joined SMART because of our involvement in it prior to my involvement. I had been pushing for things such as the Prescription Drop-Off Box prior to even knowing that SMART was involved in the same goals. I have had some personal experiences in my life that lend to my interest in seeing SMART be successful in that I have had a close family member pass away due to a narcotic overdose. I thoroughly enjoy camping with my family as much as my schedule will allow. I enjoy hunting and fly-fishing and all sports. I love the Utah Jazz and am a loyal Chicago Cubs and Dallas Cowboys fan. While I do miss a good number of meetings due to patrol schedule conflicts it certainly isn’t because of disinterest in the mission of the organization. I do want SMART to continue to reach out to the community and I want to be a part of that in whatever way that I can and am able to.

Meet Spencer Cannon

Spencer Cannon— I grew up an Army brat, born in ElPaso, Texas, and lived there, Okinawa, and Germany. After that I grew up in Draper then served 4 years in the Army and lived most of that time in Germany. I have 5 children, 2 boys and 3 girls. I also have 1 grandson and 1 granddaughter with an unknown on the way. I have been married for 29 years (as of May 1st). I live in American Fork and have been there for almost 20 years.

I graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. I have worked at the Sheriff's Office for 20 1/2 years. I started in the jail, worked in patrol, as a detective, in Emergency Services, and for the past 6 + years as a supervisor in patrol.

I love traveling and eating exotic foods (I'll try almost anything once). From Borscht in Moscow, to Escargot in Paris, to Blutwurst (Blood sausage) in Germany, and Rocky Mountain Oysters in Wyoming, there is not much I would not be willing to try.

The two favorite vacation spots for my family are Lake Powell any time of the year and a beach house on the Gulf of Mexico along the Alabama coast.

I am part of SMART because I am passionate about helping people get a new start. Those I help do not always see it that way but my hope is that at least a few of them will make a positive change in their life because of my interaction with them.

What makes me unique is that I have strongly held philosophies about why I do the work I do. It is not just about a pay check. I hope to make a difference, from issuing citations for the smallest traffic violation to arrests for serious crimes. I believe that when I become involved in someone's life they have demonstrated an inability to exercise sound judgment and make good decisions. I am there to give them one more opportunity to turn things around.