When Pastor Chuck Lovelady of the Timpanogos Baptist Church in Lehi was 12, his mother asked him if he would want to live with her or his father if the couple split.

"That freaked me out," he said. "It became clear to me that my mother was going to hang in there with my dad until my sister and I finished high school. The tension during my teen years was overwhelming."

Seven years ago, Pastor Lovelady was one of several Lehi residents who formed the Lehi Community Council, which has since been promoting the health of local families and marriages. The organization has grown and now sponsors Lehi Family Week each Thanksgiving, Lehi Marriage Week around each Valentine's Day, interfaith events at Christmas and Easter, monthly family workshops, and an annual family friendly business award.

In addition, by proclamation of the mayor, each Monday is Lehi's official Family Day, and the council also co-sponsors, with the Alpine School District, a "What Kids Need to Succeed" program which highlights a new skill for kids each month. There is also a monthly e-mail newsletter for all interested residents. All events are free, and all of the speakers are volunteers. Council members provide refreshments.

Lovelady said he is willing to give so much time and effort to organizing these events because of his childhood experience.

"My motivation is that I want to maximize the opportunity for families and children to grow up in a healthy environment," he said, noting he and his wife, Danita, have four children, ages 8-15. "One of the greatest gifts you can give your children is a stable, loving home. That is a whole lot more important than a Nintendo or toys."

Linda and Rick Turner, also founding members of the Community Council, said they wanted to work toward happy families to protect the quality of life in Lehi.

"We love Lehi and we have been very blessed and we have a wonderful family and we knew that didn't happen by accident," Linda Turner said. "We wanted to do something to help people in a positive way. People are being assaulted in their homes by these social issues: pornography, identity theft, bullying, communication issues, abuse, finances, drug abuse, dating abuse, and child predators."

Monthly seminars, held in the City Council chambers, are designed to focus on those and other issues in depth, she said.

"And we didn't just want to focus on the negative," she said. "While we are working on these issues, let's have fun too. That is why we want families to be strong -- so we can enjoy each other."

Lehi Councilman Johnny Barnes has chaired the community council for the past several years. He said he would like to put the police out of business.

"There are so many forces against the traditional family," he said. "We are trying to put the police out of business because if we strengthen families there will not be as much crime. If we can make a difference with one or two families that will be one or two less families with domestic violence."

Barnes said the focus on families is also "just the right thing to do."

Barnes, Turner and Lovelady all said the tangible success of the program is hard to measure, though they value each time a member of the community says a seminar or event has been helpful.

Lovelady said because much of the work is to prevent problems, it may never be quantified.

"Sometimes it is hard to acknowledge your needs until things are too late, so if we can get to people before things are completely messed up, that will be helpful," he said, noting he found out as an adult that both of his parents had refused to go to counseling believing the other spouse would not go.

"There is the issue of pride," he said. "That is a hindrance to people getting help."

For information on Lehi family events, visit http://lehicity.com/communitycouncil. To be added to the newsletter, send an e-mail to linda_turner123@yahoo.com.

The Lehi Community Council's next event will be a free family seminar at 7 p.m. June 1 titled "Learn how to make family fun a top priority," with speaker Dave Platt, "The Game Guy." All family seminars are held at the Lehi City Council Chamber, 153 N. 100 East in Lehi.

Future seminars include:

July 6: "Real Life Superman"

Aug. 3: "Becoming a McGruff House/ Neighborhood Watch"

Sept. 7: "Stress Busting 101/ 'How not to take it out on your dog'

Oct. 5: "Child Predators Among Us"

Nov. 2: "Identify Theft"

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B2.