History of The Annual Genesis Picnic by Susan Adams This picnic has great meaning and a unique history. According to the journal entries of Sister Lea Orr, wife of Brother Eugene Orr, second counselor in the original Genesis Group Presidency, the first Genesis Picnic was held in 1968—39 years ago! In 1968, a group of Black Latter-day Saints gathered in the backyard of Eugene and Leitha Orr's house at 327 South 800 East in downtown Salt Lake. These picnics were actually held before The Genesis Group was organized in October 1971. Back then it was called a "Black Mormon Reunion," and 33 people attended, as recounted in Orr's journal. In 1969, 48 people attended the "reunion" at the home of Sister Lucille Bankhead, a descendant of Green Flake. In 1971, the reunion was held at Riverside Park with 38 in attendance. Even Elder Spencer W. Kimball attended and held many children on his lap during these "reunions." At that time, they decided to meet once a week in each other's homes to study and share the gospel. These "home meetings" were the precursor to the Genesis Group meetings. The picnic we hold today was revived after the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the organization of The Genesis Group held in honor of Ruffin Bridgeforth and the reawakening of The Genesis Group in October 1996. At that celebration, Genesis members and friends were blessed with the presence of President Gordon B. Hinckley, Elder David B. Haight, and President Thomas S. Monson, who bestowed an Apostolic blessing on those in attendance. The revival of the picnic was held at Murray Park in June 1997 as part of a celebration for the twenty-five years that Genesis had existed. Anne Marie Balfour volunteered to be in charge of the first picnic arrangements, and it was a great success. But the location had to be changed because it was not adequate to meet the needs of the Genesis members: the park had a road running through it that children had to cross to get to the playground from the pavilion. For the next two years, the picnic was held at a Church-owned picnic area on 20th East in the Millcreek area, but the group quickly outgrew that setting. The activities committee then moved the picnic to its current location—Anzak Park, a Salt Lake County-owned facility. The park has a wonderful playground for the little children to play on and a large grassy area for children's games, volleyball, horse shoes, softball, and other activities. Starting in June of 1998, the Genesis Presidency decided that the annual picnic would be held as close to the June 8th date as possible. Whenever possible, Genesis tries not to overlap the plans of the Salt Lake City/Ogden community Juneteenth Celebrations held on or about June 19th to celebrate the date when slaves in Galveston, Texas, first heard or learned they had been freed months earlier by the Emancipation Proclamation. In 2000, an Activities Committee was created to assist Anne Marie Balfour and Anne Camomile who were the sole planners of the picnic. It consisted of Anne Marie Balfour, Susan Adams, Anne Camomile, Lisa McDonald, and Janice Cherry. Another change was made that year in the method of cooking the meat. Volunteer cooks used small barbeques at the park for the cooking along with other small barbeques that Genesis members supplied. Starting in June of 2000, two large barrels were used for the cooking, which helped get the meat cooked much more quickly. The food is wonderful, as Genesis members bring a variety of condiments, salads, fruit and vegetable plates, and desserts to compliment the barbecued chicken, hamburgers, and hot dogs. As a special treat, we are treated to freshly cut and cooked french fries, courtesy of Doug and Kathy Glaittli. There are games for every age group to participate in and prizes to win. In June of 2000, Keith Hamilton brought his sound system and we had wonderful music to listen and sing to. Afterwards, the sound system was taken over to the nearest chapel, where a dance continued until the late hours of the evening for those that wanted to "boogie down." June 7, 2003, was an exciting time for the picnic because that year was the celebration of twenty-five years that the priesthood was extended to every worthy male member of the Church. Genesis hosted the wonderful Saints Unified Voices Choir, directed by Gladys Knight, at the annual picnic. They had traveled on buses from Las Vegas to sing in the Tabernacle on Sunday, June 8. Genesis members loved meeting and getting to know the choir members and especially hearing their moving renditions of hymns and other songs in the Tabernacle the next day. The attendance also changed drastically from 100 in 1997 to approximately 400 in 2003. The expected attendance this year is more than 500.