Gaylord K. Swim (December 17, 1948 – February 5, 2005) was an American businessman. He was the founder of the

Sutherland Institute Sutherland Institute is a conservative public policy think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

and a prominent community leader.

Biography

Early life

Swim was a native of

Carmel, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), commonly known simply as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, located on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,220, down from 3,722 a ...

. He attended

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...

and then transferred to

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

(BYU). He joined

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) while a student at BYU. In 1970 he graduated with a BS in business. He then served a

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

for the church in the Germany Central

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

(later called the Germany Düsseldorf Mission). After his return from his mission he earned an M.A. in political science from BYU.

Career

Early on Swim worked for

Dominick & Dominick Dominick and Dickerman LLC is an investment and merchant banking firm headquartered in New York City. It also has offices in Basel, Switzerland. From 1899 to 2015, the firm was known as Dominick and Dominick but after selling off its wealth man ...

. He and his mother Kay Swim were involved with the publication of Stephen R. Covey's best-selling book ''

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People ''The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People'' is a business and self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. First published in 1989, the book goes over Covey's ideas on how to spur and nurture personal change. He also explores the concept of effe ...

''. Covey noted his thanks for their contribution in the Acknowledgements section of the book. In the late 80's, Swim established a wealth management company Pillar Capital Advisors. He also was a co-founder of the Rural Health Management Corporation which operates the Central Valley Medical Center in

Nephi, Utah Nephi ( ) is a city in Juab County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem metropolitan area. The population was 6,443 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Juab County. It was settled by Mormon pioneers in 1851 as Salt C ...

. He was active in the community, and served as the chairman of a committee which studied a proposed division of Alpine School District in northern

Utah County Utah County is the second-most populous county in the U.S. state of Utah. The county seat and largest city is Provo, which is the state's fourth-largest city, and the largest outside of Salt Lake County. As of the 2020 United States census ...

. Swim and the majority of the committee ultimately recommended against dividing the school district, citing concerns about the impact on school budgets and property tax rates.

Philanthropy

Swim was active in philanthropic efforts. He was a long-time member of the

Philanthropy Roundtable The Philanthropy Roundtable is a nonprofit organization that advises conservative philanthropists and advocates for donor privacy. History The Roundtable was founded in 1987 as a project of the now-defunct Institute For Educational Affairs. It ...

. He also served on the boards of several other non-profit organizations, including the

State Policy Network The State Policy Network (SPN) is a nonprofit organization that serves as a network for conservative and libertarian think tanks focusing on state-level policy in the United States. The network serves as a public policy clearinghouse and advi ...

American Heritage School (Utah) American Heritage School is a private school serving grades K–12 located in American Fork, Utah, United States. It is an accredited member of the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS) and Cognia. Description AHS serves 1,30 ...

, Deseret International Foundation, Enterprise Mentors International, and the

Council for National Policy The Council for National Policy (CNP) is an umbrella organization and networking group that advocates for conservative and Republican Party initiatives in the United States. It was launched in 1981 during the Reagan administration by Tim LaHay ...

Personal life

In 1973, he married Lauralyn Bankhead in the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a Temple (LDS Church), temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the Comparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...

. They had five children. In the LDS Church, he served in various positions including as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and a counselor in a

stake presidency A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine ha ...

. He died of brain cancer at the age of 56.

References

External links

Gaylord Swim at the Sutherland Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swim, Gaylord K. 1948 births 2005 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries in Germany Brigham Young University alumni Converts to Mormonism Deaths from brain tumor People from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Latter Day Saints from California Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from New York (state) Pomona College alumni