D. GARY YOUNG
A legacy
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“The man is a success, who leaves the world “If you’re not living on the edge, better than he found it; who never lacked you’re taking up too much space.” appreciation of earth’s beauty; who looked for the best in others and gave D. GARY YOUthe N Gbest he had.”
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GA RY ’S L IF E A N D YO UN G LIVIN G By Mary Young, Young Living Co-Founder and CEO
To explain Gary’s accomplishments seems vast. He spent 35 years studying the benefits and perfecting the extraction of essential oils, while building a $1 billion global business designed to share what he deemed “the gift” of essential oils with millions of people. Described as a modern pioneer, Gary was part inventor and part historian. He was determined to discover the ancient practices and benefits of herbs, plants and trees that had been lost to the modern world. His research took him to the remote corners of the earth, and often back in time, to learn about the power that Mother Nature offered. Gary was born July 11, 1949, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and grew up in the mountains of Challis, Idaho, with his parents and five siblings living in a 30 x 30-foot cabin without running water or electricity. In 1967 he loaded his belongings into a truck and moved to British Columbia, and in 1968 he was granted 320 acres in the Cariboo District where he began logging. After five years of logging and ranching, Gary suffered debilitating injuries in a serious logging accident and was confined to a wheelchair with no expectation of walking again. Channelling the cowboy spirit of “not backing down,” he began to explore different avenues to natural healing. It was on this path
where Gary was introduced to essential oils. By 1983 Gary had moved to Southern California, enrolled at a naturopathic college and built a research centre in Rosarito Beach, Baja California, Mexico. Thirteen years after his accident, he still suffered constant pain, even as he walked. His first true introduction to essential oils came when he attended a medical conference in Geneva, Switzerland, where medical doctors were presenting their research on essential oils. He returned to the U.S. with 13 different essential oils to begin his own research. He found the benefits to be astounding and his determination to achieve physical and emotional wellbeing, combined with his lifelong love of nature, drove him to learn everything about essential oils. Having grown up farming, it was natural for him to want to learn about growing the plants and producing the oils, which took him to France to learn the art of distillation under Mr. Henri Viaud, the French “father of distillation” in Provence, France, and Marcel Espieu, the president of the Lavender Growers Association. In 1988 Gary sold his research centre in Baja California and moved to Reno, Nevada, where
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he began his essential oil business. A year later he moved his business to Spokane, Washington, and began building a marketing company to expand his teachings about essential oils to as many people as possible. That was the origin of the presentday Young Living Essential Oils company. A rancher at heart, he purchased his first farm of 160 acres in May 1992 in the mountains of St. Maries, Idaho. On this farm the first lavender, clary sage, thyme and peppermint were planted; and it became a testing facility for new distillation practices. In 1993 Gary’s company in Riverton, Utah, became Young Living Essential Oils; and in 1994 it was incorporated. He then bought another 160 acres in Mona, Utah, in 1995 and started a new farm. Gary began looking internationally to discover new plants that could be distilled and brought to Young Living. Young Living became global when it expanded to Ecuador in 2006, starting with 2,300 acres of raw, unusable jungle land to begin farming. Gary also found an opportunity to help the children in the rural community of Chongon and founded the Young Living Academy. It was completed in March 2008; and by 2018, 350 students had attended, with 100 percent of the students from the first graduating class celebrating their commencement in March 2016. In 2009, on a mission to document the different frankincense and myrrh species still growing in Yemen, Gary travelled to Yemen’s “Forbidden Zone” to see the remains of the ancient civilisation that was once the centre of caravan trading, which included the precious frankincense and myrrh resins. He travelled to Oman to continue his research; and while walking through the markets, he saw thousands of bags of frankincense
resin being sold. This inspired Gary and gave him the desire to build a distillery in Salalah; and in January 2010, Young Living opened the first large commercial distillery for the extraction of Sacred Frankincense (Boswellia sacra) essential oil. Gary was passionate about providing only the highest quality oils, sourced from Young Living and partner farms and suppliers who met our standards, which was the beginning of Young Living’s proprietary Seed to Seal® programme. We ensure genuine, pure essential oils with verified testing and careful monitoring (Seed), through harvesting and distillation to the final bottling (Seal), which shows our commitment to quality. Young Living is well-known for its beautiful fields of lavender, but Gary knew that we would continually need more; so with the help of Jean-Noël Landel, his friend and lavender growing partner of 20 years; Benoît Cassan, the president of the French Lavender Growers Association; and JeanMarie Blanc, the farm manager who oversees Young Living’s planting, cultivating, harvesting and distilling in France, they merged their farms in southern France to create the Young Living Simiane-la-Rotonde Farm, one of the largest true lavender farms in the world. In the early days when Gary was studying in France, he gathered seeds from the true lavender plants, brought them home and planted them on his first farm in Idaho. About 20 years later, the French farmers began struggling to preserve their crops against viruses and fungus. At this critical time, Gary brought seeds back to France from the true lavender he had propagated in Idaho many years earlier. These seeds have grown into the only thriving lavender in Provence, France.
Young Living, while based in the United States, has international offices in Canada, Australia, South Africa, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Ecuador, Mexico, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Taiwan. We have 24 corporate and partner farms, more than 3,000 employees and over 6 million members. Young Living Essential Oils will continue to grow and share Gary’s vision around the world.
employees, and our millions of members, together, we will carry Gary’s torch forever forward, bringing our message to those waiting for a new message of wellness and abundance. Gary had the utmost confidence in Jared and the executive team and was at peace knowing the company is well-positioned to follow the path he envisioned over 25 years ago when we started Young Living.
As Gary travelled the world, he saw people in need everywhere and wanted to help, which brought about the incorporation of his Foundation, which is constantly growing and helping thousands. Gary’s research has led him to the far corners of the earth, making amazing discoveries that have advanced the knowledge of essential oils for the wellbeing of mankind. But perhaps the most important role essential oils played in his life was bringing the two of us together in our marriage of 25 years. We met at an expo in the Salt Palace in the centre of Salt Lake City and were married in 1994. We are blessed with two sons, Jacob and Josef. Now, as the CEO of Young Living Essential Oils, the company that Gary and I founded together, my quest is to continue carrying Gary’s vision to the world. I feel blessed to have worked in the direct sales industry as a distributor for 10 years prior to Young Living, which gives me a terrific advantage in understanding our business from the member viewpoint. It’s a delicate balance with corporate and the field, and I absolutely love it. I believe Gary and I were the perfect match, with Gary, the visionary, and me, the realist; and with Jared Turner, president and COO, our wonderful executive team, dedicated
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his legacy
BUILDING
To honour Gary’s memory and legacy, Young Living’s industry-leading Research and Development department was renamed as the D. Gary Young Research Institute. This name serves as a continual reminder that Gary’s vision, expertise and commitment to quality are forever fully infused into our product research and development efforts. Many of the highly-trained scientists at the D. Gary Young Research Institute worked side-by-side with Gary in the lab and have absorbed his approach, wisdom and intentions when it comes to developing new products for Young Living. We’re thrilled to honour Gary’s legacy with the D. Gary Young Research Institute as we carry his tradition of quality and innovation forward for generations to come.
12,000 acres. 18.75 square miles. That’s how much land Young Living donated to the state of Utah to create the D. Gary Young Wildlife Sanctuary, ensuring that local flora and fauna can recover and flourish. Young Living, The Nature Conservancy and the Utah Department of Transportation partnered to help protect the delicate ecosystem of the Duchesne River and retain its natural path. As part of the conservation effort, Young Living is also growing native plants in the most depleted animal crossings and migratory routes to help local animal populations recover. This property is one of the largest land donations the state of Utah has ever received, and we are proud to represent the Young Living 5×5 Pledge in such a dramatic way!
Happi Magazine Good Things Utah Better Homes & Gardens Fox 13 Good Day Utah Woman’s Day Women’s Health People Magazine featuring Savvy Minerals®
T HE D. GA RY YO U NG, YO UNG LI VI NG FOU NDATION Gary not only created the D. Gary Young, Young Living Foundation, but he also befriended those he served along the way. Here’s what the D. Gary Young, Young Living Foundation accomplished last year:
5X MORE PEOPLE EMPOWERED
Helped 45,765 people through 5,542 volunteer hours and $437,661 in donated products.
Launched the D. Gary Young Leadership Endowment, providing scholarships to YL Academy graduates
Saw the expansion of the Hope for Justice Shine School come to completion
Funded Healing Faith Uganda's new mobile malaria treatment unit to help fight disease in areas where 60-90% of people test positive for malaria
Rebuilt and restored six schools in Nepal and one school in the Philippines, helping provide education to 1,500 MORE STUDENTS
D O N AT E D $ 1 0 0 , 0 0 0
BROKE GROUND ON THE SECOND MALARIA CENTRE
Completed a new women's co-op centre in Nepal that offers microloans and business training to
to All Hands and Hearts to accelerate restoration efforts in the Bahamas and flood-stricken areas of Texas
Opened a new Lighthouse centre in Uganda to help survivors of human trafficking
2,500 WOMEN
Empowered local communities with our first annual E M P L O Y E E S E R V I C E D AY D O N AT E D $ 7 0 , 0 0 0
to firefighting and reforestation efforts in the wake of the Amazon fires
Celebrated the fourth graduating class at the YL ACADEMY
Worked with partners like Hope for Justice, Healing Faith Uganda, Sole Hope and All Hands and Hearts
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We call it
SEED SEAL® It’s not a slogan—it’s our calling. TO
D. Gary Young surrounded by lavender, May 1999