Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson will be the grand marshal of Utah’s 2026 Days of ’47 Parade in Salt Lake City on Friday, July 24, 2026 (Pioneer Day in Utah). President Johnson will be joined by her husband, Doug.
“I am delighted to serve as the grand marshal of the Days of ’47 Parade,” President Johnson said in an interview on Tuesday. “Of course, I love a good parade but also appreciate the significance of this assignment where we honor our pioneer ancestors. So, I’m honored to do this and I’m excited for the parade.”
President Johnson, a descendant of pioneers who came to the Salt Lake Valley in the 1800s, said she draws strength from her ancestry.
“I know there are pioneers all over the world pioneering in their own ways,” she continued. “I think we ought to emulate the qualities of those early pioneers who were tenacious, sought unity in their efforts and remained faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
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| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
President Johnson was called as Relief Society General President in April 2022. Prior to this assignment, she was the Church’s Primary General President for 16 months. Before that, she and Doug led the Peru Arequipa Mission from 2016 to 2019.
President Johnson graduated from the University of Utah in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in English, followed by a law degree from the University of Utah in 1989. She practiced law for nearly 30 years.
As the global leader of the Church’s Relief Society, President Johnson has championed global initiatives focused on the temporal and spiritual relief of women and children. Under her stewardship, the Relief Society has led major humanitarian efforts centered on child nutrition, maternal care, immunizations and education. Traveling extensively to direct these efforts, she has strengthened collaborations with global nonprofits while teaching about building spiritual resilience and practicing Christlike peacemaking.
About Pioneer Day
Pioneer Day honors the Latter-day Saint pioneers who entered the valley in July 1847. Between 1847 and 1868, when the transcontinental railroad was nearly complete, some 60,000 to 70,000 Church members migrated from the United States, Canada and Europe across the North American Great Plains to Utah and the surrounding area.
Before these migrants arrived, the central Utah region was inhabited by several communities of Uintah, Timpanogots, Sanpits, Pahvant, and Moanunts peoples. These groups collectively identified themselves as Nuche (“the People”). As early as the 1600s, Spanish missionaries referred to Nuche bands as “Yutas.” By the early 1800s, English speakers variously rendered the Spanish term as “Utaws,” “Yutas,” “Eutaw,” “Eutahs,” “Utes,” and “Utahn.” As with other place names thought to have a Native American origin, the United States government borrowed the name “Utah” for the territory in 1850. (Read more in this topic page about Utah.)
