Doug Webb grew up in Lehi, Utah, shaped by a farming grandfather, an agronomist father who worked at BYU, and a tight-knit community that knew him at his best and worst. He wanted to be a farmer. When that path wasn't available after returning from a mission, he turned to education — teaching agriculture, shop, and science — because, as he put it, 'I could teach what I couldn't do.' What followed was a 25-year relationship with Lehi High School. He oversaw a four-year campus reconstruction, navigated the emotional complexity of leading people who once taught him, and watched Lehi grow from a single high school serving Highland and Fairfield into a city with multiple campuses. His philosophy: take care of people, let young people recover from mistakes, get involved, and know the art of what to overlook.
Life Lessons
- • People were willing to let me recover — and that made all the difference.
- • The art of being wise is the art of what to overlook.
- • The hardest part of leadership is slowing down enough to take care of people.
- • All the kids are awesome and equal — they just are.
- • Change can be good and hard at the same time.
- • If we take care of each other, we're going to be okay.
- • Get involved — it's a great place.
Timeline
Grew up in Lehi, attended Lehi High School
Began teaching agriculture, shop, and science at Lehi High School
Transitioned into administration as assistant principal at Lehi High
Served as administrator at Oak Canyon Junior High
Returned to Lehi High School as principal
Oversaw four-year design-build reconstruction of Lehi High campus
Joined Ryan Harding on Roots & Branches of Lehi
Memorable Quotes
"I could teach what I couldn't do."
Doug Webb
Roots Run Deep in the Classroom — Doug Webb on Education, Leadership, and a Lifetime of Serving Lehi
"All the kids are awesome and equal — they just are."
Doug Webb
Roots Run Deep in the Classroom — Doug Webb on Education, Leadership, and a Lifetime of Serving Lehi
"People were willing to let me recover — and that made all the difference."
Doug Webb
Roots Run Deep in the Classroom — Doug Webb on Education, Leadership, and a Lifetime of Serving Lehi
"If we take care of each other, we're going to be okay."
Doug Webb
Roots Run Deep in the Classroom — Doug Webb on Education, Leadership, and a Lifetime of Serving Lehi
"The grass isn't greener — it's just a different flavor."
Doug Webb
Roots Run Deep in the Classroom — Doug Webb on Education, Leadership, and a Lifetime of Serving Lehi
"Change can be good and it can be hard at the same time."
Doug Webb
Roots Run Deep in the Classroom — Doug Webb on Education, Leadership, and a Lifetime of Serving Lehi
"The hardest part of leadership is slowing down enough to take care of people."
Doug Webb
Roots Run Deep in the Classroom — Doug Webb on Education, Leadership, and a Lifetime of Serving Lehi
"The best thing I've learned about leadership is from all the mistakes I've made."
Doug Webb
Roots Run Deep in the Classroom — Doug Webb on Education, Leadership, and a Lifetime of Serving Lehi
"The art of being wise is the art of what to overlook."
Doug Webb
Roots Run Deep in the Classroom — Doug Webb on Education, Leadership, and a Lifetime of Serving Lehi
"Get involved — it's a great place."
Doug Webb
Roots Run Deep in the Classroom — Doug Webb on Education, Leadership, and a Lifetime of Serving Lehi
"I wouldn't consider myself a pillar, but I sure love the community."
Doug Webb
Roots Run Deep in the Classroom — Doug Webb on Education, Leadership & a Lifetime of Serving Lehi
Stories
Doug Webb
The 5 A.M. Doorbell
As a 10-year-old paperboy in Lehi, Doug Webb was late delivering a Sunday paper. The homeowner — someone Doug admired deeply — let his father know. The next week, Doug overcorrected in a very 10-year-old way: he rang the doorbell at 5:00 a.m. to prove the paper had arrived on time. When confronted, he panicked and denied it — but his dad pointed out the obvious. Decades later, Doug taught that family's grandchildren at Lehi High. During difficult years of school growth and construction, that family supported him and told others: 'Doug's working on it. We're okay.' The circle closed across two generations.
Doug Webb
Does Anybody Like You?
At a basketball game, Doug's son Ryan watched parents approach his dad with concerns about their kids not making teams or getting opportunities. Young Ryan turned to his father and asked, simply, 'Dad, does anybody like you?' Doug used the moment as a teaching opportunity. He explained: in a school of 1,800 students, only five from each grade would start. Every student is awesome and equal — they just are. But the system can't give every student every opportunity, and absorbing that gap between what students deserve and what systems can provide is one of the hidden burdens of school leadership.
Doug Webb
Four Years of Construction at Lehi High
For four consecutive years, Lehi High School was a construction zone. The design-build reconstruction — constrained by a tight campus footprint — required creative collaboration between teachers, administrators, architects from Naylor Wentworth, and the Alpine School District. Neighbors across the street endured years of dust and mud with patience. Doug describes the experience as unexpectedly joyful, despite its difficulty. 'I wouldn't change that for the world. Everyone was so good to work with.' The result was a compact but beautiful modern campus — built by a community that showed up.
Doug Webb
Everything But a Backpack Day
Students at Lehi High approached Principal Webb and proposed an 'Everything But a Backpack Day.' Doug approved it without fully imagining the creative possibilities. The night before, his own kids asked to borrow the old microwave and crockpot. He didn't connect the dots. The next morning, students arrived with garbage cans, crockpots, microwaves, dogs, and younger siblings to carry their books. Administration huddled and reached a unanimous conclusion: the students had won. At graduation, Doug acknowledged it publicly: 'Chalk one up for the students — they beat us that day.'
Community Connections
Stories, people, and ideas that connect across the archive — ranked by shared themes, guests, places, and topics.
Related Episodes
(4)How One Family’s Farming Legacy Continues to Shape Lehi
Nathan Bushman
Exploring Lehi’s Heart with Educator Doug Webb | Roots and Branches of Lehi
Doug Webb
A Life of Learning: The Educational Journey of Principal Tim Brantley
Tim Brantley
Behind the Coach's Whistle: Andy Hadfield's Story as Lehi HS Football Head Coach
Andy Hadfield
Related People
(4)Andy Hadfield
Head Football Coach, Lehi High School · Business Owner · Lifelong Lehi Resident
Phil Hanks
Grandson of Ephraim Hanks · Mission President (Samoa) · Temple President (Samoa) · Church Education System Leader · Stake President · Senior Missionary (Ukraine, Freiburg) · Lehi Resident
Mark Johnson
Mayor of Lehi, Former City Council Member, Engineer & Business Owner
Lara Bangerter
Manager, Lehi Historical Society & Archives
Related Stories
(4)The 5 A.M. Doorbell
Doug Webb
Everything But a Backpack Day
Doug Webb
Four Years of Construction at Lehi High
Doug Webb
The Coach Who Never Planned to Coach
Andy Hadfield
Related Quotes
(4)"The hardest part of leadership is slowing down enough to take care of people."
— Doug Webb
"I wouldn't consider myself a pillar, but I sure love the community."
— Doug Webb
"The ability to love people."
— Phil Hanks
"People were willing to let me recover — and that made all the difference."
— Doug Webb
Related Themes
(3)Civic Leadership
Profiles of the people who shaped local government, planning, and policy in Lehi — and what their stories reveal about what good leadership actually looks like at the community level.
Family Legacy
The stories of families who planted roots in Lehi across generations — the ones who built the traditions, the parks, the businesses, and the sense of belonging that others now enjoy.
Community Resilience
How Lehi residents have navigated challenge, change, growth, and hardship — and emerged with optimism, connection, and a deeper appreciation for what they've built together.
Ways to Serve
(4)Mentor through the Miss Lehi Pageant
Miss Lehi Pageant
Mentor youth through the FFA program
Future Farmers of America (FFA)
Volunteer for Lehi Roundup Committee
Lehi Roundup Committee
Volunteer with Alpine School District
Alpine School District