Biography

Billings studied engineering, technology and business at Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

 (BYU). Later he became an executive and General Manager at CalDisk, a company founded by his brother, Roger E. Billings

Roger E. Billings

Roger Evan Billings is an American businessman, inventor and developer of high-tech products. Billings is best known for his pioneering work in the computer industry and as a developer of hydrogen energy technologies....

, which developed rotating memory storage products for computers. In 1983 he joined IDC, a leasing company for commercial facilities, where he served as President and Managing Parter.

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), Billings was a missionary

Missionary (LDS Church)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...

 in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 as a young man. Later in life, he was served as president of the Provo Utah Central Stake from 1991 to 2000.

From 1995 to 1998 Billings was the Chief Administrative Officer in Provo and directed community and government relations. He was also active in civic and local community organizations, including the Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce

Chamber of commerce

A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...

, the Utah Valley

Utah Valley

Utah Valley is a valley in North Central Utah located in Utah County, and is considered part of the Wasatch Front. It contains Provo, Orem, and their suburbs, including Highland, Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs, Mapleton, Spanish Fork, Lindon, Pleasant Grove, Springville, Lehi, Payson, and...

 Manufacturers Council, the Boy Scouts of America

Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...

 Provo District, and Utah's Fourth District Judicial Nominating Commission

Judicial nominating commission

A judicial nominating commission in the United States, is a body used by some U.S. states to recommend or select potential justices and judges for appointments by state governments....

. Active in the Utah Republican Party

Utah Republican Party

The Utah State Republican Party works to nominate and support the election of Republican candidates in partisan races for public office in the state of Utah...

, Billings was a delegate at four Republican National Conventions and was one of five United States Presidential electors from Utah in 2000.

Mayor of Provo

Billings campaign for mayor of Provo in 1998 was endorsed by the previous mayor, George Stewart. During his mayoral term Billings pushed for the development of iProvo

IProvo

iProvo is the name of the Fiber to the Home service in Provo, Utah. Provo's backbone connects homes and businesses throughout the city, as well as municipal buildings, schools, power stations, and traffic signals. Construction began in July 2004 and was completed within two years...

 and the transformation of the old Brigham Young Academy campus into the library at Academy Square.
Billings was also known for maintaining the city's policy of closing municipal facilities on Sunday. Some of his other mayoral activity included work on the Utah Lake Commission, Provo Municipal Airport

Provo Municipal Airport

Provo Municipal Airport is a public airport located two miles west of the city of Provo in Utah County, Utah, USA. It is currently the second busiest public airport in Utah in terms of aircraft movements, with 172,000 logged aircraft operations in a twelve month period ending in May 2007.The...

 improvements, participation in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, local economic development, and celebrating Provo's sesquicentennial in 1999.

As mayor he worked on local boards and commissions, including the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, the Utah Municipal Power Agency

Utah Municipal Power Agency

Utah Municipal Power Agency is a cooperative of cities in the State of Utah. The cooperative includes the cities and towns of Levan, Utah; Manti, Utah; Nephi, Utah; Provo, Utah; Salem, Utah; and Spanish Fork, Utah which each own their own electric utility systems...

, the Utah County Clean Air Commission, the American Public Power Association

American Public Power Association

The American Public Power Association is the service organization for the more than 2,000 U.S. community-owned electric utilities that serve more than 46 million Americans....

, the United States Conference of Mayors

United States Conference of Mayors

United States Conference of Mayors, sometimes referred to as the United States Council of Mayors, is the official non-partisan organization for cities with populations of 30,000 or more. The cities are each represented by their mayor or other chief elected official...

Standing Committee on Energy and Environment, and as chairman of the Utah State Quality Growth Commission.

Billings retired as mayor at the end of 2009 and has yet to divulge his future political aspirations.