West Jordan Journal | March 2025 by The City Journals

Small but mighty community

By Jet Burnham | j.burnham@mycityjournals.com

just want her to feel completely surrounded with support while she goes through something so unimaginable,” George said.

The Hawthorn Academy family has rallied around third grade teacher Maggie Licea and her 10-year-old son Jaxen Christensen, a Hawthorn student who is terminally ill.

“It’s a small community, but we’re mighty, that’s for sure,” Hawthorn Academy teacher Alisha George said.

Hawthorn Academy, a free public charter school, has 1,400 students between the two campuses. Colleagues and families from both the West Jordan and South Jordan campuses have donated money, gift cards and meals to the family. To enable Licea and her husband to spend their remaining time with their son at home, teachers have helped facilitate substitute teachers and donated their PTO days to supplement Licea’s FMLA time off.

“We’ve had people help—from people that are really close to her at school to people who just know her in passing and just know her by her name—I mean, she’s still one of us, and we

In late January, George and her two sisters Autumn Brown and Amber Walker who also teach at Hawthorn Academy, organized a community fundraiser to benefit the Licea-Christensen family.

“It started out as just kind of a yard sale/ bake sale, and then it just kind of took off,” George said. “We had people reaching out from all walks of life—just so many people rallied around to offer things and donate things. It was the most amazing outreach I’ve ever been a part of.”

There were Nintendo switches, and brand new TVs donated. The school custodian donated a moped. Dominoes and Massage Envy donated gift cards. Brennen Woodward with Blue Gecko Apparel printed T-shirts with Jaxen’s favorite animal, a squirrel, which has become a symbol of support among his friends and family. People sold baked goods, jewelry, new and

The yard sale/bake sale fundraiser organized by Hawthorn Academy teachers raised

colleague and her family. (Photo courtesy of Alisha George)

Ladies Take the Lead with Experience, Passion and Purpose at CommonSpirit Holy Cross Hospitals

“Ido this work for my father, for families like ours, and ultimately, for the glory of God,” said Martha Boutsikakis Gamble, Chief Nursing Ofﬁcer (CNO) at Holy Cross Hospital - West Valley and registered nurse for over 20 years.

For many, a career in healthcare is more of a calling - a decision made that was shaped by past experiences with loved ones, or even personal health scares of their own. This type of desire to care for others and passion to pursue a career in healthcare rings especially true for the ladies who are taking the lead at our CommonSpirit Health Holy Cross Hospitals in West Jordan and West Valley City.

Martha was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, to immigrant parents from Crete, Greece. While her parents spoke conversational English, her role as the eldest child often involved translating for them in settings where language wasn’t necessarily the barrier but rather, cultural understanding wasthis included translating at her dad’s appointments with his dietitian.

“When I was only about 11 or 12 years old, my father was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes,” said Martha. “It quickly became clear during his appointments that the meal recommendations we were receiving didn’t align with the food we grew up eating, nor did they consider the cultural context of our meals.”

In an attempt to adapt to the dietitian’s recommendations, the meals Martha and her family ate were repetitive… for nearly a decade.

“These early experiences fostered in me a calling—not only to serve but to advocate for

communities like mine, where language and culture can create unseen barriers to quality healthcare,” said Martha.

For Christine McSweeney, President of Holy Cross Hospitals - Jordan Valley and West Valley, her path to healthcare leadership began as a passion to explore the science behind nutrition and how to properly fuel our bodies.

“I’m a science nerd at heart,” said Christine. “I get excited about seeing people and myself thrive and improve through proper nutrition and care”

Christine’s career began at Banner Health in Arizona where she was a clinical dietitian. Over the course of 20 years, Christine climbed the ranks to eventually serve as Chief Operating Ofﬁcer of a large academic center in downtown Phoenix before she joined the CommonSpirit Health leadership team ﬁve years ago, stepping into her current President role in 2023.

“My experience here in Utah has been like no other. It is full of neighbors helping neighbors, strong family values, amazing outdoor beauty and a true haven for healthy lifestyles. This way of living and thinking really brings me back to my roots as a dietitian” said Christine. “In addition, it certainly doesn’t hurt that the people we have working for CommonSpirit in the Greater Salt Lake market are loyal, dedicated and lean into our mission with their values ﬁrst!”

Katie Flores, CNO at Holy Cross HospitalMountain Point and Interim CNO at Holy Cross Hospital - Jordan Valley, kicked off her healthcare

career in 2001 as a registered nurse - initially caring for patients at the bedside in Med/Surg and in the Emergency Department.

Over the years, Katie transitioned into leadership roles and has been serving as CNO for the last 10 years. A passionate caregiver, Katie’s background actually started with a dream to work in broadcast media… but that quickly changed.

“I realized early on that broadcast wasn’t the right ﬁt for me - I felt a lack of connection and fulﬁllment so I pursued a career that would allow me to make a meaningful impact on others,” said Katie. “After going through some personal life experiences that led me to seek healthcare myself, I decided to make a change. I went back to school to pursue a career in healthcare—one that I could feel passionate about every day and truly connect with on a deeper level.”

Though different backgrounds and experiences fuel this leadership team’s passion to do what they do every day, Christine shared that the common thread between them all is, “This team of women lead with strength, conﬁdence, curiosity, determination and heart…. it is present in everything we do and apparent in the quality of care our hospitals provide. I cannot wait to see all we continue to accomplish, together.”

At CommonSpirit Health, we make the healing presence of God known in our world by improving the health of the people we serve, especially those who are vulnerable, while we advance social justice for all.

Learn more about the services, care providers and missiondriven work of the Holy Cross hospitals and CommonSpirit Health at www.holycrossutah.org.

Parent wants ADHD to receive more focused attention from educators.

By Jet Burnham j.burnham@mycityjournals.com

Teachers are seeing an increase in num-

bers of students with ADHD, which affects their academic, social and emotional development. Some said one-third to almost half of the students in their classroom have ADHD. The diagnosis means their brains are wired differently, and it is challenging for them to complete tasks, stay focused, remember the steps they’ve learned and to control their impulses and emotional responses.

Deficit of understanding

ADHD behaviors require alternatives to traditional teaching and discipline methods, said Raquel Gonçalves Lubbers. When she was teaching, she didn’t understand how her students with ADHD brains’ processed information. Years later, when she, her husband and all of their children were diagnosed with ADHD, she became an expert in order to understand how to work through their struggles. She was shocked when she tended to know more about the subject than the mental health professionals she met with. She was also surprised to discover school teachers don’t receive any explicit training on ADHD.

“In school, they would tell us about some things we might see, some disabilities, learning disabilities, things like that, but as far as what to do about them, how to help those kids? — I didn’t get specific training,” third grade teacher Joy Edman said.

Eventually, Lubbers created a website of resources (adhdheroacademy.com)

There’s a deficit of attention for ADHD

and became a certified ADHD coach to help people understand and manage their ADHD. She serves on the board for the newly organized Utah ADHD Collective and also hopes to start an ADHD podcast. She is offering a free webinar Feb. 27 at 6:30 p.m.

The impact of ignorance

Lubbers’ concern is that failing to ad-

dress ADHD appropriately can be damaging to kids.

“These kids are underperforming because they need support, and they don’t even know they need support,” Lubbers said. “They just assume that they’re a terrible person, and so does everyone else, because everyone’s told them their whole lives, ‘You could be so much better if you just tried. Why don’t you care?’— all the

language of failure, blame and shame.”

Research shows people with ADHD have higher rates of suicide, anxiety, depression and school dropouts, Lubbers said.

“It is shocking, isn’t it, that there isn’t more specific training to help this portion of the population that have really dire consequences because they aren’t getting the support that they need,” she said.

Lubbers developed a training pre-

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Bryan Scott | bryan.s@thecityjournals.com EDITOR

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South 500 West, Suite 205 Sandy, UT 84070 PHONE: 801-254-5974

WEST JORDAN TEAM

ADHD coach Raquel Gonçalves Lubbers presents information about ADHD to the staff of a Daybreak Elementary to help them better understand and help their students. (Photo courtesy Raquel Gonçalves Lubbers)

sentation specifically for educators to help them understand the reasons behind the behavior exhibited from students with ADHD. She has reached out to school administrators and district representatives to advocate for more training, more understanding, more supports and more resources for both students and their teachers.

By educating parents and teachers, Lubbers hopes that attitudes toward ADHD will improve and kids will get the support they need.

Lubbers said many secondary school teachers don’t realize kids with ADHD can have as much as a 30% delay in the executive functioning skills needed to work independently.

“As executive functions go in their brain, they’re still in elementary school, but no one’s supporting it because they assume they should know this by now,” Lubbers said.

ADHD solutions in the classroom

Lubbers presented her training to the staff at Daybreak Elementary School and wishes more educators would prioritize ADHD-specific training.

“I recognize that the initial gut reaction of admins and teachers is probably ‘I can’t even do one more thing,’” she said. “They don’t realize that this ‘one more thing’ actually helps them in everything. It helps themselves and it helps put them into a position to make tiny little changes that make everything easier in the classroom.”

Because she didn’t receive any specific training on ADHD, Edman said when she first began teaching, she struggled to understand her students with ADHD.

“As I’ve gotten to know the kids better, I realize that they legitimately think about things differently,” she said.

The strategies she now uses in her classroom to help these students were learned through experience and experimentation.

“It’s a lot of ‘Let’s try it and see if this works,’” she said. “And you’ve got to persevere through that hard time where it’s not working and not give up too early on something.”

Some of her students with ADHD are motivated by reward charts, especially when they are themed according to their interests. Others need a visual checklist to help them stay organized and on-task. Edman said many of the strategies she uses to help students with attention deficits and executive functioning struggles—repeating directions multiple times, having kids repeat instructions, using visual reminders and timers—are simply best practices for teachers.

Some of the strategies fifth grade teacher Angelique Boyles has found to be effective are allowing students to take frequent breaks and using games and challenges to stimulate and motivate them.

“ADHD is such a grab bag of symp-

toms,” Boyles said. “It shows up in so many different ways and so many different combinations that what works for one kid doesn’t always work for the others. But there are definitely ones that usually work so I try those first.”

Boyles actively follows ADHD experts on social media, reads books and listens to podcasts to continually learn new strategies.

“I’m always looking for something— what do I not know? What else can I try? What else can I put in my toolbox to try for these kids?” she said.

Boyles didn’t understand how ADHD was impacting her students until her own child was diagnosed with ADHD.

“Their brains just work differently,” she said. “They’re still good people, they’re very kind, they want to learn and they want to succeed just like anybody else, but their executive functioning skills, that part of their brain, is developing at two-thirds the rate of a normal child.”

Once she understood that, she was able to take a more compassionate approach when ADHD behaviors disrupted her classroom.

“ADHD is something you are born with,” she said. “It’s the way your brain is functioning, and it’s not something that you can train yourself and then you don’t have it anymore. You will always have ADHD. But there are strategies and things that you can do to help minimize those effects.”

She happily shares what she’s learned with parents or colleagues who ask. Without explicit training, that is how most teachers learn how to help their students with ADHD. In a school full of teachers, there’s always someone who has been through the same situation that you are struggling with now, Edman said.

“I’ve been so lucky to have great teachers around me that I could go to and say, ‘Hey, this is what I’m noticing—what do I do?’” Edman said.

School resources

Each school in Jordan District also has a psychologist who is available as a resource for teachers.

“Our training in mental health and assessment allows us to have that background knowledge, to know how to work with kids that are experiencing ADHD in the classroom,” Fort Herriman Middle School Psychologist Jared Bailey said.

Psychologists can help teachers understand ADHD and they can suggest strategies and resources. They can also work with students individually—at a parent’s request—to help them figure out ways to organize their assignments, manage their impulse control or regulate their emotions, which helps improve students’ behavior in the classroom.

Accommodations for ADHD

Students with ADHD symptoms severe

enough to interfere with their ability to access learning can qualify for accommodations through a Section 504 plan. In Jordan District, 2,683 students (4.75% of all students) have a 504 plan to address ADHD, diabetes or other disabilities.

Jordan District 504 Teacher Specialist Glenn Williams explains, “A 504 plan is about identifying what problems the disability is causing for the student in terms of barriers to participating and then taking those barriers out of the way so that they can participate like everybody else. We’re not intending to fix those problems; we’re intending to remove those problems from the equation, in a sense, so that the student has a level playing field, or just has an equal opportunity to succeed.”

Accommodations for students with ADHD commonly include being allowed to take frequent movement breaks, getting an extension on due dates, having teachers repeat or give written instructions, establishing a signal teachers can use to subtly direct the student’s attention back to their task or having teachers check in with the student periodically to keep them on task.

Because the effects of ADHD vary depending on the type and the student, 504 plan accommodations are individualized, based on what specific challenges a student experiences. However, not every student with an ADHD diagnosis qualifies for a 504, and not all proposed accommodations are possible.

Ideally, Bailey said, students, parents, psychologists and teachers work together to determine the best accommodations.

“I think it takes everyone to help that child feel supported, and to look for ways that they can help them,” he said.

He said it’s helpful for secondary teachers especially to be involved so that they understand that the cause of the students’ behaviors is due to a difference in processing and development, not a defiant attitude.

Resources for families

Jordan District provides additional resources for parents and students with ADHD through the Jordan District Family Education Center, where the lending library has over 1,000 books covering a variety of topics including ADHD.

Classes offered at the Family Education Center can also help address behaviors associated with ADHD. There is a class specifically for parenting children with ADHD, but Bailey said other classes such as those that address anger management, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, social skills and mindfulness can also be beneficial.

Families can also utilize the Family Education Center’s free, short-term counseling services to get an ADHD diagnosis or to learn strategies and skills to reduce their challenges.

If parents suspect their child has ADHD, they can reach out to their child’s doctor or a school psychologist for an evaluation. While some parents are reluctant to label their kids because of a negative stigma or misunderstanding of ADHD, many experts say that without a diagnosis to explain their behaviors and struggles, a child is left exposed to inaccurate and hurtful labels such as “troublemaker,” “lazy” and “rude.” l

Editor’s note: an incorrect version of this story ran in the February edition. This is the correct version.

Textured wobble cushions are available to Joy Edman’s third grade students who need to move around in their seat without distracting others. (Photo courtesy Joy Edman)

Scott Hammer, fleet mechanic and self-taught artist, is the latest to have art showcased at West Jordan City Hall as part of a rotating exhibit highlighting local talent.

By Rebecca Olds rebecca.o@thecityjournals.com

Scott

Hammer is the latest artist to don the halls of West Jordan City Hall with their work.

Hammer’s work was chosen by Rachel O’Crowly, the president of the West Jordan Cultural Arts Society. At least six artists will be highlighted throughout the year.

“He really is a very gentle soul,” O’Crowly said.

His art is hung up in the first level of the city hall, rather than in the former Shore Gallery found on the top floor of the building, to make it more accessible for all residents passing through to see during open hours Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Her personal favorite piece hanging up is Hammer’s painting of Biltmore Mansion, which she said the city now has its own “little piece” of.

It’s through recommendations from the community O’Crowly found Hammer and

Local artist’s work hanging in City Hall

his work.

Hammer, born in 1963 in the Salt Lake Valley, started creating art in 2016 and since then has created anywhere from 250 to 300 unique pieces of various sizes.

The art pieces range from depictions of buildings, ships, far-off places, normal objects and more. The collection in city hall ranges from 10 to 20 pieces.

“He’s never even been to those places, he just painted those off of pictures that he’s seen,” O’Crowly said. “He’s got a talented mind, and he hasn’t even been painting for that long.”

Hammer’s full-time career is as a fleet mechanic for West Jordan City.

O’Crowly said the organization is excited to announce that in March literary work will be highlighted alongside visual art that’s been chosen in the past.

To submit artists to highlight at city hall or volunteer with the art society, residents can email O’Crowley at rocrowley@wjarts.org.

The Cultural Arts Society is home to several groups including Youth theater, the Sugar Factory Playhouse, orchestra, jazz band, literary arts and visual arts.

“We’re always open to anybody, any type of genre of art,” O’Crowley said. “It’s such a welcoming community.” l

Coming Spring 2025!

Scott Hammer’s collection in city hall includes between 10 to 20 paintings, showcasing his range from buildings to scenery to objects. (Rebecca Olds/City Journals)

Wellness at Westland kicks-off with kindness

safety, the D.A.R.E. anti-drug program, mental health, physical health, pedestrian safety and hygiene habits.

By Jet Burnham j.burnham@mycityjournals.com

Westland Elementary School students and their fam-

ilies made 300 hygiene kits and collected 164 pairs of shoes for Utah Foster Care during their annual Kindness Week.

“It’s so meaningful to know that a child is helping out another child,” Utah Foster Care Specialist Esmeralda Malili said. “Sometimes these kids don’t know that the kids in their school or their friends are the people that they’re serving.”

Westland Elementary School PTA executive board member Hillary Moser said the annual Kindness Week service project was bigger and better this year thanks to a grant from National PTA and donations by Walmart.

“Usually our service project just has to be donated things, but we were able to purchase everything for the hygiene kits,” she said.

The Kindness Week service project was also expanded to a Wellness Fair.

“We send out a survey at the end of each year, asking, ‘What are you most concerned about for your child at Westland?’ and the biggest one is always kindness and bullying, so that’s why we have our Kindness Month, but then we’ve never been able to address any of the other areas which people do answer, too, so I was excited that we were able to do this Wellness Fair that can add to all these resources for families.”

A variety of booths and activities, hosted by the West Jordan Library, the West Jordan Fire Department and Police Departments, Utah State University, Jordan District Student Safety Department, Safe Routes Utah and Walmart, focused on fire

West Jordan Fire Department shared tips for home safety and advertised community classes for CPR, Jr Firefighter Academy, Citizen Readiness Corps and Babysitting Academy.

Jordan Landing Walmart Store Manager Cody Backman shared information about Walmart’s pharmacy, vaccines and delivery services.

“We’re just here talking about our pharmacy and some of the benefits, so just trying to teach the kids how the pharmacy can help keep them safe and healthy,” Backman said.

Representatives of Safe Routes Utah talked to kids about pedestrian safety and had them practice using a crosswalk. They directed families to the school’s safe walking route published online at saferouteutah.gov.

Safe Routes Utah representative Madison Okumura said pedestrians, both adults and children, should verify a driver is paying attention before they begin crossing a street.

”Even if a car sees them, it doesn’t mean they will stop for them, and so they have to be making eye contact and not running in front of cars,” she said.

Students joined an exercise activity to enjoy physical fitness and practiced good hand-washing techniques and then looked at their hands under a dirt-revealing light to see where they’d missed.

The Wellness Fair and service project was held on the final day of Kindness Week in which daily dress-up days and activities focused on kindness, such as making a new friend or giving a compliment. Each kindness performed was written on a paper shoe and then displayed with other shoes along the top of the school hallways as a visual representation of the kindness of Westland students.

Students also created a collaborative artwork project, making 20 kindness posters which were posted around the school.

Liesel Spencer, who was a substitute teacher during that week, said Kindness Week was fun for the kids but also made an impact on them.

“When we would walk through the hallways, the kids were always pointing out all the things, reading the posters, and they’d come and tell me every time they’d do something kind,” she said. “They really were thinking about kindness more that week.”

Kindness Week was followed by Jordan School District’s Health and Wellness Day Friday Feb. 7. No classes were held that day so that students and staff members could engage in activities to benefit their mental and physical health. The district’s Wellness Department posted a list of resources and ideas for students and families to do, and arranged for more than 30 wellness activities, classes and discounts for district employees. l

A Westland Elementary student puts together a hygiene kit to benefit local foster kids. (Jet Burnham/City Journals)

Cultivating Family Culture: Meet the impressive fifth generation of RGS Exteriors and Construction

By Rebecca Olds rebecca.o@thecityjournals.com

Located in West Jordan, RGS Exteriors and Construction owner Tim Brown Jr. is the fourth generation in his family to run the business. At 14 years old he started working with his father Tim Brown Sr. to learn “how to work,” but he told his son that he didn’t want him to stay in the business forever because he expected him to “have a better life.”

“Ironically enough, I think that I have an amazing life, better than I can even imagine,” Tim Brown Jr. said.

Since partnering with his father in 2000, together they expanded the business to not only include the original gutter service but to be a one-stop shop for anything home exterior.

By being a family-led business, they also make their customers feel like they are a part of that family with personalized service. The reason they became a “onestop shop,” Brown said, was to give the community a trustworthy option for all of their home exterior needs.

Four generations of the company have been trusted by the wider Utah community to help with needs from gutters to full exterior renovations and despite what his father wished for him, Brown remained in the business and is even passing that same work ethic and company culture to his four kids as the fifth generation of the family-owned company.

“There’s not an advertisement that we have that doesn’t have our generational picture,” he said. “It’s to show and to tell everybody what we care about and what we’re going to do.”

Ranging in age from 18 to 24, Brown said his kids have been involved since the same age he started. All four have found

“There’s not an advertisement that we have that doesn’t have our generational picture,” said Tim Brown Jr., owner of RGS. “It’s to show and to tell everybody what we care about and what we’re going to do.”

ways to stay involved despite full schedules of school, athletics and more throughout the years.

Connor (18)

Brown described his youngest son, Connor Brown as “Mr. Everything,” alluding to his involvement in a lot at school.

The 14-year-old start time to work in the family business has helped cultivate a work ethic that translates to school.

“He’s a student body president, Sterling scholar, captain of the wrestling and football teams and an academic all-state in both football and wrestling,” Brown said.

“I mean, he just does it all, so he doesn’t have a lot of time to work, but when he does, he just comes and works in the shop.”

Adalee (20)

While in school full time to become a nurse practitioner, Adalee Brown works on the company’s social media presence. She started at the age of 16, sweeping the shop

as her first job.

Currently, she creates posts on Facebook and Instagram highlighting the happenings in the company.

“If she has time this year, what we’re going to have her do is go out on job sites with customers and talk to them and highlight what they’ve done,” Brown said.

The larger goal closer to the end of the year is to create a brand ambassador program to highlight more customer testimonials and expand the social media presence of RGS, making customers an even larger portion of the company’s focus.

Kaden (22)

The only full-time employee of the fifth generation, Kaden Brown works on the backend of the website. He started full time about a year ago. He’s currently in school to become a programmer and is using that knowledge to improve the online experience of RGS.

But he was involved long before his programming days, Brown said.

“Before he did that, he worked really kind of as a grunt, sweeping the floors, going out to job sites, taking trailers, going to the dump, just kind of being a project assistant and doing all the tedious things just to teach him how to work,” Brown said, recalling his similar experience during his teen years.

The two oldest boys even worked in the company’s full sheet metal shop where RGS does their custom bending projects for homes, working their way up in the company like everyone else.

Talmage (24)

Talmage Brown is the oldest son. He’s currently attending college in Southern Utah playing football and is the farthest away from home.

“We work hard, every generation of the company does,” Talmage said. “It is a great place to work and grow in this industry, I’m very blessed to have been there so long and have the opportunity to grow with it.”

For Brown, his oldest could be the reason the company expands further south in the future.

“If he doesn’t make it to the NFL, which is his dream, he is probably going to be involved in the company,” Brown said. “In the next five years, we’ll have a new division of RGS exteriors in southern Utah, because that’s going to be an opportunity for my son to get his feet wet in the business and do that in the southern Utah area.”

Brown said that his kids are critical to the culture that has been a part of the company since its beginning.

“I think having my kids around continues to solidify the culture and how important the culture is to us,” Brown said. “It’s not just my family, but we’re like family within a family— we have a ton of family working for us and together.”

As an example of the culture, he pointed to his sales team.

Despite the national presence of the company, which in other companies feeds competition among salespeople, Brown said his sales team is the opposite.

“They have a text group where, when somebody sells something, they text it, and it’s always congratulations,” he said. “They always want to help each other.”

Cultivating that culture within the company expands to a culture of caring outside of the company for customers.

Keeping with the family theme, many teams in the company include father-son duos.

“Summary from the top down to the bottom is that everybody’s really there to help each other,” Brown said.

RGS trains their employees regularly, introduces new products every one to two years and continues to impress customers with their business, shown in their overall 4.9 star Google review.

Brown said that just like the company has grown to include much more than when it first started with gutters, he’s excited to see what the future holds.

Who knows what else the next generation will bring to the company as they plan to be around for a lot longer still. l

Salt Lake County making strides in addressing housing shortages, per new study

West Jordan leads out on multi-family housing growth in Utah, while Sandy ranks nationally as a leader in “missing middle” growth.

By Rebecca Olds rebecca.o@thecityjournals.com

Housing shortages are happening across the nation, but no one knows that better than a Utahn, especially residents of Salt Lake County.

A new study that looks at data from 2005 to 2023 reveals interesting insights about Utah’s growth in housing overall and the growing efforts to secure the “missing middle” housing compared to the rest of the nation.

“Despite the challenges facing the housing market, there are encouraging signs of progress and adaptation,” reads the study. “Regions like the Sunbelt and Mountain West are actively building to meet demand, with cities in Texas, Florida and Utah leading the way in new home construction.”

West Jordan leads out on multi-family housing growth in Utah

Multi-family housing has increased over recent years and has “stepped up to meet the pressing need for more living space.”

“Amid the sluggish growth in single family and middle housing, the multifamily sector stepped up to meet the pressing need for more living space,” said the study. “From 2005 to 2023, multifamily housing boomed, with stock increasing by 54% to over 15 million apartment units by 2023.”

The study called the period from 2005 to 2023 “a

golden age” for the category and put West Jordan as the state leader of the category with a 19% increase in middle housing stock.

“West Jordan is now the place to be for families and young professionals alike,” reads an email from the study’s communication specialist, Biance Barsan. “It’s making waves as the fastest-growing city in Utah, with a 33% increase in housing inventory since 2005. But despite the rapid growth, challenges like affordability and the ‘missing middle’ still loom large.”

Sandy is close behind in second place with a 31% increase, Orem in third with a 26% increase, West Valley city in fourth with 22% and Salt Lake City is in fifth with a 21% increase, per the study.

Sandy a national leader in the nation for expanding medium density housing

Although Sandy ranks second in the state for multifamily housing growth, it is a national leader, coming in seventh in the country for medium-density housing growth.

The most current phrase, the “missing middle,” refers to specified efforts to increase the medium density housing seemingly missing or rare in the state.

“Middle housing — generally defined as a class of housing types including structures such as duplexes, triplexes, condos, townhomes, cluster homes, cottage courts and live/work units — has often been touted as a potential solution to the affordability crisis,” said the study. “However, it has yet to gain significant momentum.”

In the study, Sandy is ranked as the No. 7 city in the nation to increase its middle housing stock, with a 109% growth.

Orem is the next ranked city in Utah at No. 29, with a growth rate of 60%. Provo is ranked 73rd with a growth rate of 35% and West Jordan is ranked 154th with a growth rate of 19%.

Overall, the study called the middle housing growth across the nation “underwhelming” as the “lowest inventory increase among the major housing types.” l

SLCO Library hosts reading challenges and other events

Come summer time, the library will host a Summer Reading Challenge as a free activity for all ages. Take the ElevateHERTM Challenge

Are you a business leader?

At no cost, the ElevateHERTM Challenge is easy to accept and will benefit your company. Join businesses across Utah in our mission to elevate the stature of women’s leadership. Take the ElevateHERTM Challenge and stand with other businesses as we pledge to elevate women in senior leadership positions, in boardrooms, on management teams and on politcal ballots. LEARN MORE: www.wliut.com/elevateher-challenge

By Linda Steele l.steele@mycityjournals.com

Salt

Lake County Libraries hosted The Winter Reading Challenge in February. This is an annual event that offers the challenge of reading with a similar reading challenge will be hosted this summer.

“Building reading habits consistently helps to build your attention span, reduces stress, helps with well-being and builds curiosity,” Marissa Hodges said, public relations coordinator for Salt Lake County Libraries.

The Salt Lake County Library Winter Reading Challenge encourages patrons of all ages to read. Those who participated in the challenge found it helped them to try new formats, be creative, use different materials, help with online learning, meet new people and make new friends.

There are a variety of books available such as comic books, news, audiobooks, eBooks and reading with kids. The challenge is to set reading goals and try new formats.

The library offers creative opportunities through drawing, designing, writing and sculpting. As well as classes to start

a new hobby, games or connect with the community.

Come summer time, the library will host a reading challenge similar to the Winter Reading Challenge. The Summer Reading Challenge is a free activity for all ages.

To participate in the Summer Reading Challenge you can pick up a reading record at your local branch or register and track your record online. Returning a completed reading

record to your local library branch enables you to receive a book of your choice, or entry into a drawing to win a prize or get a coupon sheet for local attractions. In previous Summer Challenges there have been 5,400 finishers. You can go to your local library in your community and find all the events that happen at the Salt Lake County Libraries. Visit SLCOlibrary.org for more information. l

Housing shortages are happening across the nation, but no one knows that better than residents of Salt Lake County. (File photo City Journals)

Salt Lake County Libraries hosted The Winter Reading Challenge in February. (Photo courtesy Salt Lake County Library)

Welcome to a new community with a vision for sustainability. A place where outdoor activity and neighborhood clubs live alongside sageland stewardship and citizen science. Where new homes are designed to be as smart as they are beautiful. And where late-night conversation mingles with water conservation. It’s an idea being realized with input from people who will live here. Could that be you?

Another region championship goes to Copper Hills girls basketball

For the second year in a row, the Copper Hills girls basketball team won the Region 2 title. The Grizzlies headed into the state tournament looking to make another deep run.

By Josh McFadden

The Grizzlies followed up last season’s 9-1 region mark with the same record, once again capturing the league crown. Copper Hills finished the regular season with an 18-5 mark after going 25-2 a season ago and reaching the Class 6A state championship game. This year’s Grizzlies captured first place in region by two games over 7-3 Bingham and 7-3 Mountain Ridge. In region play, Copper Hills was dominant most of the time. The team’s only loss was a surprising setback to Riverton on Feb. 4, 43-42. The Grizzlies beat second-place Mountain Ridge twice, 56-39 on the road on Jan. 23 and 42-40 at home in the regular-season finale on Feb. 13. Seven of the Grizzlies’ nine league wins were by double digits, and the team won four games by at least 30 points in region outings. In addition, the stifling Copper Hills defense had four region contests in which the opponent failed to score more than 27 points. On Jan. 21, the Grizzlies blew out Herriman 58-14,

surrendering just seven points in each half.

Head coach Jake Timpson was pleased with the region title and had high hopes the girls could once again contend for the 6A championship. Copper Hills had a demanding non-region schedule that Timpson believed would pay dividends in the postseason.

“We feel pretty good about the season we have had,” he said. “We had the toughest schedule in 6A, and so we’ve taken some losses to some good teams. But in the end, we feel it has prepared us for the state tournament.”

Early on, the Grizzlies fell to Grantsville (the top team in 3A) and Ridgeline (the top team in 4A) as well as to a pair of out-of-state foes in a pre-Christmas tournament. Aside from the loss to Riverton, Copper Hills had an unblemished 2025 and weren’t challenged in most contests. Timpson knows the stakes are much higher—and more difficult—in the state tournament.

Though he has confidence that the Grizzlies can beat any opponent and vie for the state title, he also knows every game will be challenging. As the state tournament began, he was hoping the girls could continue their stellar defense and be ready to take every team’s best shot.

“We have to lean on our defense in the state playoffs, as offense usually takes a bit of a dip,” he said. “We like our chanc-

es, but we understand that if we don’t play well that any team in 6A can beat us, so we have to stay sharp and do the little things that helped get us where we are at. We believe we have a team that can win a championship, but we have to really kick it into another gear heading into the playoffs. Once you get into the playoffs, you throw the regular season out the window, and it just comes down to who wants it more and who executes the best in close games. We feel fortunate to be in the position we are in but are not looking past anyone. There are a lot of talented teams out there, so we need to be sharp.”

The 6A state tournament began Feb. 18 with first-round games at the home sites of higher-seeded teams. The Grizzlies secured a first-round bye and start in the second round at home on Feb. 20 after press deadline.

Senior guard Skylie Barker is the team’s leader in both points and rebounds with 20.1 and 6.9 a game, respectively. Her scoring average is tops in all of 6A. Barker is also second on the team in assists per game with 3.1 and first in steals with 1.7 a contest. She is also a good rim protecter, blocking 1.4 shots a contest. Barker scored in double figures in every game during the regular season, with a high of 34 points on Jan. 30 against Corner Canyon. Coincidentally, in that game she also had her season

high in rebounds with 15.

Senior guard Ayla Martson has been another top performer for the Grizzlies. She was second on the team in scoring during the regular season with an average of 10.7 points a game. Martson hit 43 three-pointers to pace the team and also led the way with just over four assists a contest. She was just behind Barker in rebounding, pulling down 5.2 boards every game.

Another senior, post player Aspen Fraser, has been a solid contributor and a key to the team’s success. Fraser scored 7.4 points a game during the regular season, third on the squad. She also averaged 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals a game.

On defense, Copper Hills gave up just 32.6 points a game in region play, more than 10 points a game better than Bingham.

Last season, the Grizzlies took a 22-1 record into the state tournament where it advanced with wins in the second round, quarterfinals and semifinals. Copper Hills lost to Lone Peak in the state title game, missing a chance to win the school’s first-ever state championship. Many of last year’s contributors returned this season.

In the playoffs, Copper Hills figured to be favorites to win the crown, along with Syracuse and Fremont from Region 1 and Lone Peak and Westlake from Region 3. League rivals Bingham and Mountain Ridge are also teams to watch.. l

The Grizzlies captured the Region 2 title for the second consecutive season. Ayla Marston (13) and Aspen Fraser (45) were two seniors helping lead the Grizzlies successful season. (Photos courtesy Travis Rust/ BSMNT Media)

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Copper Hills High School’s concert choir made it to a prestigious performance opportunity thanks to various dedicated individuals.

By Jet Burnham j.burnham@mycityjournals.com

Copper Hills High School choir director

Marc Taylor is singing the praises of everyone who contributed to his concert choir’s successful performance at the Utah Music Educators Association Mid-Winter Conference. The Jordan School District Transportation Department, which coordinated six bus drivers and some unconventional logistics, and CHHS Principal Rae Garrison, who employed some creative budgeting and problem solving, helped make it possible for the 114 member choir to take a one-day trip to and from St. George for the prestigious performance.

“We had all kinds of little roadblocks, but every time we hit a roadblock, Providence came through, and prayers were answered and problems were fixed,” Taylor said. “We had all the support we needed from our admins to get this done, so that was a beautiful thing. My principal went to town helping us out. And I am so thankful to Transportation for helping us out. Praise to Transportation because they were so nice and accommodating.”

Choir sings praises

Copper Hills High School’s concert choir was one of just five Utah school choirs selected to perform at the conference for school choir directors and music educators. CHHS’s Madrigals Choir was previously chosen to perform in the virtual 2021 UMEA conference.

“If you audition, and you get in, you’re earmarked as one of the best choirs in the state,” Taylor said.

He said there’s a lot of pressure to perform well in front of colleagues from the entire state.

“I have to come up with a program that’s going to challenge the students, but is doable for them to excel, and then, in some cases, be a model choir for other music teachers to see, and that is a lot of pressure,” Taylor said.

Taylor reported that the performance, which took place Jan. 31, received many compliments. He praised his students for their hard work. The choir spent six months learning the eight songs for the program.

“This is the advanced class, so all of the students have had the training that they need to succeed,” Taylor said. “And then we spent many, many extra hours having them go home and practice certain things, or extra rehearsals that we’ve had to do after school.”

Korbin McCurdy, a senior, said there was a lot that went into their preparation—learning the music, practicing diction on the lyrics and exploring the songs’ sentiments.

“We take some time in class to look at the

meaning of the song and what we’re actually trying to convey with any emotions or volume,” he said.

Taylor’s program, “Our Musical Roots,” featured madrigal, folk, gospel and modern folk art music pieces—music styles which Taylor said have “built our modern popular repertoire.”

“One of the reasons that I chose the music that I did was some of these pieces of music have been done in the past by choirs, and they’re not done so much anymore,” Taylor said. “So in some ways, I’m going back to some of our choir roots here to be like, ‘Hey, do you remember this piece?’ ‘Oh yeah, it’s a good one,’” Taylor said.

Senior Axl Lyon said his father recognized one of their songs, ‘Shenandoah,’ as one he sang in his high school choir.

Lyon said preparing for the performance was worth the hard work because it was such an honor to be selected. He praised his fellow choir members for their teamwork.

“It’s like a large family,” he said. “Everyone seems to know each other, and they’re all friends, and I think that’s why we’re able to work so hard and work so well together.”

Brailynn Pettit, a junior, praised the choir’s talent.

“We’ve got a lot of talented people and we

all figured out how to work together and listen to each other to help us sound better,” she said. “We’ve had no drama—we’re all very uplifting of each other—and we all have a good ear, so we all just can balance with each other.”

The choir is going on tour at the end of this monthtoperformwithandlearnfromprofessional choirs in NYC. l

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The Copper Hills High School concert choir, under the direction of Marc Taylor, performs at the Utah Music Educators Association Conference in St. George, Utah Jan. 31. (Photo courtesy of Marc Taylor)

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PE teacher provides a fun physical outlet for families on cold and dark winter nights.

By Jet Burnham j.burnham@mycityjournals.com

Oncea month, Sunset Ridge Middle School’s gymnasium serves as a community recreation center. PE teacher Joshua Lord organizes Family Fun Nights to promote physical activity and community engagement.

“I’m trying to get more people involved with physical activity, just so they can see that physical activity is fun to do,” Lord said. “The whole purpose of this is to introduce them to something that they might enjoy and they might want to do as a family, maybe at a rec center or at a park.”

Using the school’s PE equipment, Lord introduces families to activities they may not know how to play or not have the equipment to play such as pickleball, badminton, volleyball and soccer.

“I love seeing little siblings because they don’t get a whole lot of PE sometimes at the elementary level, so it’s fun to see them and introduce them to badminton or pickleball or something they might not see at the elementary school level,” Lord said. “I just want the kids to know that there’s more than just the traditional games.”

Family Fun Nights are held once a month from November through March. When the weather is good, they play kickball or soccer on the school field. During the winter months, they play basketball or badminton in the school gymnasium.

The activities usually match whatever sport Lord is currently teaching his PE classes so the equipment is already set up. This also gives students an opportunity to practice the skills they

Family fun nights

are learning in class and to show off what they can do for their parents.

Lord varies the days of the week for activities to accommodate other school and community activities. He said even when there’s a low turnout, “everyone still has a blast.”

“Even if all you can do is make it 35 minutes, come and enjoy 35 minutes of physical activity with your kids and maybe meet some new people—it’s a great social thing, too,” Lord said.

Many families come to the activities together but sometimes kids just show up with their friends.

Kingston Foust, a sixth grader, brought his friend Dylan Lamb for basketball night in January.

“I called him to see if he wanted to go because this place is awesome,” Kingston said. As sixth graders, the two boys like that they get the chance to become familiar with the middle school—the building, the students and the PE teacher—before they begin attending the school next year.

Kingston’s mom, Melissa Foust, said her family goes to Family Fun Night nearly every month.

“We usually bring a ton of neighbor kids—just pile them in—‘Let’s go play,’” she said.

The activities have been a welcome option to pass cold and dark winter nights since her boys—a seventh grader, a sixth grader and an almost 2-year-old—are very active and the older two are involved in sports. The older boys enjoy learning new sports techniques and socializing with friends, and the baby is happy to run around, chase the balls and swing the paddles. If they didn’t go to the activity nights, Foust said her kids would probably just sit at home watching TV.

“My kids need to get out of the house in winter,” she said.

“We’re so far west we don’t have a rec center close—it’s a jaunt to get to Gene Fullmer [Rec Center.] We plan on coming to every one to get the wiggles out.”

Lord hopes the regular physical and social activity creates a sense of school community. He wants the school to be viewed like a community center—a closer and cheaper alternative to a rec center—for former, current and future Sunset Ridge families.

The Family Fun Nights meet the state PE standard to encourage students to enjoy physical activity with family and friends outside of school.

“I’m not trying to make them high school athletes, I just want them to like physical activity—anything,” Lord said. l

Friends Dylan Lamb and Kingston Foust practice basketball skills at Sunset Ridge Middle School’s January Family Fun Night. (Jet Burnham/City Journals)

used household items with all proceeds going to the family.

“Seeing everybody’s tiny little bit that they could turn into something so big and amazing was just awesome,” Hawthorn Academy staff member Halley Miranda said. “Because when you confront something so huge, seeing all those little, tiny bits of help that each individual could provide add up to something equally huge was really amazing.”

The event raised $14,300 for the family.

“The fundraiser eased our minds and made it possible for us both to be at home with him the last months of his life,” Licea said.

Through Make-A-Wish Foundation and a leukemia foundation, the Licea-Christensen family has traveled to Disneyland and Hawaii in the last few months.

“They’re just doing everything to make sure that he can have some family experiences and check some things off his bucket list while he’s still feeling good enough to travel,” George said.

George said being able to help her friend has helped her process the situation.

“I needed to throw myself into something so that I wouldn’t spiral with questions and doubts and struggles of why something like this has to happen,” she said. “So it was just awesome to kind of separate ourselves a little bit from it and focus on how we could help ease any burden. Even though we can’t fix anything for them, we can try to help them feel loved and supported and ease some of the financial burden.”

George was proud of the Hawthorn community for rallying to support one of their own. The school community has supported Jax and his two siblings, who all have attended Hawthorn, during Jax’s initial illness, treatments, remission, surgeries and more treatments.

Licea is grateful for everyone’s support.

“To see the community rally around our family during one of the hardest times of our lives made us emotional,” Licea said. “It’s such a bittersweet feeling. Bittersweet because we are losing our child, but we are at the same time grateful for how many humans have shown us love and support. We are a mess, but with the community behind us, we are able to not feel alone in this nightmare.” l

Continued from front page

Hawthorn Academy student Jaxen Christensen and his family have received an outpouring of support from the school community. (Photo courtesy of Alisha George)

Artwork inspired by a haircut wins four awards in a prestigious art show.

By Jet Burnham j.burnham@mycityjournals.com

Copper Hills High school senior Callie Reyes painted a picture of a girl holding her long braid of hair and a pair of scissors as she considered cutting it off.

“It’s said in a lot of different cultures that hair holds memories, so the painting is called ‘Cutting Ties’ so she was, like, literally cutting off memories or past things,” Reyes said.

The picture reflected some of her feelings.

“Recently, there’s just been a big change in my life, and there’s just been a lot of adjusting and trying to let go of past things and just try and move forward,” Reyes said.

“Cutting Ties” won four awards at the 53rd Annual Utah All-State High School Art Show. Two of the prizes came with scholarships for art courses and another awarded a cash prize. The Utah State Board of Education actually purchased her piece, along with five others, to be displayed in their board room.

Reyes said winning the awards has given her confidence in her skills.

“It kind of makes me want to sell prints of my art, of my other paintings and things I’ve done, because it makes me think that maybe actually someone would buy it,” Reyes said. “I think I definitely see much more potential in myself, what I could do with my skills and be able to utilize that.”

It was her first attempt at oil painting and she was proud of the recognition it received.

“It was a really big accomplishment, one of the biggest

A cut above the rest

accomplishments that I’ve had in my life,” Reyes said.

The 53rd Annual Utah All-State High School Art Show, on display at the Springville Museum of Art through Mar. 21, features artwork by local high school artists, including: Bingham High School: Isaac Mitchell, Tess Petersen, Alyssa Barrett and Erin Grimshaw (two pieces). Erin Grimshaw won the Outstanding Student of the Year Award. Her piece “Young Siren” won a Jurors’ Choice Award, a Fourth Congressional District Award, the Artists Nosh Award and a Lyon Arts Studio Award.Her piece “Labeled” won a Jurors’ Award of Merit.

Copper Hills High School: Callie Reyes, Brandon Koller, Kennedy Fuell, Leo Holt, Savili Simanu, Zoe Hein, Michael Milner and Mars Lawson

Callie Reyes’s “Cutting Ties” won a Utah Senate Visual Art Honorable Mention, a Lyon Arts Studio Award, a Sentient Academy Scholarship and a USBE Purchase Award. Brandon Koller’s “Multnomah Falls” won a Midway Art Association Materials Award.

Zoe Hein’s “Dialed In” won a USBE Purchase Award.

Herriman High School: Abaigael Langston, Amanda Morales, Elijah Baker, Isabella Freeman, Nhi Trang, Saylor Sanders, Sofia Kim, Stella Smuin and Susanna Bruening Isabella Freeman’s piece “I Believed in God in 2008” won the Pilar Pobil Legacy Award.

Mountain Ridge High School: Braden Wilcox, Cambryn Vance, Elizabeth Barton, Kate Butterfield and Mckenzie Goodwin

Both Cambryn Vance’s “Reminiscing a Joyful Splash” and Braden Wilcox’s “Paper Patriot” won an Honorable Mention.

Riverton High School: Cash Swenson, Ella Nordfelt, Kaitlin Killian, Kaya Monson, Spencer Cameron, Lillian

Copper Hills High school senior Callie Reyes’s oil painting “Cutting Ties” won four awards at the 2025 Utah All-State High School Art Show. (Oil painting “Cutting Ties” by Callie Reyes)

Dickes, Lydia Cannon, Miranda Johnson, Rachel Jessen and Olive Grgich Morse

Kaya Monson’s “Abuelo” won a Jurors’ Choice Award.

Lydia Cannon’s “Sliver of Light” earned a Fourth Congressional District Honorable Mention, third place in the Utah Senate Visual Art Awards and a Midway Art Association Materials Award.

West Jordan High School: Nicolas Allen, Porter Blair and Porter Melton l

How steel lids could be the answer to reducing copper theft

West Jordan City’s newest theft deterrent is simple but effective: steel plates covering streetlight wires

By Rebecca Olds rebecca.o@thecityjournals.com

West Jordan Public Works Department has been working hard to stop copper theft in the city for quite some time.

“The first thing we started to do to try to mitigate copper theft was installing aluminum wire whenever it was stolen,” said Public Works Department director Cory Fralick. “What we found is thieves would still break in the boxes and cut the wire to see that it’s aluminum, which would still cost us time and money.”

The city’s latest and most effective deterrent is a straightforward message for all to see. New steel plates covering street lighting wires across the city are stamped with the clear phrase: “No copper.”

“Through working with other cities, we found… putting these steel lids on top of it mitigates the vandalism,” Fralick said.

In addition to letting thieves know there is no copper to steal anymore, the locally designed and manufactured steel lid is sturdier and harder to break into than the previous green plastic lids to further deter theft.

Crews have installed about 100 of the “No Copper” steel lids since the early fall and plan to continue replacing the old lids with the new steel ones.

Installs have been focused at “high hit areas” that have been frequently targeted by thieves in the past. Though the city is in the early stages of switching out the plates,

Fralick and his department have seen great success with the initiative.

“We’ve noticed, over the last 18 months to two years, there’s been a trend of where they would operate from, or steal from, and so we started in those areas,” Fralick said. ”We’ve had 100% success in all those areas.”

High-hit areas are centered around new construction and development areas where wiring has been placed for future street lighting. The city is aware of this and monitoring these sites closely.

City officials are also asking residents to keep an eye out in the dark hours when thieves tend to do their rounds to avoid being seen.

Fralick said it’s very uncommon for his crew to work during the early morning or late night hours unless there is a particular high-priority situation. If circumstances require it, they try their best to be “well seen.”

“But a lot of times thieves are there in one single truck and an orange vest, trying to hurry and steal wire,” he said.

If residents see anything suspicious, the city’s public information officer Marie Magers said to call the nonemergency line at 801-844-4000.

“It is the best way to report,” Magers said. “We don’t want people to call 911 to tie up lines that are for emergencies.”

Magers warned residents not to approach someone they suspect of stealing copper wiring, “Don’t do that, just call the nonemergency police line,” she said.

Crews will incrementally change out copper wiring for aluminum and plastic lids for steel throughout the city in phases as funds allow. l

New custom and locally made steel plates, like this one, are being installed in West Jordan City to deter Copper theft which has been a problem across the state.

(Courtesy West Jordan City)

We often talk about infamous warriors like Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, Amelia Earhart, and justice OG Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but so many women have left their mark on this world without acclaim, awards or national days.

President Trump’s executive order mandates a pause on federal events promoting diversity, including Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Pride Month and Holocaust Remembrance Day. But I’m not a federal employee and refuse to follow his directive. Happy Women’s History Month!

Throughout the ages, women are described as the gentler sex, the homemakers and the caretakers. And, yes, women are given those roles. But women are also fierce queens, savage muses, legendary goddesses and wild forces of nature.

We often talk about infamous warriors like Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony and Supreme Court Justice (and original-gangster) Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but so many women have left their mark on this world without acclaim, awards or national days.

Women like Mrs. Strange who made storytime at the Murray Library a magical experience. Her rendition of “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” was an Oscar-worthy perfor-

Peri Kinder Life and Laughter

A Woman’s Work

mance. When the biggest billy goat knocked the mean, ugly troll off the bridge, we all cheered in triumph.

Or women like Frankie Whipple, my long-suffering, patient, eternally-frustrated piano teacher. She listened to my musical scales, arpeggios and recital pieces without visibly wincing. Usually. The only annoyance she displayed was when I didn’t do my music theory lesson for five years straight.

Mrs. Lambert taught my second grade class at Viewmont Elementary. Under her guidance, I went from reading to show off to reading for pleasure. She taught me poetry, art and a life-lesson about friendship. Plus, she wore hip,‘70s polyester pantsuits that looked amazing.

Grandma Brickey was a fearless powerhouse. She loved her grandkids without judgement and let us eat all her chocolate raisin cake. Widowed for decades, she had many boyfriends but refused to give up her independence. She was a dancing queen, a

vivacious flirt and a woman who lived life on her own terms.

When I was 12-years-old, a neighbor lady trusted me to watch her children all summer. Thanks to her, I quickly learned I was a terrible babysitter and should probably never have children.

Women like Ms. Pettis, my ninth-grade English teacher at Riverview Junior High, taught me that even when I thought my life was over, I was valuable to her. She showed up at my home every week to make sure I stayed on top of my assignments and she encouraged my writing. She is a hero.

My Aunt Judy created a safe place for 8-year-old me when I ran away from home because Mom was censoring the books I read. She didn’t think “Jaws” was an acceptable summer read for a third-grader but Aunt Judy let me stay the night until I calmed down. Then I read “Jaws” in secret.

Renee Smith was my dance instructor for eight years. She taught me tap, jazz and ballet, and encouraged me to try out for “The Nutcracker”. But because I wasn’t actually coordinated, I never landed a part. She always believed I would. At least she said she did.

Mom was an unrivaled teacher, encouraging me to read (except “Jaws”), write poetry, make music, dance, ride bikes, play basketball and try new things. It wasn’t her

fault I didn’t see her value until I became a mom.

My daughters, my granddaughters, my sisters, my nieces, my cousins, my aunts, my grandmothers, my friends, my colleagues, my teachers: all these women have made me what I am today. Yes, it’s their fault.

Even when the president (and Google) removes Women’s History Month from the calendar, women will do what we’ve always done: help other women to be powerful, to find their voice, to live their passion, to stand up for what’s right, to lead and to shine brighter than ever. Don’t mistake our gentle demeanor for passivity.