Good News Utah—Winter 2021

P O S I T I V E LY U T A H

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Magazine

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Caring for Traditional Native Elders One woman’s quest to reduce poverty in the Navajo Nation

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3 Habits to Make 2022 Your Best Year Ever How to do what matters most

GoodNewsUtah.com

Winter 2021

A Walking Miracle DAVID OSMOND ON FAMILY, SHOW BIZ, AND HIS BATTLE WITH MS

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Winter 2021 Contents

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22 Soaring Toward a Dream

IN EVERY ISSUE p. 6 The Bright Side

28

Feature Stories

p. 60 Good News by the Numbers p. 61 High Note

Brolin Mawejje has his sights set on becoming the first African snowboarder and first Ugandan to compete at the Winter Olympics. But for this former refugee who now calls Utah home, snowboarding is much more than a sport.

BY JAMIE AR MSTR ONG

28 David Osmond: Looking at a Miracle

David Osmond was born to perform.

But for years, he has been living with multiple sclerosis and the debilitating pain that it brings. Still, he has been able to overcome his darkest moments to live a life filled with positivity and gratitude—all while keeping his fans smiling.

BY CAR OLYN CAMPB EL L

36 Healing the World Through Healthcare

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Globus Relief, a humanitarian organization located in Salt Lake City, is improving healthcare and preventing waste by gathering surplus medical supplies and distributing them to charities throughout the United States and across the world.

BY KAR EN PAINTER

Winter 2021 Contents

Departments & Columns

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14

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Departments 11

Do Good Today: One Family’s Mission to Help the Homeless In an effort to do good in their community, one Ogden family gathers and distributes desperately needed items to the homeless and to others who are struggling.

By Madeline Thatcher

14 Skiing into History Throughout his life, 96-year-old Junior Bounous has been a pioneer in the sport of skiing. And hopefully, he’ll soon be gliding his way into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Winter 2021

By Halen Hubbard

Utah

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18 Warming Hearts and Feeding the Hungry Six years ago, when a child from Pleasant Grove created an annual tradition to help the needy, his community followed his example and rallied around him. And thanks to his continual efforts, he has inspired neighbors and strangers alike while feeding hundreds of people in the process.

By Halen Hubbard

42 3 Habits to Make 2022 Your Best Year Ever Another year is coming to an end.

Remember your New Year’s resolutions? How did you do? For powerful and lasting change, try these three habits instead and make next year your best year ever.

By Rob Shallenberger

46 Caring for Native Elders One woman’s 30-year quest to reduce extreme poverty and hardship among traditional native elders of the Navajo Nation has grown into more than she could have imagined.

By Halen Hubbard

51 Helping the Homeless to Care for Their Pets People in vulnerable populations love their pets just as much as the rest of us. That’s why one Utah nonprofit is dedicated to helping them to give their pets the proper care that they deserve.

By Kierstynn King

54 3 Ways to Activate Abundance in Your Life What is true abundance, and how can we tap into it? Here are three tips for creating a fuller, richer life.

By Tiffany Peterson

56 Mary’s Fab 5: Bar Scenes What better way to connect with friends than at a great bar with amazing atmosphere? Check out my five favorite bar scenes in Utah.

By Mary Crafts

58 How to Pivot and Rebound: 8 Steps of Resiliency When life gets you down, use these eight steps of resiliency to pick yourself back up.

By Dan Clark

COLUMNS 5 More Than Enough When we practice an abundance mindset and live in gratitude for all that we enjoy, we become inspired and empowered to lift others.

By Jamie Armstrong

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Toxic Positivity and How to Avoid It Always looking on the bright side of life can eventually turn a person blind. It’s time we focus on facing true emotions head on rather than casting them aside.

By Teresa Collins

Li a life  lo LET’S GROW TOGETHER My Strong World was created to encourage people to “Ask Yourself.” It’s a place that reminds you that everything is inside of you and offers a safe place to come back to your body and find your center. I offer one-on-one coaching, group coaching, workshops, and retreats with a guarantee that when you apply the principles taught, you can create your best life.

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Publisher’s Note

Business Development

Val Butcher

Editorial Intern

Megan Pickett

Contributing Authors

Carolyn Campbell Dan Clark Teresa Collins Mary Crafts Halen Hubbard Kierstynn King Karen Painter Tiffany Peterson Rob Shallenberger Madeline Thatcher

Design and Production

Hales Creative Kelly Nield, Creative/Art Director

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When we practice an abundance mindset and live in gratitude for all that we enjoy, we become inspired and empowered to lift others around us.

Author and life coach Tony Robbins once said, “When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.”

This issue of Good News Utah is filled with people who recognize the abundance in their lives and are working hard to share it with others.

Take the example of young Timmy Hong. At 8 years old, he became distraught when he witnessed people begging on the streets during a family outing to Temple Square. With the help of his family, he created a hot chocolate stand to raise money for a local food pantry, and it has become a beloved six-year tradition for those in his community (“Warming Hearts and Feeding the Hungry,” p. 18).

Kelly and Elaine Farmer founded the nonprofit Globus Relief when they realized that surplus medical supplies could be collected and distributed to help people throughout the United States and around the world (“Healing the World Through Healthcare,” p. 36). To date, the organization has worked with hundreds of charities in more than 140 countries.

We are honored to feature the multi-talented David Osmond on our cover. He shares with us what it was like to grow up in show business and talks candidly about his ongoing battle with multiple sclerosis (“David Osmond: Looking at a Miracle,” p. 28). He is one of the most sincere and positive people you will ever meet, and as he wisely said, “No matter our circumstances, we can’t ask, ‘Why did this happen to me?’ unless we also ask the same question about every moment of happiness and joy that comes into our lives.”

From my own experience, I know that practicing gratitude can dramatically shift your perspective, and suddenly the fear of never having enough time, money, or resources is replaced by the assurance that there is more than enough to go around. May we strive to share our abundance this holiday season and in the new year.

All my best, Jamie Armstrong

Winter 2021

Editors

Jannalee Sandau Madeline Thatcher

More Than Enough

5 Utah

Publisher & CEO

Jamie Armstrong

Fun facts, inspirational quotes, and other interesting stuff

The Bright Side “Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire. It is the time —Edith Sitwell for home.”

The Greatest Snow on Earth

T

Utah

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Fun Fact

Utah Lake is a remnant of the enormous Lake Bonneville, which existed during the Ice Age from approximately 75,000 to 8,000 years ago.

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”

—C.S. Lewis

The Science of Gift Giving

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hether for holidays, birthdays, or other occasions, gift giving can be stressful. Here are a few scientific tidbits to help you choose the perfect present.

1. Ask for suggestions. If you think that you need to surprise the recipient, think again. Researchers agree that when someone receives a gift that they specifically requested, that person is more appreciative.

2. Don’t forget about experiential gifts. Unique experiences such as a trip, a concert, or a cooking class are great choices. In fact, studies show that these types of gifts bring the giver and the receiver closer together, even if they don’t experience the gift together.

3. It’s the thought that counts—really! Research reveals that even if the gift isn’t exactly what someone had in mind, if they believe that you made a sincere effort, they will appreciate it.

Photos licensed by Ingram Publishing

Winter 2021

he Utah Travel Council first began using the slogan “The Greatest Snow on Earth” to promote tourism in 1962, and 60 years later, the famous phrase is still alive and well. So, what’s so special about Utah snow?

The snow that falls over Utah is formed from storms coming from the Pacific Ocean. Snow from these storms typically contains 12 percent moisture density, but by the time these storms travel through the arid Great Basin, the snow’s moisture density has dropped to around 8.5 percent. Because these flakes contain less moisture, they fall to earth at a slower rate, accumulating more surface area. The result is a less compact, powdery snow perfect for gliding on top of or plowing straight through!

Fun Fact

Thomas Jefferson loved hot chocolate. In fact, in a letter written to John Adams in 1785, he stated, “The superiority of chocolate, both for health and nourishment, will soon give it the preference over tea and coffee.” To read about how one Utah boy has raised more than $17,000 for charity with his annual hot chocolate stand, turn to p. 18.

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Column: Perpetually Positive

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Toxic Positivity and How to Avoid It Always looking on the bright side of life can eventually turn a person blind. It’s time we focus on facing true emotions head on rather than casting them aside. BY T E RES A COLLI N S

Utah

Winter 2021

I

am naturally drawn to positivity—sign me up for all the positive energy! I am the person who seeks to see the good in any situation, and I believe it makes my life more fulfilling. However, there are times in life that bring ourselves and those we love experiences that are in no way wanted or positive. This is exacerbated by social media, where the trend is to always be positive. “Here’s a beautiful photo of me and my perfect life!” We feel pressured to put a positive spin on everything.

And when things go wrong, we should suck it up, deal with it, and be happy and grateful.

I’m not talking about trying our best or being thankful for what we have. I’m talking about completely ignoring the bad stuff and pretending that everything is fine when everything is not fine.

This way of living is not sustainable. This is not real living.

Simply put, toxic positivity is the belief that no matter what the problem or how difficult a situation is, we should always maintain a positive mindset.

Facing All Our Truth

Most of us have experienced real, traumatic hurt—myself included.

As a young girl, I was sexually abused by my own father. My “dirty secret” destroyed my self-esteem as a child and caused me to feel like I was “less than.”

When I finally told my mother, she chose not to believe me, which caused additional trauma.

I tried to fight through the pain and the anger for so many years.

Nothing good came from the abuse I endured. Yet, to this day I encounter toxic positivity remarks as a suggestion on how to deal with my abuse. Imagine being told the following: •

“You were strong enough to take the abuse.”

Simply put, toxic positivity is the belief that no matter what the problem or how difficult a situation is, we should always maintain a positive mindset.

• •

“You are a stronger person for going through it.”

“You are not the only one in this world who has been abused. Just get over it.”

This is toxic positivity. I am not stronger or better from being sexually abused. There is absolutely nothing positive from going through such trauma. We must be very careful and try not to make every experience in our life “positive.” Bad things happen, and it is vital that we allow

ourselves to grieve and process the hard and seek help when needed.

Adobe Stock

Feeling It All

No More Pretending

It is more than okay to have a bad day, have negative thoughts, and to be angry. It is okay to give yourself time and space to process how you feel. We don’t have to pretend that everything is okay when it isn’t. Now, I devote time to meditate and allow myself to process my thoughts and feelings. I have found that by doing so, I allow the feelings and disappointments of daily life to be addressed. I take social media “timeouts” as needed. These

practices shift my perspective inward to help me face situations and transform my life.

My experiences have taught me to accept whatever genuine feelings come up and to be mindful of not ignoring or stuffing my emotions. Toxic positivity is an unrealistic expectation of not honoring our feelings. It’s time we acknowledge the good, the bad, and the ugly.

For your daily dose of positivity, follow TeresaCollinsStudio.

Winter 2021

We don’t have to pretend that everything is okay when it isn’t.

9 Utah

We do not always have to be strong. Mere words cannot take away the feelings we experience after going through something hard, and it’s vital to validate them. We cannot cover up, disallow, or deny the feelings of our human experience.

When my husband died of cancer, I stayed in bed for almost two weeks, and I was constantly being told how I should do this and do that. I did not welcome nor want advice at this delicate time. I was told, “Don’t worry!

You’re beautiful and will certainly remarry!” I was also told that my husband was in a “better place.”

As a new widow, I assure you that this was not the best thing to say.

I felt the “better place” was with me and our children. Dying from cancer and leaving this earth and our family was sad, and we were mourning his loss.

I called a grief counselor soon after my husband passed away, realizing that I needed help. No amount of pep talks, friends visiting, or condolence cards made me happy. I had to go through the hard times in my own way and really experience the pain.

We must give ourselves the time, space, and grace to grieve and to work through our personal problems without feeling that we have to be happy.

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Winter 2021

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Do Good Today: One Family’s Mission to Help the Homeless

In an effort to do good in their community, one Ogden family gathers and distributes desperately needed items to the homeless and to others who are struggling. BY M A D E L I N E TH ATCH ER

G

ary Atteberry is tired.

The 77-year-old and his wife, Margaret, are the co-founders of a mutual aid group in Ogden called Do Good Today, and for the past several months, almost all of his free time—which he has a lot of since he’s retired—is spent gathering

items and delivering goods to the unhoused and other people in need.

“Basically, we collect clothing, food, and hygiene items, and we take it to the poor,” Atteberry explains. “Originally, it was only for those who were homeless, but we’ve expanded.”

for them. Another friend helped set up the Facebook Statistics from 2020 page, and in the past several indicate that Utah has months, the page has garnered hundreds of followers. an average of more Atteberry’s outreach has than 3,000 unhoused grown past Venmo donations and cash slipped into his people on any given hand (although those kinds day, and the numbers of donations are still very for those experiencing much appreciated). With a larger community aware of poverty are much his objectives and the needs higher. of their neighbors, Do Good Today has begun partnering with several other groups to take care of other vulnerable populations.

This includes groups like Your Community Outreach the Right Way Connection, which serves women and children While many people express a desire to help those escaping domestic violence; Youth’s Future, which they consider less fortunate, they usually don’t takes care of teenagers and other young people know where to start. But for Atteberry, that part who are part of the homeless community; Utah was easy. “When we started working with the Harm Reduction Coalition that serves those strughomeless, we asked them what they needed,” he gling and recovering from addiction; and Catholic says. “And that’s how we ended up here.”

Community Services, which has been a long-stand“Here” is at the municipal park in Ogden, where ing provider of community aid. every Sunday Atteberry, Margaret, and his daughter In addition to clothing and warming materials Mindy, along with a host of volunteers, bring items for the homeless, together with Do Good Today, the people they care for have said that they needed. these groups provide additional services such as In recent weeks, this has meant several truckloads sourcing furniture for those moving off the streets along with SUVs packed to the brim with boots, and into permanent housing, as well as high-procoats, sleeping bags, and other cold weather items tein, portable food options. intended to help people survive the harsh Utah “We’re all just trying to make a difference,” winter.

Atteberry says. “It’s quite a feeling to be able to “All of it is free,” Atteberry emphasizes. “And all literally help people live through this ordeal they’re of it is from donations or second-hand stores.” experiencing.”

Caring for so many in need requires a lot of items, which means Atteberry is a regular at stores like Deseret Industries and Savers. Atteberry A Personal Touch leverages his 30 percent discount on Tuesday at For Atteberry and his family, this outreach is not the latter, and all the purchases he makes comes an abstract concept just for strangers; his daughter directly from donations from volunteers, friends, Mindy is currently experiencing housing insecurity, and neighbors. and she knows first hand how hard living without a guaranteed place to sleep can be.

“Right now, I’m living on couches,” Mindy says.

Partners with Purpose “If I didn’t have my parents or other amenities Do Good Today began in July of 2021, and the name from friends, I would be on the street. It’s why I’m was a bit of a fluke—Atteberry’s daughter Joey came so involved. If circumstances were different, that up with the name after creating a Venmo account

Winter 2021

His expansion couldn’t come at a better time.

Statistics from 2020 indicate that Utah has an average of more than 3,000 unhoused people on any given day, and the numbers for those experiencing poverty are much higher. And with the COVID-19 pandemic causing additional concerns for those without food and shelter security, mutual aid has become an even more important element to caring for local community members.

Utah

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Winter 2021

13 Utah

would be me.”

A Reliance on Community Because Mindy knows what it’s like to be a There’s a common refrain from those who seek person in need, she knows how to interact with the to eradicate poverty but worry about “handouts,” unhoused and vulnerable populations they serve in but when asked how he feels about the concept of ways that are genuine and helpful. Her conviction “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps,” Atteberry is clear to people who meet her, even if they’re had a swift answer: “That’d be great—if they just reluctant to engage at first, which is exactly what had some damn boots.” happened with Dean.

Attebery notes that self-reDean arrived at a supply liance is a great principle, drive, and Mindy saw that he but there are more pressing “We’re all just trying to was wearing only a light jacket matters to attend to first. make a difference. It’s and shoes with peeling soles “These people are walking out just days before the first big of their shoes,” he says. “The quite a feeling to be snowstorm of the year covered least we can do is give them able to literally help northern Utah. Although he something so their feet don’t seemed distant, Mindy told freeze.” people live through him that someone cared.

When asked how long he this ordeal they’re “I said, ‘I understand what thinks he’ll do this, Atteberry experiencing.” it’s like to be in your shoes. is both optimistic and resolved.

Know that we’re not expecting “We’ll keep doing this until —Gary Atteberry anything back from you, but there’s no unsheltered people please come find a coat, some or I die,” he says. “And I think boots, and a sleeping bag,’” the second one will come first, Mindy recalls. “By the end of the outreach, he was but that’s alright.” talking and helping us clean up.”

A few weeks later, this interaction made Dean To support Do Good Today, donations can be made via brave enough to confess that he’d almost frozen to Venmo to @Do-Good-Today. death before the outreach, which made Mindy all the more convinced of the work she’s doing.

“It’s so important to bring people ‘into the fold,’ as I call it,” she says. “That way, they feel comfortable getting things from us.”

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Skiing into History

Throughout his life, 96-year-old Junior Bounous has been a pioneer in the sport of skiing. And hopefully, he’ll soon be gliding his way into the history books.

BY HALEN HUB BAR D | S K I P HOTOS BY S A M WAT SO N

J

unior Bounous was born on August 24, 1925, in Provo, Utah. He was never given an official name—his birth certificate reads “Baby Bounous.” Unofficially, everyone calls him Junior, and there was never a reason to change it. But even though he came into this world without much fanfare, he’s definitely made a name for himself— particularly in the skiing world.

First Tracks

In skiing terms, “first tracks” is when a skier is the first to ski an area of fresh snow before anyone else.

Bounous has not only had the opportunity to lay down the first tracks on many different slopes, but he has also carved some of the first tracks for the sport overall.

His love of skiing started at the young age of 7, when his father made him a pair of skis out of barrel staves for him to first learn on. Bounous took to skiing immediately. While all the other kids

were sledding on the hills in the neighborhood, he would ski right past them. Then when he turned 10, his mother bought him his first real set of skis.

In his later teens, he helped the ski instructors at BYU. He would ski with the better students and demonstrate different techniques to them. During this time of his life, he met a young woman named Maxine. On their first date, he took her ice skating, and on the second date he took her skiing. They were married for 70 years, until she passed away in 2020 at the age of 94. “We survived all those years with an extremely enjoyable relationship and with successful careers. She became one of the top women skiers in the country,” says Bounous.

15 Utah

In 1948, at the age of 23, Bounous started his Lindholm. professional skiing career. And what a career it has After we been. He’s blazed trails and skied miles upon miles finished, we in the Wasatch Mountains and beyond. skied part way down the In 1961, Bounous worked with a very popular ski mountain, but we then had to hike four or five photographer, Fred Lindholm. It was also the year miles in our ski boots to where the car was picking that the first helicopter came to Salt Lake City to us up.” He chuckles, reminiscing about the struggle. be used commercially. Lindholm came up with the When he got home that night, Lindholm called idea to use that helicopter to take Bounous, along Bounous and said that they needed to do it again with other skiers, up the mountain for them to ski down. After receiving financial support for the proj- the next day because he needed to get more photographs. “I said, ‘Absolutely ect from Ski Magazine, then it not!’ I would only do it if the was all a matter of finding a helicopter stayed up there place that would work for one and waited for us to be done of the first heli-ski expeditions “Powder skiing is and then took us back down. I in the United States. floating. You’re not did not want to hike all those Bounous was very familiar airborne, and you’re miles in my ski boots again,” with Timpanogos and where says Bounous. The helicopter there was grass, rocks, trees, not on the ground. You was willing to wait around for and open areas that would are somewhere in them to finish, so they did it a be great for skiing. So he and between. There are just second time the next day.

Maxine, along with two other And the skiing firsts kept skiers, were all dropped off at so few opportunities coming. It was around this the south face of the mountain in life to enjoy and feel time that Bounous was one of by helicopter, which is now the first skiers ever to powder called the Provo Cirque​​. It was that sensation.” ski. Many of the shots from off to the races from there. the first time he went heli-­ “The helicopter dropped us skiing are him in the powder. off and then just left us,” says Today, powder skiing is very popular as modern Bounous. “We worked up there for several hours skis have made it easier to maneuver in that kind skiing and hiking in order to get good shots for

Winter 2021

Flying to Floating

of snow. However, back then, powder skiing was very new with very little technique being taught.

Bounous was one of the first ski instructors to teach powder skiing. “Powder skiing is floating. You’re not airborne, and you’re not on the ground. You are somewhere in between. There are just so few opportunities in life to enjoy and feel that sensation,” he explains.

Winter 2021

Still Going Strong

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During the middle of the ski season last year, Bounous’s granddaughter, Ayja, saw in the Guinness Book of World Records that they had just recorded the oldest person to heli-ski. She realized that her grandpa was older than the person they recorded, so she asked him if he would want to heli-ski again to beat the record. Thrilled, Bounous agreed.

However, because it was already the middle of the season, the helicopter at Snowbird was booked until April. “We were lucky to get a ride in the helicopter because the season usually ends around the 15th of April,” Bounous says. “But they took us to the top of Twin Peaks, and even though the snow was a little soft being that it was spring conditions, I still took my time skiing so that I could enjoy it.”

The record information has been submitted and is now under review for official certification by Guinness World Records.

Not only was his attempted world record impressive but so was the fact that this was also his 60th day skiing during the season. His family continues to encourage him and hopes that one day he will ski a day for every year of his life during a

season. “They want me to ski 96 days in the season.

That’s impossible!” Bounous laughs.

But to Junior Bounous, when it comes to skiing, nothing is impossible. “The thing about skiing is that there is no age limit and anyone can enjoy it at any ability,” he explains.

When it comes to the sport, there are many challenges—different snow types, weather conditions, hills, and much more. But unlike other sports, skiing is very broad. People who are at different experience levels can enjoy the thrill of playing with gravity and mother nature. Bounous has learned all this throughout his many years of teaching the sport along with being a director of skiing at Snowbird.

“Can you believe that I had so many years in my occupation with so much satisfaction?” he asks.

Bounous worked at Snowbird until he was 89 years old, mainly because his occupation never really seemed like work to him. To this day, he continues to do what he did professionally all those years.

Even with all his success, Bounous remains humble and has become well known as a very compassionate and kind man. His son, Barry Bounous, says that even though at times it was hard to be related to a well-known skier, he is grateful at the end of the day to have a very generous and selfless person as his father. One of the many different life lessons he has learned from him is, “It never costs you anything to be nice. Compassion and a sense of humor will be remembered longer than anything else.”

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Winter 2021

18

Warming Hearts and Feeding the Hungry

Six years ago, when a child from Pleasant Grove created an annual tradition to help the needy, his community followed his example and rallied around him. And thanks to his continual efforts, he has inspired neighbors and strangers alike while feeding hundreds of people in the process.

BY HALEN HUBBAR D

I

n the Bible, there is a story about a woman named Tabitha who cared for the needy and sick within her community. When she passed away, people were deeply saddened because of the major impact she had made. A group of them found the apostle Peter in a neighboring town and asked him to come raise her from the dead. After she opened

her eyes and stood up, the story of Tabitha was spread throughout the region.

A lot of us can probably think of a person who, like Tabitha, has served many in their community.

However, it is rare when a kid is one of these people. For the past six years, now-14-year-old

The stand requires a lot of preparation and help from Timmy and his family in order to make it work, especially as it has gotten more and more The Heart of a Child popular each year.

One day, when Timmy was 8 years old, he came Debbie has a homemade recipe for the hot home from school, and his mother, Debbie, could chocolate. On the day the stand opens, she is the tell that something was troubling him. one responsible for heating it up and transporting “They were doing a charity drive at school, and it. “We have definitely spilled a lot in the car over he was upset because there were kids that didn’t the years,” she chuckles. have any homes or any coats or socks,” she recalls.

Timmy and his father are the first ones to set up “He would just worry about that. Then, we went up the stand and get it ready to start selling. They set to Temple Square, and there were people asking up the table, condiments, and signs in the parking for money on the street. He just looked at me with lot of Daylight Donuts in Pleasant Grove, owned by tears in his eyes because there were these unfortuZeke and Lorraine Perry, who are neighbors of the nate people, and he wanted to help. That’s when we Hong family. Timmy wanted to set up his stand in came up with the idea of selling hot chocolate to the parking lot because it was a busy part of town raise money for Tabitha’s Way Local Food Pantry.” where lots of people would It was a little rough to get pass by. When he asked them the ball rolling on Tiny Tim’s if this would be okay, not only Hot Chocolate Stand the that “We went up to Temple were they happy to allow him first year. After a big family to do so but they were also project of making posters and Square, and there happy to supply one free donut putting together the stand, the were people asking for to everyone who purchased a family set up the stand on the cup of hot chocolate. corner of their property. It money on the street.

Heidi Eberly, an employee was freezing cold that winter, He just looked at me at Daylight Donuts, has seen which made it difficult to make with tears in his eyes the impact that this partnera lot of money when most ship has made. people just wanted to stay because there were “Zeke and Lorraine are home. these unfortunate staples in this community However, the hard work of and are always so generous in putting it together was not in people, and he wanted helping and giving back where vain. The Hongs’ neighbor’s to help.” they can,” she says. “They son had passed away right are very fond of Timmy and before Christmas, and it was a his family and loved the idea tradition in their family to give of raising money for the food bank at a time of $100 to each child to spend on someone else. So, year when donations are needed the most. Timmy the neighbor visited the stand and donated $100 in spearheads the annual event, and we just make memory of his son to keep the tradition going even sure to have enough donuts on hand. We are always after his passing. happy to help Timmy in any way that we can. He “Every year, it seems like we have a story like and his family do a lot of good for their community.” that where there’s somebody donating in honor After they have all packed up at the end of of a passed loved one,” Debbie explains. “Another the day, Timmy keeps the fundraiser open for a year, a family of 20 from a few towns away heard couple more weeks for people who want to donate about the stand and wanted to come support it in even if they weren’t able to visit the stand, and he memory of their brother.” now receives donations from all over the country.

Winter 2021

A Team Effort

19 Utah

Timmy Hong has shown his community that he is truly a modern-day Tabitha.

Debbie has created a Facebook page for the stand to help promote the project every year. And others post about the stand on social media, which makes for a widespread audience. Even though the first couple years were tough, there is now a line of cars in the parking lot filled with people eagerly waiting to donate and get their hot chocolate and donut.

Timmy also donates his own money to the cause.

“There was a year when Timmy had been saving up for a big purchase, and he had about $200. We were getting ready to deliver the donations when he brought out all his money and put it in the pile,” Debbie recalls. “We told him that he didn’t need to give all he had, but he said that he already had so much that it felt good giving it to someone who needed it.”

Winter 2021

Tabitha’s Way

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In June of 2010, Wendy and Jody Osbourne founded Tabitha’s Way Local Food Bank in Spanish Fork after Wendy felt that she needed to make a difference in her southern Utah County community. Six years later, in July of 2016, Michael Carter and Al Switzer founded a second location in American Fork.

“The Utah Food Bank said that their greatest need in Utah was in north Utah County,” Carter explains. “We were surprised by that because it’s a normal, middle-class area. The biggest reason for the need, however, was because there was no food bank in this area.”

Between both locations, they are helping between 7,500 and 8,000 people every month. Some of the biggest demographics of people they help are seniors and veterans.

“It’s amazing how many people get a check for $800 a month from the government, and they have to live on that. Even without a house payment, that is hard to do, but many of them are making a choice between food and rent,” Carter says.

Tabitha’s Way is unique in many ways when it comes to food pantries. Despite being a full-time pantry, they rely solely on volunteers. In Utah, there are more than 150 food pantries, but there are only around 14 that operate full time.

Because they’re open all the time, Tabitha’s Way also gets to know the people they are helping on a very personal level, and they try to help them in more ways than just providing food. Near the beginning of the school year, they provide backpacks for kids, and at the beginning of this school year, they were able to provide 2,400 backpacks with school supplies they donated to the school districts. Not only does this help the children, but it also helps the teachers who would have to pay for these supplies out of their own pockets. They

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also put together A Modern-Day children’s birthday Tabitha bags that have Even with all toys, games, his hard work tablecloths, and big heart, cups, and other Timmy continsupplies. ues to remain When humble in it comes to everything helping adults, that he does.

Tabitha’s Way “I think it is also does what just good to they can to know that the make their lives stand helps a a little easier and bunch of people,” stress-free. They he says. “It’s fun will refer people to to make the posters other agencies for job and spend time with placement or homeless the family.” services. They will also put However, the people together meals for families around Timmy have a lot more during Thanksgiving and Christmas so to say when it comes to explaining that they can have a nice, home-cooked meal with the importance of what he is doing. their families on those holidays.

“I think it’s a good lesson for people that this litLast year, Timmy was able to raise $5,000, and tle 8-year-old boy wanted to help, and it was really he has raised about $17,000 to date. upsetting to him to see that people didn’t have the “It’s interesting because we things that he had. Even an have companies that come in 8-year-old boy can make an and donate like Timmy would, impact on his community,” his but probably every year he’s mother, Debbie, says.

“Even an 8-year-old boy been one of our top 10 contribCarter is very appreciative can make an impact on utors,” Carter shares. “It’s just of Timmy, having personally his community.” inspiring to see somebody who seen the impact that his hot cares that much at an early chocolate stand has made on age and that really loves other the community. “He is such an people that much—loves them amazing young man. He really enough to stand in the cold, sell hot chocolate, and is a modern-day Tabitha. In our vernacular, he’s to go out and talk to people and get them involved.” doing exactly what she did. She dedicated her life Timmy not only donates the money he makes to helping the community. He’s still going to school, from the stand but he also spends time in the food and he’s dedicating himself as much as he can to pantry volunteering with his family. He helps sort helping his community.” food and gets it ready for people to pick it up, and Timmy and his family are able to actually meet and talk with the people they are helping with their stand. Timmy especially likes to help people load their groceries into their car.

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a Dream Brolin Mawejje has his sights set on becoming the first African snowboarder and first Ugandan to compete at the Winter Olympics.

But for this former refugee who now calls Utah home, snowboarding is much more than a sport.

By Jamie Armstrong Photo by Keegan Rice

Brolin Mawejje is masterful on the slopes—carving through snow and soaring through air with complete grace. Unless you know his story, you would think he had been snowboarding his entire life. But he was 12 years old before he even saw his first snowflake.

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orn in Uganda in 1992, Mawejje grew up in the outskirts of Kampala. His mother fled to the United States to escape Uganda’s civil war when Mawejje was just 2 years old, leaving him to be raised by his father, siblings, and other relatives.

“In Uganda, there’s a village aspect of raising kids,” he explains. “I come from a big family, so between my father, the aunties, and the grandparents, I just kind of bounced around.”

It would be 10 years before Mawejje, one of seven children, would have the opportunity to leave the country’s violence and instability behind and reunite with his mother in Boston.

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A New Life

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The reunion didn’t go as planned, however. “It was like moving in with a stranger,” Mawejje recalls.

“She had a completely different life. The circumstances did not align, so that led me into the foster care system.”

As Mawejje struggled to adjust to his new country and his new life, he found himself bouncing from home to home once again. It was during this time, as an anxious and angry 14-year-old, that he began to find solace in the unlikeliest of places— the snow-covered mountains of Massachusetts.

Mawejje enrolled in Burton’s Chill program—an after-school program that gives at-risk youth an opportunity to develop character and skills through boardsports. “Coming from a tropical country, snow wasn’t something that I’d ever experienced.

All we knew in Uganda was dry season and rainy season,” he says. “Snow and I were not the best of friends, but I really liked being outside, and I was curious about snowboarding. It became a kind of therapy. It allowed me to have confidence, community, and friends.”

Life was improving for Mawejje. “I had a great guardian named Susan. She took care of me and helped me to get into prep school. She was a calm, older lady,” he recalls. “But then her husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and I needed to

find a new place to stay. I had friends who were willing to lend me a couch, but it was my best friend’s family who stepped up to the plate.”

The Hessler family happily took the teen in. The only problem was that they were soon moving to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. So, “they approached my mother and got permission to legally adopt me,” Mawejje explains.

From East to West

At age 16, Mawejje moved to Jackson Hole with his adoptive family and spent the next couple of years sharpening his snowboarding skills. “My competitive edge came from wanting to fit into my new family,” he says. “To this day, they are some of my favorite snowboarders to ride with.” But becoming a professional snowboarder wasn’t the only thing on Mawejje’s mind. When he graduated from high school, he moved to Utah to pursue another dream—the dream of becoming a physician.

“I’ve known since the eighth grade that I wanted to be a doctor,” he says. “At a young age, I understood the power of medicine. I understood the power of disease and death and war. I’ve had a lot of family members die from the AIDS epidemic and other diseases that plague Africa.”

Mawejje won a merit scholarship to Westminster College in Salt Lake City, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and public health.

Because he was so close to Park City, he was simultaneously able to further his snowboarding career. “I could be in the mountains in the morning and then come down for class,” he says.

But snowboarding is far from cheap. To make ends meet, Mawejje worked three jobs and often slept in his car. He ws also able to pick up some sponsors to help pay for his training and equipment costs. Today, some of his sponsors include Jackson Hole Resort, Bombas Socks, and Burton—a sponsor he is especially proud of. “It’s a dream come true because Burton is like the Nike of snowboarding,” he says.

Photo by Keegan Rice

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Representing Uganda

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Mawejje’s Olympic dreams are set firmly in reality.

“My path to snowboarding was a little bit late—I’m a whole decade behind other competitors. There was never a chance for me to represent the U.S. because I would be competing against 5,000 kids who have been snowboarding their entire lives,” he acknowledges. “So, why not wear the name of my home country? I know where I come from and where I was born. I’m proud of it.” But, as Mawejje explains, “You can’t just show up in an Olympic year or within an Olympic qualification cycle and say, ‘Oh, by the way, my mother was born in this country.’ There’s so much that has to go into it.”

Mawejje’s biggest hurdle was persuading the Ugandan government that they should allow him to create a Ugandan winter sports federation—an important step required by the International Olympic Committee. “I had to convince a whole tropical country that really puts all their dimes into two Olympic medals—which are [Summer Olympics] running medals—to open a whole division and believe in the idea of changing the image of a nation and of a people,” he says.

Mawejje’s tenacity paid off. In 2017, with the support of the Ugandan government behind him, he was able to travel to Kazakhstan to compete in the 28th Winter University Games for a chance to represent Uganda in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

“Snow and I were not the best of friends, but I really liked being outside, and I was curious about snowboarding. It became a kind of therapy, and it allowed me to have confidence, community, and friends.”

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In Kazakhstan, Mawejje had a remarkable performance. “I broke so many barriers,” he recalls. “I proved a lot of things to myself, and I was moving up the ranks. I was in sixth place.”

During the last series of competitions, however, Mawejje’s Olympic dreams were suddenly derailed when he landed in the hospital with what doctors deemed to be a life-threatening heart arrhythmia.

“Throughout the competition, you have checkups.

A lot of countries bring their own doctors, but I couldn’t bring my own, so I just ended up getting a general checkup,” he explains. “My heart was beating at such an abnormally slow pace that they thought I was dying. The doctors were telling me that I had a hole in my heart and that they needed me to sign away my organs.”

He continues, “My whole life was breaking down in Kazakhstan. So, I called my mother. Doctors

were shocked when a white lady showed up. That’s where it helped to have dual citizenship—to have a little bit of American power on my side. Long story short, it really put a pause on my life.”

After conducting further tests at Massachusetts General Hospital, doctors gave Mawejje a clean bill of health. “What happened in Kazakhstan was a misunderstanding of African American anatomy and how my body works,” says Mawejje. But the damage was done—his shot at the 2018 Winter Olympics was gone.

An Uncertain Future

Devastated but not defeated, Mawejje jumped back into competitive snowboarding. “I had that hunger from missing an Olympics, so we just hit the ground running at the world championships,” he says. He also took the opportunity to continue his path toward medical school. “I went back and

Photo by Keegan Rice

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Olympic Trials

earned my master’s degree in epidemiology. Here we are a couple of years later, and the world is dealing with a pandemic that requires epidemiologists. It’s kind of ironic.”

COVID-19 has made Mawejje’s future at the 2022 Winter Olympics even more uncertain. “I have created a spot for Uganda, but I still have to go through the qualification—I now have to compete to put my name into that spot,” he says. “It’s hard. A lot of the competitions are getting backed up right before the Olympics, and that’s a huge challenge.”

“I want to show that you can do anything, regardless of where you come from or how far-fetched your dream may sound.”

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Top photo by Laura Pandolfi; bottom photo courtesy of Brolin Mawejje

More Than a Sport

Mawejje won’t know if he qualifies for the 2022 Winter Olympics until mid-January. But whether he makes it or not, he intends to make an impact on the world. “I love snowboarding, but it’s not my only identity, and it’s not everything,” he says.

“Snowboarding is more of a tool. It can be my platform for bigger and better things.”

One of those “better things” is working with Joy for Children Uganda and Girls Not Brides—nonprofits that work to promote gender equality and end child marriage in Uganda. “I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this journey I’m on, but I’m always looking for ways to give back and pay it forward,” Mawejje says. He also volunteers at Chill Salt Lake City, a branch of Burton’s nonprofit that helped to spark his own passion for snowboarding as a youth.

He is also serving as an official Chill ambassador. “I want people to understand that I’m here to stay,” he says. “I want to be involved in Utah and see what more I can do for this community that has given me so much.”

As Mawejje continues to blaze his trail in competitive snowboarding, he aims to give hope to his fellow Ugandans and others around the world.

“I want to show that you can do anything, regardless of where you come from or how far-fetched your dream may sound,” he says. “Maybe I make it to the Olympics. Maybe I’ve paved the way for someone else to pick up the torch. My motto is ‘Train strong, train well, give myself a chance.’ I’m just going to train and compete, and we’ll see where the cards lie. If I don’t make it to the Olympics, I’ll still be proud knowing how far I’ve come. For me, it’s the journey, not the destination.”

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DAVID OSMOND

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LOOKING AT A MIRACLE

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DavidOsmondwasborntoperform.Butforyears,hehasbeenliving withmultiplesclerosisandthedebilitatingpainthatitbrings.Still, hehasbeenabletoovercomehisdarkestmomentstolivealifefilled withpositivityandgratitude—allwhilekeepinghisfanssmiling.

B Y C A R O LY N C A M P B E L L

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ith his easy charm and upbeat spirit, David Osmond is a natural ­connector—through both his music and his innate talent for bringing people together.

Take the way he met his wife.

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David and Valerie had been dating for about five months when he faced a health crisis that seemed to come out of nowhere.

Singing in a 2005 Christmas Eve musical performance, David never imagined that he would experience a life-altering challenge later that night. After arriving home, he took off his shoes. “Something’s wrong here,” he told Valerie.

He felt crushing pressure—as if a steamroller were running over his feet. Reasoning that he only slept two hours the night before, he hoped that the hurt would fade away. Yet as days—and then weeks— passed, the intense pain remained.

First, the pain moved up to his knees. Then it reached his waist and then his chest. “From the chest down, that crushing sensation I felt was everywhere,” he recalls. “My vision was like TV static. I could hardly move my hands.” Despite his pain, it took a while for him to realize how serious his condition was.

A doctor who x-rayed him diagnosed him with pinched nerves in his back. At first, David tried to remedy the condition with trips to the gym, but he kept tripping, and then falling. Then he used a cane. Within a matter of months, he was in a

Singing in a 2005 Christmas Eve musical performance, David never imagined that he would experience a life-altering challenge later that night.

At the same time, he canceled some events, thinking, “I’ll just work through this with exercise.”

But the pain didn’t stop. Finally, a doctor told him, “This looks like multiple sclerosis.” Multiple sclerosis, meaning “many scars,” is a disease in which the immune system eats away at the protective covering of one’s nerves. The resulting nerve damage disrupts communication between the brain and the body. As a result, multiple sclerosis causes many different symptoms, including vision loss, pain, fatigue, and impaired coordination.

A FAMILY AFFAIR

David immediately knew what that term meant. His dad, Alan Osmond—founder of the famous Osmond Brothers singing group—has had his own multi-­ decade battle with multiple sclerosis, or MS. “In the ’90s, he started tripping and falling. He couldn’t do the things he wanted to, and it became dangerous for him to be on stage,” David recalls.

“As his body started to slow down, he struggled.”

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A DEVASTATING DIAGNOSIS

wheelchair. “I had paralysis to the point where I couldn’t even move my toes,” he says.

Ultimately, his sunny spirit and dedication kept him pushing forward in hopes of proceeding with his incredibly busy life. Preparing for a show where he would be the lead singer with his brothers, he traveled to Las Vegas with Valerie as his caregiver.

“I was stuck on a couch. I hid out from people,” David recalls. He told himself he would be fine even as he dragged himself across the floor. “They carried me up and put me at the back of the stage.

They gave me a guitar that I faked playing.”

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While waiting for a flight on New Year’s Day, Osmond caught sight of beautiful, blond Valerie McClain on the dance floor at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel. As the two made eye contact, she thought she recognized him. “Are you in my ward?” she asked. (A ward is a Latter-day Saint congregation similar in size to a Catholic parish.) “No, but I wish I were,” he replied.

The two talked for a while, and afterward, David asked for her phone number. She said no.

Later that night, she turned down his request a second time. With his trademark determination, he waited a bit and approached Valerie a third time. “Look, I don’t know if you’re with somebody, but I can’t leave here without your phone number,” David told her. “If you just say it, I’ll memorize it.”

He still knows the number by heart. “It took us three months to connect, but as soon as we did, it was game over,” he recalls.

But despite his struggles, Alan Osmond has taken to heart a phrase that David calls his dad’s “bumper sticker”: I may have MS, but MS does not have me. “He’s very positive and a total optimist,” David says. “He told me personally, ‘My body might have MS, but my spirit doesn’t, and it’s soaring.’”

David remembers when his dad received a call from a “trash” magazine before he retired from the stage. “They said, ‘Alan, we know that you have MS. You are going to do a story with us.’ They held that over him,” David says. So, Alan called his good friend Annette Funicello, who also had MS. As a famous actress familiar with the tabloids, she suggested that he come out with his story himself because “it would be a strength to other people.” So, he called Entertainment Tonight, and they produced a segment about him and his condition.

After his own diagnosis, David watched his brother and his brother’s kids playing together.

Then he looked over at Valerie. By then, they wanted to marry and have a family. But could that still happen now?

D AV I D W I T H I S FAT H E R , A L A N

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A NEW GENERATION

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Thoughts of a family brought warm memories to David’s mind. When he was a little boy, his house was filled with fun things to do and play with, including set pieces from the Donny & Marie television show. “At Christmas, we had all these awesome trees that we would decorate our house with. There was fun stuff in our basement—costumes and instruments,” he recalls.

When David was 2 years old, the basement was also where his father constructed a rehearsal hall.

“He built it after he saw four of us singing together.

We started doing harmony—picking out parts on our own.”

Seeing his sons’ natural tendency for music, Alan taught them four-part barbershop harmony, along with the same routines that he and his brothers had performed on The Andy Williams Show decades before. In the early ’80s, David became the lead singer of their quartet, The Osmond Boys, singing with his three brothers, Michael, Nathan, and Douglas. He was just 4 years old when they began performing full time. “We did talent shows, church groups, and neighborhood things,” he remembers.

D AV I D I N H I S W H E E L C H A I R

After his own diagnosis, David watched his brother and his brother’s children playing together. Then he looked over at Valerie. By then, they wanted to marry and have a family. But could that still happen now?

Soon, Eugene Jelesnik invited the young quartet to perform on Talent Showcase, a TV show on the local television channel KSL. Word of their talent spread, and the boys caught the attention of one very prominent star: Bob Hope.

1986

Hope invited them to appear on his national Christmas special. After that, People, CBS This Morning, and Good Morning America all featured them, and their performance schedule was packed.

The Osmond Boys later transformed into a boy band, The Osmonds 2nd Generation, and they toured with other bands like New Kids on the Block.

David and his brothers signed with Epic, Sony, and Curb Records and began touring worldwide.

“We sang in other languages. I don’t speak Japanese, but I sing it,” says David, breaking into a brief rendition of a commercial his family made for Japan’s Sumitomo Bank. “I don’t know what I’m singing, but it sounds great.”

T H E O S M O N D B OY S P E R F O R M I N G W I T H B O B H O P E

In the early ’80s, David became the lead singer of their quartet, the Osmond Boys, singing with his three brothers, Michael, Nathan, and Douglas. He was just 4 years old when they began performing full time.

T H E O S M O N D B OY S

shows a day, six days a week. On breaks, they traveled internationally. And David attended a different high school every semester.

Then, at age 18, David was hired to replace his uncle Donny Osmond in the lead role as Joseph in

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In the 1990s, David’s uncle Jimmy Osmond opened the Osmond Family Theater in Branson, Missouri, and David’s family soon followed.

“It was quite a new experience going from living near the Wasatch mountains to moving near the Ozark mountains,” says David. “It was nice to be able to work together. We could do what we loved without having to travel as much.”

Around age 12, David began to notice how different his upbringing was compared to his peers.

“There were opportunities that I didn’t realize were unusual back then,” he says. “For a while, I assumed that every dad did show business.”

Growing up in a world of TV studios and tour buses, it became normal for the family to do two

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GROWING UP OSMOND

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on the national Broadway tour. Playing Joseph in various companies for five years, he also began to receive solo opportunities. After his Broadway debut, David started writing and performing his own pop music.

His career led him to the West Coast 16 years ago, where he settled in Los Angeles, and it was there that his MS diagnosis took away his music for a season.

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A NEW TAKE ON LIFE

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While Alan Osmond’s MS is the primary progressive variety, David’s is what is called the relapsing and remitting type. “It attacks and then goes dormant,” he explains. “It’s like a roller coaster and very unpredictable.”

David traveled to a facility in Mexico for treatment. When the doctor there observed his MS antibodies after several MRIs and a brain scan, he said, “Son, you have been through the war. This disease is aggressive, and the damage is significant.”

As a temporary solution to treat the advanced symptoms, doctors administered a steroid drug that halted his overactive immune system, which prevented the MS from attacking David’s brain.

Simultaneously, David made dietary changes that included eating a raw food diet and adding supplements. After staying at the facility for a month, he lost 20 pounds. His toes started to move again, just a little bit. “I will never forget that moment when my toes finally moved again. It was amazing. I wish I could gift that experience to everyone,” he says.

Before a month passed, David could get out of his wheelchair and shuffle around with a cane.

After the initial steroid wore off, he returned to his wheelchair, and to his neurologist with a hopeful request: “I would like to walk on my wedding day.

Is that possible?”

The doctor prescribed therapy and warned that the medication would wear off again. But in 2007, David achieved a major victory. “I’ve been walking since our wedding day,” he says, smiling gratefully.

“If you don’t believe in miracles, I hope you’ll believe in one today, because you are absolutely looking at one.”

D AV I D & VA L E R I E O N T H E I R W E D D I N G D AY

“If you don’t believe in miracles, I hope you’ll believe in one today, because you are absolutely looking at one.”

SMILING THROUGH THE PAIN

Back on his feet—literally—David was grateful to be able to pick up his guitar, to have his voice back, and to stand on a stage and perform music. “I’m able to pursue my dream again with so much more conviction and passion,” he says. But the MS is still there.

“I feel it every second of every day,” David says.

“The pain all over me. The fact that I can ‘hide’ it as well as I can is miraculous though.”

But David is committed to not complaining because pain comes to everyone at different degrees and intensities. He’s grown to understand that while pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

“No matter our circumstances, we can’t ask, ‘Why did this happen to me?’ unless we also ask the same question about every moment of happiness and joy that comes into our lives,” he says.

Each step that David takes is a constant reminder to enjoy every single moment. Today, he sees the MS as a gift, one of the greatest things that ever happened to him, because of the perspective on life that he has acquired.

D AV I D PERFORMING WITH HIS AUNT MARIE

sax player Caleb Chapman. They create a show filled with a blend of pop, swing, Broadway, blues, American Standards, and rockabilly. And David supports MS charities, such as his recent appearance at the 28th Annual Race to Erase MS event in Los Angeles. “MS is a terrible way to meet great people,” he says.

David is also looking ahead to a bright future filled with opportunities to spend time with Valerie and their three kids: Saffron, age 12; Azalea, age 10; and Everest, age 6. “The days are fleeting, and I want to spend as much time with them as I can while they still think I’m kinda cool. Ha!” David laughs. “If I can be an example to them like my dad was for me, that is what I hope to do.”

Reflecting on his many roles, David says, “When you serve people and get outside yourself, the abundance mentality is there.” His secret? “Find those who bring you joy and surround yourself there.”

“No matter our circumstances, we can’t ask, ‘Why did this happen to me?’ unless we also ask the same question about every moment of happiness and joy that comes into our lives.”

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D AV I D W I T H C A L E B C H A P M A N

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David is blessed with a boatload of performance memories. He’s sung with incredible musicians such as Stevie Wonder, Steven Tyler, Chicago, and The Eagles. He’s also appeared in unique places, including singing in the Tokyo Dome with 70,000 screaming girls, being on stage at Wembley Stadium, singing for Oprah at Harpo Studios, and sharing a stage with Earth Wind and Fire at The Rose Bowl. He’s particularly fond of his time touring as Joseph and loves being the Emmy-nominated host of Wonderama, an interactive children’s variety TV show where kids have a chance to perform and show off their talents. He also hosts KUTV’s Fresh Living on CBS in Salt Lake City each week.

In addition to his television appearances, David’s days are packed with a plethora of projects. He performs with his aunt, Marie Osmond. He is the chief relationship officer at Tribehouse, an exclusive business program designed to build high-level relationships between Utah’s top business leaders.

He also relishes his latest music project—an incredible Big Band, The Osmond Chapman Orchestra, partnering with award-­winning bandleader and

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Globus Relief, a humanitarian organization located in Salt Lake City, is improving healthcare and preventing waste by gathering surplus medical supplies and distributing them to charities throughout the United States and across the world.

Healing the World Through Healthcare

By Karen Painter

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“Don’t touch their hands,” the doctors and nurses warned. “You don’t want to get a disease.”

Global humanitarian Shaimaa Alwassiti squared her shoulders and smoothed her dark hair before the medical staff directed her down the small corridors of the elderly Ecuadorian hospital.

As she visited with each patient, her heart ached. She’d come to Ecuador to see for herself how the medical equipment and wound-care dressings donated by her nonprofit organization were helping the people.

As the medical staff introduced her to the patients, Alwassiti noticed that many of them had skin diseases. Many were missing fingers. One of these patients presented her

Winter 2021

with some tiny toys. “For you and your hijos (children), gracias,” he said.

“They remind me of the project and people that we have served. It is so rewarding,” she says.

Alwassiti was born in Iraq, but as the daughter of an Iraqi general who worked with the United States military, she left the war-torn country when it was believed unsafe for her to stay. She and her U.S. Army husband relocated to Jordan for a few years. She’d lived a luxurious life in the Middle East. She was well off and had an armed escort who went everywhere with her until she attended school in the United Kingdom. Although she lived a privileged life, her parents taught her to love and look after other people.

In 2010, Alwassiti and her family moved from Jordan to the U.S. “When I came here, I wanted a change, to live a simpler life,” she says.

In 2012, she contacted an old friend who worked at Globus Relief. She volunteered, and after doing various things for them for a few weeks, they hired her. After eight years with Globus Relief, she was appointed as the president of the humanitarian division in September 2021.

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Alwassiti’s eyes began to swell with tears. “I had to excuse myself and go and cry in the bus for like an hour,” she recalls. “I was very happy, but I also felt so small because before we’d gone to the hospital, I’d whined about being exhausted and that I’d had to take three flights. These men didn’t have all their fingers, and yet they had taken the time to make something so intricate for me and my daughters.”

As soon as she composed herself, Alwassiti returned to the hospital and threw the medical advisors’ caution aside. “I just started hugging everyone,” she says.

When Alwassiti returned to the United States, each of her three daughters placed one of the tiny toys on their Christmas tree. Now, they look forward to placing these special toys on the tree each year.

The little toys started another tradition. Every time Alwassiti visits a country for Globus Relief, she gets a small souvenir. Her office bookshelf is lined with these little mementos including a Russian nesting doll, a tiny wooden shoe from the Netherlands, and a small model of the Colosseum in Rome.

“I love this work because of the passion and the change that we can bring to someone’s life.”

FAST FACT Globus Relief has salvaged more than 1 billion dollars in medical resources.

Over the years, Globus Relief has partnered with hundreds of different charities in more than 140 countries to help people get the healthcare they need.

“We have stable donors who continually donate to us,” Henrie explains. “They like what we do and how we do it. We help donors see how their surplus and recyclable resources can help the world. Why would you throw away something you can use?

Why send something to a landfill when it can help someone else?”

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According to their website, Globus Relief is a medical resource humanitarian organization that partners with charities, corporations, and governments to improve healthcare across the world.

“I love this work because of the passion and the change that we can bring to someone’s life,” Alwassiti says. “I whine sometimes because I have long hours. I travel a lot to meet with sponsors and to see the impact that we are having in the world.

Sometimes I get emotional because it is hard to see the people and their heartbreaking circumstances, but then little children approach me and they say, ‘Thank you so much. I’m okay,’ and it is worth it.”

One of Alwassiti’s favorite memories of how Globus has helped children is of a 2-year-old Haitian girl. The girl had digestive and bacteria issues because of poverty. She went to doctor after doctor, but they could not help her with their limited resources. Globus had access to some protein shakes and sent them.

“Eighteen months later, [the doctor] sent me her pictures. She was walking and running,” Alwassiti recalls. “Then the girl’s mother sent me a voicemail, and someone translated it for me. It was hard to understand because the woman was so emotional.

She said, ‘I don’t know what to say, but you saved my girl.’”

Alwassiti carried the girl’s picture with her for quite some time. “I loved her,” she says. “She was such an adorable child and such motivation to me.

She was beautiful and healthy from something so small that we were able to provide.”

Globus can help so much because they have collected surplus medical and pharmaceutical resources in addition to used and barely-damaged medical devices and equipment for many years, says CFO and board member Daniel Henrie, who has been with Globus Relief since 1997.

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I m prov i n g H e a lt h car e Aroun d t h e Wo r l d

FAST FACT With administrative and fundraising expenses below 1 percent, Globus Relief ensures that 99 percent of donations go directly to humanitarian programs.

Globus can help so much because they have collected surplus medical and pharmaceutical resources in addition to used and barely-damaged medical devices and equipment.

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S er v i ng M i l li o n s o f P e o p l e

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When the donations arrive at Globus’s warehouse in Salt Lake City, a team sorts through each box to verify what is inside.

“It is super important because if we send a box that says it is gloves and it is actually gowns, then many times countries will deny the shipment saying that it doesn’t match the paperwork, and then those people are without those supplies,” Alwassiti explains.

After the donations are sorted, they go to the processing center to be entered into a special database. Once they are in the database, Alwassiti knows exactly what she has and can build shipping containers for each project, sending surgical, clinical, emergency, IVs, ortho, airway, and personal protection products all over the world.

“Everything that Globus Relief provides overseas or here in the States with our local partners touches thousands of lives a day and millions of people a year. The impact is amazing,” says Alwassiti. “We help people’s lives. We can help somebody from

dying and prevent all these illnesses and suffering.

This is what makes us so unique. It is the trigger for me to wake up in the morning and come to work.”

Henrie agrees. “Service is a symbiotic relationship. When you help others, they usually help you more. We help them with healthcare, but they teach us and remind us of what really matters,” he says.

Henrie has gone with Globus on missions to Romania and Mexico and has seen firsthand the impact on the people they serve. In Mexico, he recalls watching a kid with a stick rolling an old bicycle wheel while running down the road. He and his friends were laughing and having fun.

“I learned so much from him that day. He reminded me of what really matters,” Henrie says.

A C h ar i t y fo r C h ar i t i e s

Helping people around the world has been the focus of Globus Relief, even in the beginning, says Kelly Lee Farmer, a former member of the board of directors.

Kelly Farmer passed away on February 12, 2021, at 88 years old. While Farmer misses his father, he says one thing his father always said that will stick with him is that “miracles happen every day.”

“I’ve seen so many miracles in my life,” Farmer says. Back in 2005, NPS had a surplus of food that needed to be thrown away, but they decided to hold on to it for just a few days longer. That same week, Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. They donated nine truckloads of food right away to feed the people there, and they continued to have the resources to do so for two years.

Farmer also feels a miracle happened in the summer of 2020, just after COVID-19 hit.

“There was a real need for PPE (personal protection equipment), and Globus had a lot of it,” Farmer recalls. “We partnered with ADRA, the Seventh Day Adventist group, and we were able to provide this gear to heavily hit areas in the U.S. and the Dominican Republic.”

I n v i t i n g O t h er s to C o m e to t h e Tab l e

Alwassiti is excited for the future of Globus Relief and has created a new strategic plan. She wants Globus to be able to see a health crisis in a country, fund the project, then gather and unite other charities to “come to the table and help.”

“I am a believer that the more you can bring to the table, the bigger the impact will be. The need is everywhere,” says Alwasitti. “We have a variety of partner groups in over 140 countries and add new ones every year. Some of the countries are just very hard to get into, so it can be challenging (especially with the shipping troubles due to COVID-19), but as we unite these partner groups, each one of them can supply us with a different type of service, and then we can supply a developed humanitarian program to respond to the health crisis of the world.

I think it will be a great new way of doing things.”

To learn more, donate, or volunteer, visit ­globusrelief.org.

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Ev ery day M i r ac l e s

Wo r l d w i d e Part n er s h i p s

ADRA is just one of the many charities that Globus Relief partners with. They also partner with charities such as Operation Smile, The Salvation Army, Christian Aid Ministries, International Rescue Committee, Free Wheelchair Mission, Mercy Foundation, Nepal Cleft and Burn Center, Baitulmaal, and Human Appeal.

In October 2021, Alwassiti worked with many charity partners in the Middle East to send 22 containers with 440 pallets of items to Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine. The supplies serviced 5 cities with 20 hospitals and dozens more free clinics to help serve the poor people and refugees from Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Somalia.

“It was so exciting! I was so happy,” she recalls.

“It got cleared because The Royal Palace in Jordan got involved. It is so touching. It stays with me.”

At the end of October, Alwassiti flew to Jordan to meet with The Royal Palace and to see the impact of the shipment sent to serve millions of people in need.

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“My parents, Kelly and Elaine Farmer, started a business that handled recovery supply chain issues (National Product Sales or NPS),” says Farmer. “Part of those issues was market failure. We were getting medical supplies and pharmaceuticals that got lost in the system. At the beginning, we were giving it all to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and doing well. Then we realized that there was a greater need, and we could have a broader reach if we used more charities. We started Globus Relief in an effort to be a charity for charities.

That’s what we do.”

Farmer says his father was a “detail man,” and he felt that Globus was his greatest mission (besides being a husband and father). Even though he ran a million-dollar company, he was the type of man who would be out there doing the work with his employees.

“If there were people coming through the warehouse and it wasn’t clean, my father would sweep it. He wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. He wore worn-out jeans and a dirty t-shirt, and he drove a beat-up old truck. He wanted to be known for serving others, not for his business,” says Farmer.

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3 Habits to Make 2022 Your Best Year Ever C •

an you relate to any of these people and how they feel?

“I was just promoted to a new position at work, but I feel like I can’t keep up with all the demands on my time. I’m trying to be a great mom, wife, and manager, but it’s hard to juggle

•

all my responsibilities and feel like I’m doing well, let alone great. Sometimes, it feels like I’m barely staying above water.”

“I just turned 45, and while I used to love what I was doing, that’s not the case anymore. I feel this dread inside each Sunday night because I know I’m going back to work in the morning,

Adobe Stock

Another year is coming to an end. Remember your New Year’s resolutions? How did you do?

For powerful and lasting change, try these three habits instead and make next year your best year ever. BY R OB S HALLE N B E R GE R , B ECO M I N G YO U R B E ST G LO BA L L E A D E R SH I P

In our research of 1,260 people from more than 108 different global organizations, 68 percent of them felt like their number one challenge was how to prioritize their time. Yet, at the same time, 80 percent did not have a timemanagement process more sophisticated than sticky notes or to-do lists to schedule their priorities and do what matters most.

Do What Matters Most

Our new book, Do What Matters Most, brings together three simple yet powerful habits in a way that hasn’t been done before. These three habits will help people to take control of their schedule, prioritize their time, and increase productivity by at least 30 percent.

Implementing these habits translates into increased life balance, improved mental and physical health, less stress, better relationships, and a laser-like focus on your priorities. Isn’t this what we all want?

It’s amazing what happens when someone applies these habits, regardless of their starting

More Powerful Than New Year’s Resolutions

Going into the New Year is when people naturally gravitate toward thinking about their priorities and what matters most. Yet, 85 percent of New Year’s resolutions are broken within the first two weeks of the year. So, we invite you to toss out the traditional New Year’s resolutions and apply three habits that will keep you focused on what matters most the entire year (and for the rest of your life) The three Do What Matters Most habits are:

• • •

Habit #1: Develop a Written Personal Vision Habit #2: Roles and Goals® Habit #3: Pre-Week Planning®

How many times have you heard people talk about terms such as vision, goals, or weekly planning? Yet, as much as they are talked about, they are rarely being done—especially in a way that sets people up for success. In fact, only 1 percent of people have a written personal vision, written personal and professional goals, and do some form of pre-week planning. These three habits create a chemistry of

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If you have felt like the people in these examples, you’re not alone!

In our research of 1,260 people from more than 108 different global organizations, 68 percent of them felt like their number one challenge was how to prioritize their time. Yet, at the same time, 80 percent did not have a time-management process more sophisticated than sticky notes or to-do lists to schedule their priorities and do what matters most.

So, what is the solution?

point. For example, someone who recently read the book and tried applying the principles shared, “After applying the habits for 6 weeks, I lost more than 20 pounds, came off 3 medications, started doing things with my kids I rarely did before, and got to know my employees in a way I never had.”

There are few things in the world that you can guarantee will make a difference. But in this case, we can guarantee that nearly every area of your life will improve when you apply the Do What Matters Most habits.

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•

and I’ve lost my passion.

I’m not going to go through life like this for the next 15 years; something needs to change.”

“I know there are things that will help my physical and mental health, but it’s so hard to make the time to do them. Even though I know many of the things that need to be done, I just haven’t done them. I want to, but I need something to help me take my good intentions and turn them into action.”

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excellence and empower someone to lead a life by design rather than live a life by default.

What’s exciting about these habits is that anyone can start doing them regardless of age, gender, or background. Most people have thought about what matters most and have the ideas. Now it’s about taking those ideas, writing them down, and making them a reality! Here is an overview of each habit covered in greater depth within the book.

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Habit #2: Set Roles and Goals ® for the Year

Our research has revealed that only 10 percent of people have written personal and professional goals. Goals are one of those things that are talked about often but rarely accomplished.

Just like your vision, we invite you to consider your different roles and identify 1 to 4 goals that matter most to you in each role. Think of it this way: how would you measure success in the coming year Habit #1: Develop a in each of your roles? Your Written Personal answer to that question Vision (by role) Your personal vision becomes the foundation for Your personal vision becomes becomes your internal your ambitions. Like anything your internal compass. It’s else, this is a skill set, and what drives your goals and compass. It’s what drives people need to learn how to pre-week planning toward your goals and preword their goals in a way that what matters most. Consider week planning toward sets them up for success. For the 5 to 7 roles in your life that example, never use the words matter most to you and then what matters most. more or better, and avoid using develop a vision for each one daily goals (pre-week planning (e.g., parent, spouse, manager, takes care of that). Instead, friend, etc.). Ask yourself your goals should be the specific milestones toward what the very best version of you in that role looks making your vision a reality. like and then use words such as “I am” to describe For example, I previously shared my vision in it. Your personal vision doesn’t have to change the role of father. A couple of goals for 2022 that the world​​—it just has to change your world. Once would support that vision would be: Finish each finished, your written personal vision will become kid’s vision board by February 20. Average at least the seed of your legacy. two daddy-daughter dates per month.

If you’re like me, then you like to see examples.

These are the specific goals or milestones My vision in the role of father is: toward doing what matters most and making the vision a reality.

I am an example in thought and deed of what a true gentleman looks like. I am the type of person I want my daughters to marry. I am Habit #3: Do Pre-Week Planning ® present with my children, and we constantly Time is our most precious resource, and we at develop great memories together. I help Becoming Your Best Global Leadership consider them see their potential and how they can pre-week planning the most important habit a make a difference in the world. I am vulneraperson can develop! Pre-week planning is the ble, and I empathize with them. process that will empower people to schedule their priorities rather than prioritize their schedule. It’s Imagine how powerful it would be to have a vision where the rubber meets the road at the weekly for each of your roles! So, what is your vision as a and daily level. Pre-week planning will make your parent, spouse or partner, and friend (to name a vision and goals a reality because it’s ultimately few of your potential roles)? what you do that matters.

Pre-week planning takes between 20 and 40 minutes during the weekend to schedule your priorities.

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You can review your vision and goals, list your roles, • “Our marriage was hanging by a thread. We followed the Do What Matters Most instructions, set action items for each role, and schedule a time we each finished our vision/goals, and we’ve for each action item. It seems so simple, yet it is been diligent with pre-week planning. The fire one of the most life-changing habits a person can in our marriage is back, and we’re making time develop. You make time to lead a life by design. to do the things that we always knew we should A person who does pre-week planning accombe doing. This process was truly life-changing!” plishes an average of 20 to 30 more important items • “Pre-week planning provides a great start to a during the week (with less stress) than someone great week. My mind doesn’t feel overwhelmed who doesn’t. Over a month, that equates to an addibecause I’ve already thought through these tional 80 to 120 activities. In a year, that equates to items and know there is a time for each one.” an additional 900 to 1,200 items that are important • “I’m now making time for my special needs to you! daughter, I’m taking care of my own mental On paper, those are numbers. Yet, every one and physical health, and I’m of those numbers represents showing up as a leader in my a meaningful activity you’ve company like I never did before. accomplished in your life. It A person who does I knew I could improve in all of could represent exercise, a these areas—I just didn’t have gesture of kindness to your pre-week planning a process. Now I do, and it’s spouse or friends, an importaccomplishes an changed everything!” ant activity related to your job, average of 20 to 30 reading, meditation, or investThe art is in the start, and now ing quality time with a child. more important items is the time to start. The develWhen people do pre-week during the week opment of these habits will planning, they will start doing (with less stress) than be a journey that transforms things that previously slipped every area of a person’s perthrough the cracks or just someone who doesn’t. sonal and professional life. For didn’t ever happen. This habit Over a month, that a more in-depth discussion of becomes exponentially more the principles we have shared powerful when combined with equates to an additional here, we invite you to read Do your personal vision and goals.

80 to 120 activities. In What Matters Most, follow the a year, that equates to steps to develop your personal What Can You Do vision, set your roles and goals, Today? an additional 900 to and be consistent each week It feels incredible to have a 1,200 items that are with pre-week planning. When vision for each of your roles, to you do, regardless of what may have specific goals and mileimportant to you! come up, you will lead a life stones for the coming year in by design and have one of your each role that are aligned with best years ever! your vision, and to maintain the habit of pre-week planning every week (asking Do What Matters Most is available on yourself what you can do in each role this week). ­amazon.com or ­becomingyourbest.com.

In the beginning, we shared some comments from You can take a free assessment at people going through various challenges. Now, read BYBassessment.com to identify specific some of the comments from people who made the areas in your life that you can focus on. time to develop their vision, set their roles and goals, and have been consistent with pre-week planning:

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Caring for Traditional Native Elders One woman’s 30-year quest to reduce extreme poverty and hardship among traditional native elders of the Navajo Nation has grown into more than she could have imagined.

BY HALEN HUBBAR D

W

hat started out as an inspiration from the award-winning documentary Broken Rainbow has now turned into a bridge of hope between the Navajo people and other cultures around the world. The documentary examines many injustices that the government was forcing

upon the Navajo nation during the 1980s, and Linda Myers just couldn’t stand idly by and do nothing about it. Myers decided to create an art piece to sell during the Park City Arts Festival, and the money from the piece went toward sending food to native elders living on the Navajo reservation.

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to make sure they had their basic needs,” Myers recalls.

After selling the piece, she contacted a Navajo Through her store donations, she started taking woman and asked if she could take her to the care of 15 native elders. Many of these elders were grocery store personally and load her car with food very traditional and had never traveled more than to take to the reservation. “So, I picked her up and 30 miles away from their homes. “They know it’s we went, and at the end she asked, ‘Why are you white people who are removing them from their doing this?’ and I said, ‘I don’t know.’ I just couldn’t land,” she says. let it go,” Myers recalls.

When she first took a truckload of food down to Three weeks later, the woman called Myers on the reservation, one of the ladies asked Myers to the phone and asked if she could meet with her. step outside while she went inside a large hogan to Myers was at first confused because the woman talk with the elders. Myers stood outside for a while had seemed very standoffish, and Meyers hadn’t until the woman came back out and said that it was expected to hear from her again. okay for her to give them food. “That had never When they met up, the Navajo woman put a crossed my mind that it wouldn’t be okay. I mean, it turquoise ring on a table and said, “I went to this was the first lesson of thinking house, and it was dark. I was you’re doing a good thing. In lost on the dirt roads. When I reality, who said it was good? got there, the grandma at the You did. They had the right house said it was a miracle.

She contacted a Navajo to accept it or not,” she says.

She housed three really old woman and asked “With me being a white person elders, and their car had and with their relationship broken down. They were if she could take her with the government, they had unable to get water or go cook to the grocery store to think about it. What would food. I gave them some of the personally and load it mean if I gave them food? food that you bought, and What would it be all about?” the grandma gave me this her car with food to Seven or eight elders came turquoise ring. I’ve looked at take to the reservation. out of the hogan, and the the ring for a couple of weeks, “So, I picked her up and woman told Myers to put the and I just don’t feel good about food by their feet. Being very keeping it. It really belongs to we went, and at the nervous, Myers gingerly put you because I wouldn’t have end she asked, ‘Why the food by their feet, hardly gone to the reservation if it looking at them. “For the first hadn’t been for your donation are you doing this?’ time in my life, I realized that of food.” and I said, ‘I don’t these people had no reason After that, Myers put up know.’ I just couldn’t in the world to appreciate it a sign about donating food from me. It wasn’t necessarily for the native elders at her let it go.” rewarding, but the next lesson store on Main Street in Park about giving is that it doesn’t City. People started giving her have to be rewarding. It just money just for a few pictures has to be needed,” she says. that she had taken. However, she decided that if After that, Myers mailed a sheet to the elders she was going to take money that she better go to mark what their different needs were and what down to the reservation and see the impact of what foods they would like. At first, she didn’t get any her donations would be. She went and visited the answers. Many of the native elders didn’t speak homes of the Navajo people, who live very remotely to this day. Unfortunately, what she saw was broken English. However, when she got her first letter back, she was thrilled. So, she based her next trip just windows, walls, fences, and more. “I was going

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Lessons in Giving

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on what the one elder marked as needed.

The next time she went down, instead of 15 elders, there were a few more.

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things ready for their giveaways. They come in and get different boxes together and put them on shelves that are designated by locations. Not only do they put together boxes “Adopt Me” of food but they also put Myers started setting together boxes with medup booths at parks with a ical supplies, a “grandma” lady she met at a weaving and “grandpa” box, household class. They put together a boxes, and more. Jeff Dillon, the book to explain what could warehouse manager explains, “Out be done to help the native elders. there, it’s a different way of life. A lot of During the process of making the book, these folks literally have to plan a day around going one of the elders she was working with came to to the nearest place to get a toothbrush.” her and said, “Find somebody to adopt me.” So, the Sponsors who have book ended up having pictures adopted native elders provide of each elder and their needs for them through ordering so that people could “adopt” “It was the first lesson of the different types of boxes. them and provide money and Dillon further explains, “A supplies. thinking you’re doing medicine box has stuff in it Adopt-a-Native-Elder’s logo a good thing. In reality, that you would usually find was created by the husband who said it was good? in your bathroom mirror. A of the first woman who Myers grandma box has sewing stuff had help to load her car with You did. They had the and cloth for them to make groceries. It has two hands right to accept it or clothes. A grandpa box has that look like two people not.” a couple flannel shirts, a hat, sitting together with a feather beef jerky—stuff that grandpa above them to represent the needs.” Right now, one of the prayers about bringing the two greatest things that people can cultures together. All of this is do is donate money for firewood vouchers. It takes below a rainbow, which represents the hogans that about 10 loads of wood to get an elder through the the elders live in. winter since they can only heat their homes with The next time Myers went down to the reservafireplaces or fire pits. New blankets are also in high tion, one of the ladies took her to a medicine man. demand because most of the blankets the elders He performed a ceremony with the book she had use get worn and tattered in a year’s time. created. He rubbed his hand over each page and The program is 100 percent volunteer-based, said that it would help many people, and it would with all donations and grants going only toward bring them together. “Well, 37 years later with 850 providing the food and supplies for the native elders in the program and people supporting it all elders. “There’s a lot you can get from volunteering over the world, he had a bigger vision than I did,” at the warehouse, but there’s nothing like being out she chuckles. there on the reservation,” Dillon says. “Being able to interact with these people and see the actual The Program Today difference that you make in these people’s lives is a Adopt-a-Native-Elder now visits 13 different areas really special thing.” on the reservation. On a daily basis, volunteers get

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Sometimes, volunteer work can seem just like that: work. However, Dillon knows that with Adopt-a-Native-Elder, it’s different. “I’ve been with the program for just over two years now. Even on my worst days when I’m tired or I’m not feeling good, I’ve never had that feeling of not wanting to be here. I’ve never had that ‘go to work’ feeling,” he says. “It’s because no matter what we’re doing in here on a day-to-day basis, you are literally making a difference in thousands of people’s lives.”

Ed Keane has been with the program since 1998.

He first got into the program because he was an anthropology student with an interest in Native Americans. “I enjoy interacting with the elders, and there are some great people that come down and volunteer their time. They are fun, enthusiastic people to be around. You’re not trying to save the world—you’re trying to save around 850 elders

you’re working with,” he says. “I think one of the things that’s important to me is that you can actually interact with the elders on their homeland.

It’s kind of fun when you go out to someone’s house, and they are peeking out through their windows when you come up to the door.”

Keane is 89 years old and still makes an effort to volunteer his time and resources to the program.

In fact, he met his wife, Gene, while volunteering.

“You’re just interacting with people and then you begin to realize they’re kind of nice people, and it went from there with her,” he recalls.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program is not currently assigning new adoptions.

However, there are many more ways to help. Visit anelder.org to donate or to shop handmade rugs, jewelry, contemporary art, and other crafts. You can also volunteer your time by visiting their warehouse at 328 W. Gregson Ave, Salt Lake City.

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Helping the Homeless to Care for Their Pets People in vulnerable populations love their pets just as much as the rest of us. That’s why one Utah nonprofit is dedicated to helping them to give their pets the proper care that they deserve. BY K I E R STY N N K I N G

I

f you find yourself walking around Pioneer Park in Salt Lake City on a Sunday afternoon, you may come across a group of people handing out free supplies for pets and their owners. A nonprofit called Street Dawg Crew of Utah serves pets and pet owners in the homeless community

as well as other vulnerable populations, such as low-income veterans, domestic violence survivors, and seniors. Founded in 2017 by Margie Varela, Street Dawg Crew operates solely on donations and volunteer time.

“Pets Are Their Family”

Since starting four years ago, Street Dawg Crew has grown exponentially, forming partnerships with Mark Miller Subaru, Walmart, Cargill, Schmidt, and Bjorn’s Brew. In that short amount of time, the nonprofit has been able to accomplish a lot. In 2020 alone, the group recorded record donations, including:

• • • •

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Seeing a Need

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“Where I work, we have glass doors, and I would see people on the street corners with their pets,” Varela says. “I would watch people give their last bite of whatever they had to eat to their pets. I started buying dog food, and I would put it in little baggies and start handing them out on my lunch break or when I got off work. When people would walk past my work, I would hand them bottles of water.”

After a while, Varela switched to doing pop-ups with some friends. It was at the pop-up that she met a man who would come out to the Prospect Park area once a month and deliver burritos. That’s when inspiration hit.

“I noticed that so many people had dogs, and that’s where I got the idea of starting a pet outreach.

So, we started hustling on Facebook asking for donations, and that’s how Street Dawg Crew started,” she explains.

42,000 pounds of pet food distributed 3,600 pets received food and medical treatment $6,000 in emergency vet services provided 320 free vaccinations and spays/neuters provided

For Varela, it seemed a natural way to spend her time.

“Animals are my passion. They don’t have a voice, and they don’t choose their circumstances, but some of these people don’t choose to be homeless either,” says Varela. “For some of these people, their pets are their family, and that’s all they have.

People get rid of their pets because they can’t take care of them, and they can’t afford the food or the litter. Our goal is to teach people about being a good animal owner.”

Varela also tries to go out and drop off donations to extended hotels whenever possible.

“People also come to my house. I have bags of food ready to go, and I send off a screenshot and they’ll come and pick it up.” She says. “Or they’ll stop by my work and grab what they need.”

Reaching Out

Every other Sunday, Street Dawg Crew meets up at Freedom Landing, a low-income housing

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the group’s other drop-off locations. The team has community for veterans. After visiting Freedom two in Tooele, two in Salt Lake City, and one in Landing, Street Dawg Crew heads to Pioneer Park Syracuse. in downtown Salt Lake City. At both locations, Vice president Secret Perkins has been with the crew hands out bags of pet food, toys, treats, Street Dawg Crew since the beginning. “There are a leashes, collars, harnesses, pet coats, collapsible lot of people who aren’t as fortunate as I have been, bowls, and litter.

They also offer what they call “human outreach.” so I’m glad I can get out and help,” she says. “A lot of these people take better care of their animals “When we first started showing up, people were than they do themselves, and I love being able to coming over asking if there was something to eat, help and support their animals.” and all we had was pet food. So, we started offering Perkins and the rest of the Street Dawg Crew bottled water and a few things to eat that people volunteers also go out to Magna and Tooele once were able to carry,” board member Trachelle a month to do outreach. “We Hilton-King explains. “During help low-income people out the winter, we also try to bring there. They are all housed, so socks, hats, coats, and gloves.” we’re able to deliver and hand Hilton-King notes that “I would watch people out bigger bags of pet food and before COVID-19, they used to give their last bite of litter,” she says. “Here at the do pet outreach every Sunday, whatever they had park, we give people smaller but they switched to every amounts so they’re able to other Sunday to try and limit to eat to their pets. I carry it with them.” exposure. started buying dog “COVID-19 has been a real doozy because we’re trying No Judgment food, and I would put to keep all of our volunteers Street Dawg Crew holds a it in little baggies and safe, along with the people we yearly free vaccination event start handing them out serve,” she says. “A lot of them at Freedom Landing and don’t have access to protective Pioneer Park. This year, their on my lunch break or equipment, so that’s been a free vaccination event took when I got off work.” real challenge.” place on August 29. They also According to board memoffer spay and neuter vouchers ber James Hunter, since the whenever possible. pandemic started, the clients Street “We have a saying: ‘Together, we Dawg Crew serves have gone can feed them all,’” says Varela. down by about 50 percent.

“We just want people to know “With the Road Home shelter that we are here to help closing and people spreadno matter what and that ing to other shelters there’s no judgment. around the city, people We’re here for them, are a lot more scattered and they don’t need to than they used to be,” go without.” he explains. “We’re still To donate or helping as many pets, volunteer with Street but not as many come Dawg Crew of Utah, to the outreach to get visit s­ treetdawgcrew.org. their food.”

Instead, people have begun stopping at one of

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Column: Motivation

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3 Ways to Activate Abundance in Your Life What is true abundace, and how can we tap into it?

Here are three tips for creating a fuller, richer life. BY T I F FA N Y P E T E R SO N

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Winter 2021

B

eing human—while challenging at times—is such a rich, beautiful, amazing experience in discovering and living this life journey. At least, it can be. If you’re like me, you’re drawn to living a fuller life experience—to having more vibrancy in living.

Thriving, growing, awakening, being present, savoring, loving, living, truly grasping an abundant life—how do we make that happen? Our first instinct may be to look outside of ourselves or to acquire something we don’t yet have. But true abundance doesn’t work that way.

Dr. Wayne Dyer, international acclaimed speaker and self-help author, offered this insight: “Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.” Just like the beautiful nature that surrounds us, abundance is already there. It simply exists, waiting for us to enjoy it.

You simply must practice tuning

into it. Here are three keys to activate and tune into experiencing more abundance in your life.

1. Get into the Gratitude.

Practicing a gratitude mindset is a powerful way to tune into the vibration of abundance. It is the practice of seeing, speaking, writing, singing, praying, and meditating upon the good in your life. What are you grateful for?

Do you have a gratitude practice already in your life?

Whether it’s part of your daily prayer or perhaps captured in a journal, practicing gratitude in your life aligns you to the abundance that is already there.

It can shift your mood and your mindset into the positive space you desire to experience more of in this life. Gratitude is a great magnifier and a potent influence for living more abundantly. One of my favorite resources for

“Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.”

practicing gratitude is found at gratitudeseries.com.

2. Align the Vibration.

What does abundance feel like to you? When you’re feeling the love, the gratitude, the sexiness of life and living, tune in and ask yourself what it feels like for you.

And then practice feeling this feeling on a regular basis.

This might sound strange to some of you, yet we live in a vibrational universe where everything and everyone is energy. When you align with and practice the abundance vibration, you are practicing matching up

Photos licensed by Ingram Publishing

Think about inviting abundance into your life. We invite it. Align to it. Cultivate it. Once you know what abundance feels like for you, go one step further and proactively take actions today that tune into and express abundance in your life.

What brings you joy? What feels like peace and calm? What lights you up? This could be everything from having fresh flowers in your home (one of my favorites), to lit candles, great music playing, time in nature, a hot soak, cleaning out and organizing the refrigerator, getting a massage, or watching a sunrise or sunset on your deck or porch while sipping on a favorite

Once you know what abundance feels like for you, go one step further and proactively take actions today that tune into and express abundance in your life.

If I can help support you further, feel free to reach out to me at tiffanyspeaks.com. I’m cheering you on in your abundant living!

Winter 2021

3. Cultivate Your Life and Spaces with Intention.

warm beverage. When we give ourselves permission to engage in, cultivate, and receive those experiences that bring us joy and the feeling of abundance, we are living our lives with intentional creation.

Create an “Activate Abundance” list for your own life and identify the items and actions that bring you joy and the feeling of abundance. Some things will cost money and some things won’t. Mix it up. It’s your list, and it can entail whatever speaks most to you. Begin and continue creating this list to cultivate and invite more abundance into your life.

I believe in the power of intention and that we are the creators of the quality of our own lives. From our thoughts and our words to our actions or inactions, we are creating and influencing the life journey we are experiencing.

You indeed are a powerful creator. And what you focus on expands.

I also believe that you are worthy and deserving of more life in your living. You can start experiencing more vibrancy and vitality and begin creating more abundance in your life journey if you choose to do so.

55 Utah

with the feeling you desire to experience more of.

This practice is sometimes referred to as “acting as if”—you practice your way into the vibration feeling of what you desire.

You are proactively training your thoughts and feelings to focus on who you want to be and what you’re choosing to attract. It begins in your thoughts, which you can choose anytime, by intentionally thinking and planting the seeds of powerful, positive thoughts of what you choose to believe and focus on.

Thoughts activate your feelings. As it’s been said, “You’re feeling what you’re thinking.”

So, choose your thoughts with intention. What do you choose to think and then feel today? Let’s lean toward abundance.

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Column: Mary’s Fab 5

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Mary’s Fab 5: Bar Scenes After being locked up in the house for so many months and living on their own cooking skills, everyone was sooo ready to be dining out again! However, I realized that it was not just the food we were craving but the social aspect of gathering with people. Laughing and loving with friends was what I missed. I didn’t need so much a good restaurant but rather a great bar and grub where I could stay and talk and dance and feel connected to my world again.

So, what are the best bar scenes in Utah? Here are my top five.

BY MARY CRAF TS

1. Lake effect

Lake Effect is probably my favorite bar in town. I love the chic vibe and atmosphere where a little smart outfit is preferred over jeans and flip flops. Located in downtown Salt Lake City, they have super creative cocktails that are also super delicious. For something more feminine, I like the Lacey Lingerie, a blend of rose vodka and rose champagne. For something more aggressive, go for the Dante’s Inferno. The combination of rum and serrano peppers is sure to put some hair on your chest. They serve fabulous food for brunch, lunch, dinner, and late night when a scrumptious charcuterie board is all you need. Live music on the weekends.

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Winter 2021

2. Whiskey Street and White Horse

Whiskey Street Cocktails & Dining and White Horse Spirits & Kitchen are sister bars and restaurants located in downtown Salt Lake City on Main Street. I’m talking really great bar food such as pork belly lettuce wraps and hazelnut-dusted calamari, and my all-time favorite, short rib poutine. If you haven’t had poutine, you’re in for a treat with this Canadian creation made with tender pulled short rib, melted cheese curd, mornay sauce, and crispy fries—pure heaven with any beer or cocktail. Both places are great for sampling whiskey, but all spirits, beer, and wine are available.

Come for the food, stay for the whiskey, and return for the people!

3. Club 90

Located at the opposite end of the valley just off 90th South, Club 90 offers classic bar grub such as nachos, wings, burgers, and sandwiches. The cover charge is only $5 and the drinks are cheap!

I love the vibe of this old classic hangout in Sandy. You will find me there most Saturday nights dancing my little toes off and loving the DJ and no-nonsense crowd. With free line dancing lessons, Texas Hold’em poker, and live band karaoke, it’s a great place to let your hair down, no matter your age!

4. the cliff dining pub

This is another fun spot at the south end of the valley in Draper.

The food is always good, and the bartenders know what they’re doing. There is dancing on Friday and Saturdays in the pub area.

If you want more of a restaurant experience, they have two separate areas, so you can choose your vibe. I personally come here for the outdoor patio with amazing views of the valley. I love to watch a romantic sunset and sip bubbly or dine on the restaurant patio for a completely relaxing evening. A little known fact is that they have a great sushi bar with really fresh fish and talented chefs that make it one of my fab spots for dinner and drinks!

Here’s to breaking bread and toasting to you soon at one of these favorite hot spots of mine!

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For a special night out, head to O.P. Rockwell Cocktail Lounge & Music Hall on Park City Main Street. This live music venue has a classy atmosphere and two great bars. Charcuterie boards, desserts, healthy snacks, and specialty coffees are available from Park City Desserts & Coffee, located directly above this subterranean music hall. Preorder, pick up, and bring it with you to the show. It’s best to go online and purchase tickets in advance. They offer a variety of options including general admission, mezzanine seating, and multiple VIP areas. They are open on Friday and Saturday nights, as well as for special engagements throughout the month. If you love craft cocktails, you’re going to love this place!

Winter 2021

5. o.p. rockwell Cocktail Lounge & Music Hall

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Column: The Last Word

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How to Pivot and Rebound: 8 Steps of Resiliency When life gets you down, how can you pull yourself back up?

Here are eight steps to help you become more resilient.

BY DAN CLAR K

Utah

Winter 2021

A

s a motivational speaker and author, I often coin phrases and quotable quips to consolidate my thoughts into short nuggets of wisdom that my readers and listeners can easily remember. For instance: “If you are not failing a few times, then it means you are not pushing yourself hard enough.”

“It is not enough to say, ‘I will do my best.’ We must succeed in doing that which is necessary!”

Do you agree with these statements? Are these not inspirational thoughts that, when believed, can rekindle your passion and recalibrate your mindset?

Why, then, do so many remain stuck in their failures, continuously complaining and blaming others, content to wallow in their misery in a victim mentality of “woe is me”?

It’s because they don’t know how to stop, regroup, and recover.

Being resilient boils down to whether your current beliefs are strong enough, deep enough, and true enough to equip and

empower you to respond to rapid change.

The time is now to pivot and rebound. Here are eight steps to help you do just that.

1. Acknowledge where you are.

First thing on your early morning agenda: measure where you are physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, socially, financially, and in your family.

It’s like ordering an Uber ride that requires you enter in your current location. Be honest. If you lie about where you are, the directions won’t work.

2. Decide to grow.

You are under no obligation to be the same person you were yesterday, last week, last year, or 15 minutes ago. You can change and improve anytime, anywhere.

Pain is a signal to grow, not to suffer. Once you learn the lesson the pain is teaching you, the pain goes away. In life there are no mistakes, only lessons, when we

believe nothing happens to us, only for us.

3. Realize that adversity introduces you to yourself.

You must stretch before you can strengthen, and all the strengthening occurs in the area past the point of discomfort. You will never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.

4. Begin with the “why” in mind.

If you begin with the end in mind, it forces you to focus on a destination that’s impressive, to do your best to manage people and reward results—making money, losing weight, getting married. But when you begin with the “why” in mind, you enjoy the journey, manage expectations, and reward effort— creating wealth, changing your lifestyle, and staying married, knowing that “happily ever after” is a day-at-a-time proposition.

Photo licensed by Ingram Publishing

6. Scratch where it itches.

If you injure your knee and don’t get it repaired, the limp soon creates back pain. When it becomes unbearable, you finally go to a back doctor who can’t take away the pain because it’s a knee injury. We must stop focusing on the symptoms and go to the real source of our pain.

For exmple, if your marriage is going south, it’s not a sign of weakness to seek help. The good news is that the therapist doesn’t try to fix the broken marriage.

Instead, they “scratch where it

itches” and coach you on how and why to fix your individual selves so that you can then collectively decide to repair the marriage beginning from a higher level of communication and deeper level of trust and love.

7. Discipline is to teach, not to punish.

If you or someone else has made a mistake, remember that you cannot increase a person’s performance by making them feel worse. Humiliation immobilizes our behavior.

A broken clock is right twice a day. Never give up on anyone—especially yourself. You never lose if you always learn.

8. Find something that makes you laugh.

I’m so old that when I bend over to pull up my socks I think, “What else can I accomplish while I’m way down here?” Ha! Rather than remaining stuck in a funk, let go of the “woe is me” statements and resolve today to make changes. As you take steps to improve your mindset and make better decisions, you will become more resilient, and

your life will pivot in the direction that you want it to go.

To learn more, follow @danclarkspeak on Facebook and Instagram or visit danclark.com. +

Dan Clark is a Hall of Fame speaker and The New York Times best-selling author of The Art of Significance.

Winter 2021

During my crazy, on-the-edge life, I’ve broken my neck, back, nose, jaw, arm, snapped my patella and Achilles tendons, had seven knee surgeries, two hernias, throat cancer, paralysis, and a hospitalized battle with COVID-19. The significant lesson is that no matter what we have broken in our lives—including shattered dreams, a broken heart, a devastating divorce, the loss of a loved one or a job—when we go through the proper steps of rehabilitation, the part of our body, mind, attitude, and spirit that was broken becomes stronger than it was before we injured it.

Our rehabilitation begins and sustains momentum when our foundational belief includes the belief that no matter what our past has been, we have a spotless future. Hold on! In two more days, tomorrow will be yesterday.

No matter what our past has been, we have a spotless future.

Hold on! In two more days, tomorrow will be yesterday.

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5. Look at every pain and predicament as an injury.

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Good News by the Numbers

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Snow

Ah, winter! The season of sledding, skiing, and snowmen. Not everyone likes the cold, but these fun facts are sure to help you enjoy the next few months a little more.

Height of the world’s smallest snowman, made in 2009 by scientists at the National Physical Laboratory in London

4

1998

100

80%

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Winter 2021

inches

105

.01 mm

Official forms of snow: snowflakes, snow pellets (also known as graupel), sleet, and hail

Year when a scientist found two identical snow crystals that fell during a storm in Wisconsin

Snowfall that the town of Capracotta in Southern Italy received in just 18 hours on March 5, 2015 Freshwater on earth that is frozen as ice or snow— about 12% of the earth’s surface

Average number of snowstorms per year in the United States

1

1380

Year the first snowman was documented—in an illustration in The Book of Hours

septillion Snowflakes that fall in the U.S. every winter— that’s 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

1494

Year that Michelangelo was commissioned by Italian royalty to build a snowman in the Medici courtyard

5,127

15

inches

421

Words that Scots have to describe snow, according to researchers at the University of Glasgow

7,681

People who participated in the world’s largest snowball fight, which took place in Saskatoon, Canada, in 2016

22,022

Snow angels simultaneously created in 130 locations throughout Nova Scotia, Canada, in 2011, setting a new world record

Snowmen-themed items owned by collector Karen Schmidt, according to Guinness World Records

124 feet

Height of the world’s largest snowman, built in Donnersbachwald, Austria, in 2020

To read about a 96-year-old Utahn’s attempt to break the world record for oldest heli-skier,

turn to p. 14

Size of snowflakes recorded in Fort Keogh, Montana, in 1887

Utah

High Note

Photo by Drew Armstrong |

@travelsfromutah

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“He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter.”

—John Burroughs