TGI Friday Video: May/June Director’s Cut
Our May/June issue is full of ways to bust summer boredom, talk with local techies, and photos of the cutest little cuties you’ve ever laid your eyes on. Although this issue flows seamlessly, there were hiccups with putting together each story you’d never see on the pages. That’s why Editor-In-Chief Jeanette Bennett is here to […]
Responsible Party
Utah Valley’s Fab 50 have plenty to celebrate.
Editor’s Letter: Time for me to fly
Provo’s first flight and meeting Utah’s first lady By Jeanette Bennett, utahvalley360.com The view from 9C on Frontier Airlines’ inaugural flight out of Provo Airport turned me into a namedropper. On my right was Taylor Oldroyd, CEO of Utah County Association of Realtors. (He won me over by bringing BusinessQ, our sister publication, along as […]
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, I enjoyed your feature on Stephanie Nielson (nieniedialogues.com) in the January/February issue of Utah Valley Magazine. Finally, a true example of a Utah Valley hero! No money, celebrity or business to promote — just an incredible example of triumph over tragedy and so much more. We got a glimpse of a wife and […]
Tough act to follow
By Jeanette Bennett, utahvalley360.com Our fourth annual Fab 50 kick off our ‘tough’ issue Step aside, People Magazine. We know 50 beautiful people when we see them, and it has everything to do with their inner fabulousness. This year’s batch of Fab 50 includes a champion barbecuer, Utah’s teacher of the year and an app […]
Parenting at bat
Baseball legends teach the sport of family By Jeanette Bennett, utahvalley360.com] I didn’t realize I had requested an interview with Vern Law during an away game for BYU baseball. This former major leaguer plans his schedule around the Cougars. He’s a regular at Miller Park in Provo (across from the Marriott Center), and he travels to […]
Head Shoulders Nies and Toes
By Jeanette Bennett, utahvalley360.com If you’re not one of the 100,000 (give or take) readers who check in with NieNie everyday, then you may not know this mother of four was in a plane crash in 2008. You may not know she was burned over 80 percent of her body and was in […]
UV Letter: Fabulous 5-0
By Jeanette Bennett When we’re surrounded by “fabulousness,” we don’t always recognize it. For the cover photo shoot for this issue, we selected a couple of our Fab 50 to represent the homegrown awesomeness here in Utah County. Ricky Lundell, world-champion grappler, came to the photo shoot at Sun River Gardens with medals, trophies and […]
Olympic Hopefuls
By Jeanette W. Bennett Steven Nyman was a little sleepy when he showed up for our interview in Orem. He had stayed up late the night before cheering on Real Salt Lake as they won the MLS Cup. So before we talked downhill skiing, we talked soccer. We talked athletes reaching the top […]
Staff Christmas Card
Happy holidays from the people behind the pages Kendall Bennett, expo manager: I’m dreaming of a white Christmas … clear until January. Roxanne Bennett, ad manager: New months of seasons: 1 month of winter, 3 months of spring, 2 months of fall and 6 months of summer. Greg Bennett, associate editor: Food, games […]
Back and forward
Then, I was the editor of the junior high yearbook wearing an Olympic T-shirt. My future brother-in-law Greg (and current associate editor at Bennett Communications) was on the staff (striped shirt). Now, I meet Utah Valley’s finest at interviews and photo shoots, including this “behind-the-scenes” photo from this issue’s cover story. Now […]
Plenty to write about
Covey interview was ‘time of my life’ By Jeanette W. Bennett Stephen Covey swung open his double front doors as I anxiously walked up his driveway for our mid-morning interview. With a smile from ear to ear, he greeted me by name in his buttoned up suit. As I teetered up his steps with an […]
Third-grade questions
Fablehaven author answers to his biggest fan By Jeanette W. Bennett Please don’t turn me in for violating child labor laws, but I had my daughter interview Brandon Mull for me. As a “Fablehaven” aficionado, Hailey was brimming with questions. In fact, she had her third-grade class brainstorm topics, which they wrote on an oversized […]
Look good, feel good
Medical and beauty go hand-in-hand By Jeanette W. Bennett After spending December thinking of others, we begin to focus a little bit on ourselves when the new calendar gets hung in the kitchen. Lose some pounds. Run the St. George Marathon. Organize drawers. Read a few classics. Save a little more money. Visit the […]
Staff Christmas Card
Happy holidays from the people behind the pages Allison YEAGER: ACCOUNT REPresentative Remembering the sparkler I got last year on Christmas Eve and decorating the Christmas tree this year with my new husband! BRIANA STEWART: ASSOCIATE EDITOR Mistletoe. Festive smooches make me (and my husband) smile. Tracy SHULTZ: ACCOUNT REPresentative Decorating for the […]
My Own Lookalike
Turns out Keri Russell and I think alike, too By Jeanette W. Bennett When “August Rush” was released in 2007, friends and strangers started telling me I looked like Keri Russell, the lead actress in the film about a mother searching for the boy she inadvertently gave up for adoption. Even my brother-in-law Kendall said, […]
A Girly Ratio
Meet the dozen women behind the glossy pages By Jeanette W. Bennett Twelve women. Four men. That’s three-to-one odds you’ll hear high heels click-clacking down the hall. Three-to-one odds the lunch spot will be Rumbi instead of Wendy’s. And three-to-one odds you’ll hear a (very professional) giggle in a staff meeting. At our magazine publishing […]
The Hardest Question
Class of ‘92 14 high schoolers have one thing in common By Jeanette Bennett Of the thousands of questions I ask each year, this one directed at high school principals is the hardest: “Who is the student at your high school who is most likely to change the world?” This isn’t an easy […]
Fabulous e-mails
Readers helped us compile a list of 50 By Jeanette W. Bennett A few weeks after our first issue of Utah Valley Magazine was unveiled (September 2000), I was asked to speak to a women’s business organization in Provo. After my brief remarks, I opened it up for questions. First hand: “How do you plan to […]
Firsts
Being No. 1 isn’t always a top priority Bron Roylance is the first cover person in Utah Valley Magazine history to know he wasn’t the top choice. Initially, we had our fingers crossed for Robert Redford, who graciously decided to do the interview for a later issue. Bron’s unique Sundance cabin was to be our […]
Firsts
Being No. 1 isn’t always a top priority By Jeanette W. Bennett Bron Roylance is the first cover person in Utah Valley Magazine history to know he wasn’t the top choice. Initially, we had our fingers crossed for Robert Redford, who graciously decided to do the interview for a later issue. Bron’s unique Sundance cabin […]
Family Time
And we’re not talking small quantities By Jeanette W. Bennett I should have written this column weeks ago, but I was too busy filling prescriptions for my 3-year-old’s ear infection, searching for my 9-year-old’s baseball cleats and listening to my 7-year-old’s full-length musical — replete with costumes and “stage dives” into the LoveSac. And I won’t […]
Green Thumbs
Gardening and raising a family both require nurturing When I was growing up on a dead-end street in the ‘70s, our punishment for fighting with our siblings was working in the garden. We would have to sit on a wooden stool out in the heat and pull thistles from the rows of peas and beans. […]
Organize your efforts
It takes more than desire to eliminate chaos In our November/December issue of Utah Valley Magazine, The Organization Place had a coupon for 25 percent off one item. I am fiercely loyal to our advertisers, so I clipped it out and headed over to their store on University Parkway to find the most promising item to get […]
What is your favorite holiday food?
By Jeanette W. Bennett, utahvalley360.com We’re all lit up thinking about the holidays this year. Each September when we prepare the Christmas calendar and help local merchants pick their gift guide items, we start humming “Jingle Bell Rock” and lighting red candles even while we’re wearing short sleeves and open-toed shoes. This magazine will kick […]
Family First
Whether home is truly sweet is the real bottom line By Jeanette W. Bennett When Carlos Amezcua moved his family to Utah three years ago, he knew the transition would have the biggest impact on him. While his wife and children enjoy the peaceful home life in Utah, he is eating airplane peanuts and racking […]
Same is Lame
By Jeanette Bennett, utahvalley360.com Meridian’s Kelly Hennessey (see cover) wants to be an actress. James Hutchings (Lehi High School) reaches out to those with special needs — something that others who scored a 34 on their ACT may see as beneath them. Orem High School’s Jenessa Taylor has a heart condition — but when you […]
Why Tolerance Isn’t Enough
By Jeanette Bennett, utahvalley360.com Religions differ but people don’t In third grade, I had a conversation in the bus line that I still regret. I rudely told my friend Heidi Huntington that my church was “the only true church” and that her church was false. We were two young girls devoted to the beliefs of […]
Women’s Work
By Jeanette Bennett, utahvalley360.com Utah Valley’s business women take a balanced approach During the two-month production cycle for this July/August edition of Utah Valley Magazine, I’ve been stalked by the idea of “women in business.” I was asked to speak to the Women’s Business Network on “networking that works for women.” (My answer? Any networking […]
Setting Goals Is The Easy Part
By Jeanette Bennett, utahvalley360.com I’m one of those people who crosses off each day on the calendar as it goes by. Sometimes I cross the day off before 9 a.m., just because it makes me feel better. (Just in case you were wondering, I also make “to-do lists” that include things I’ve already done. Crossing […]