Six Children, One Minivan, and a Wooden Box
At a child safety checkpoint in 2021, Charlene helped a family with six children in a seven-seat minivan. One child was on a secured wooden box. The family had daisy-chained lap extender belts through the outer car seats. Charlene and another technician spent over an hour arranging new seats, only to learn the mother was pregnant and needed room for a newborn. They had to start over completely. The experience became a career turning point.
Key Lessons
- • People are often doing the best they can with what they have — help should preserve dignity, not shame
- • The line between dangerous improvisation and resourcefulness is thin, and parents often cross it out of love
- • Unexpected moments of competence can become career turning points when the right person is watching
Community Connections
Stories, people, and ideas that connect across the archive — ranked by shared themes, guests, places, and topics.
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Related People
(4)Charlene Freestone
Child Passenger Safety Technician, Former Boutique Owner, Parent Educator, Community Builder
Phil Hanks
Grandson of Ephraim Hanks · Mission President (Samoa) · Temple President (Samoa) · Church Education System Leader · Stake President · Senior Missionary (Ukraine, Freiburg) · Lehi Resident
Doug Webb
Former Principal, Lehi High School · Agriculture & Science Teacher · Lifelong Lehi Resident
Andy Hadfield
Head Football Coach, Lehi High School · Business Owner · Lifelong Lehi Resident
Related Stories
(4)You Have to Make Your Own Community
Charlene Freestone
Grief Turned Into Safety Work
Charlene Freestone
Correcting a Car Seat Without Shaming a Mom
Charlene Freestone
I'm Back, But This Time I'm Helping
Charlene Freestone
Related Quotes
(4)"We always want them safer than they arrived."
— Charlene Freestone
"Best thing you can do in this town is just be kind to one another."
— Mark Johnson
"Stay faithful and serve to the best of your abilities wherever you live."
— Phil Hanks
"The ability to love people."
— Phil Hanks
More from Charlene Freestone
Charlene Freestone
I'm Back, But This Time I'm Helping
Charlene's son was born with needs requiring surgeries. A nurse with child passenger safety training helped her family during the car seat oxygen test. Exactly 12 years later, Charlene began working with Intermountain at Utah Valley Hospital — on the exact anniversary of her son's discharge. Looking at her badge, she thought: 'I'm back, but this time I'm helping people here.'
Charlene Freestone
Grief Turned Into Safety Work
Charlene mentions a man in his 50s who became involved in child passenger safety after losing his daughter in a car accident. He used his grief constructively, becoming a volunteer for Zero Fatalities and eventually a certified CPST. He's also trilingual, making him an invaluable resource for families facing language barriers.
Charlene Freestone
Choosing Family Limits Over More Work
Charlene wanted to work more at the hospital but struggled with childcare for older children during the summer. She ultimately chose a more limited, on-call schedule so she could be present for her children. She identified this as a real community gap: older children who have aged out of daycare but still need support and structure.
Related Stories
Naomi McClure
Moving Her Own Furniture to Stage a Listing
A client couldn’t afford professional staging but wanted their home to look its best. Naomi emptied her own living room and moved her sofa, coffee table, and furniture into the vacant listing. Her husband watched TV on the floor. The listing sold. The client got a better outcome. The story became the clearest illustration of what it means to actually be in service to the people you work with.
Naomi McClure
Refusing to Calculate Commissions
Naomi made a counterintuitive decision: she would not calculate her commission before, during, or after transactions — at least not until her check arrived. Her logic: if you know the number, you work for yourself. By not knowing it, she kept herself in service mode. The money followed. The repeat clients followed.