Charlene Freestone

COVID Ends One Chapter and Opens Another

On the day of the Utah earthquake in 2020, Charlene realized parents were not going to bring small children into stores the same way anymore. She folded her boutique quickly, sold her share to co-owners, and stepped away from both retail and nonprofit worlds. She then worked at her children's school as a teacher's aide during COVID, witnessing how everyone banded together to keep things going.

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.

Savannah Romney

Failure Is Fun

Savannah Romney at 20 has started a clothing line, a podcast, and a real estate career. She has failed at things along the way. Her reframe: failure is so fun. Not because it doesn’t sting — but because every failure teaches something you can’t learn any other way. Once you get used to that cycle, the unknown stops being terrifying and starts being exciting.

Phil Hanks

Svetlana Still Teaching in Ukraine

After two missions to Ukraine — first in Kyiv, then returning to the same city, same apartment, same assignment — Phil and Donna built deep friendships. Years later, Russia’s invasion scattered the Ukrainian Saints: friends in Germany, Hungary, Portugal, the United States. One friend stands out: Svetlana, a schoolteacher who became a dear friend when Phil and Donna taught English at a local elementary school. The schools have been destroyed. Svetlana is still there — still in Ukraine — teaching her students online.

Andy Hadfield

My Daughter's Cancer Changed Everything

When Andy’s daughter was four years old, she was diagnosed with cancer and underwent two years of treatment. Plans could disappear overnight — a vacation cancelled instantly because a fever sent them back to the hospital. The family learned to live day-by-day. That experience reshaped how Andy values presence, ordinary mornings, and the gift of being able to do something you love. 'When that gets taken away from you, you realize how important it is. I wish there was another way.' He doesn't romanticize what his family went through — he acknowledges plainly that suffering is not the lesson he would choose. But it became a profound teacher anyway.

Andy Hadfield

The Players Who Barely Played

Some of Andy's closest relationships are with players who almost never saw the field. They weren't physically gifted enough to start — there was always someone better ahead of them. But they showed up every day, sacrificed, worked hard, and refused to quit. 'Playing time and stats and college recruiting don't mean the season was a success. The effort you put in — that’s the story.' Andy describes putting his arm around these players and saying: 'This is just going to teach you to be a better person. You didn’t quit, and that matters.'

Ishmael recounts the struggle of his first two and a half years. Because he started so young, he didn't have a 'sphere of influence' of friends ready to buy houses. He had to 'double down' on the grind of cold calling and working lead lists provided by his company. This period was a 'grind' that tested his resolve before he reached a point where he could rely on referrals.

Loreana shares her personal history of moving between the US and Venezuela. Born in Venezuela, she moved to Florida at age two, then returned to Venezuela for high school and college. After marrying her husband in Venezuela, the political and social instability prompted her to return to Florida before eventually finding her home in Utah. This cycle of relocation gave her a profound understanding of the immigrant experience.

When Loreana started in real estate, she was told to market to her 'sphere'—friends and family. However, as an immigrant, her entire sphere was in Venezuela. She explains how this forced her to connect with strangers and build a brand based on empathy for other 'new people.' She used her status as an outsider to become the premier guide for other outsiders.

Andrew Tuttle and Scot Hazard reflect on their origins as college roommates in 1994. Scot entered real estate first, and Andrew followed after finding Scot's work more intriguing than his own job. Despite Andrew facing an early financial disaster and leaving the industry for four years, Scot eventually convinced him to return. Their friendship has endured for nearly three decades, characterized by a shared history that keeps them professional and personally bound.

During a fast-moving cash deal, Terry arrived at a home inspection to find a pit bull left inside, barking and blocking entry. The listing agent was in another city and offered no help. Terry used a bag of 'Pirate Booty' snacks from his car to bribe the dog, eventually luring it into a bedroom so the inspection could proceed and the deal could be saved.

Terry describes his transition from a software sales startup that was failing to real estate. Despite having his license, he didn't initially want to be an agent. However, the birth of his daughter acted as a catalyst for high motivation. After a sluggish start at his father's brokerage, Terry switched to a new team and completed over 20 deals in his first six months, marking a massive career takeoff.

Before real estate, Jimmy ran a successful meat-selling business. He partnered with a man from the Netherlands who, unbeknownst to Jimmy, had a severe drug problem. The partner went on a two-week binge, spending $35,000 of company money and leaving Jimmy with $120,000 in debt at age 23. Because the business was in Jimmy's name, he was solely responsible for the losses, forcing him to close the company and enter real estate under extreme financial pressure.

Ryan discusses the path back to homeownership for those with credit blemishes, including bankruptcy and foreclosure. He explains that one can buy a home as soon as two years after a bankruptcy or three years after a foreclosure. He emphasizes that his role isn't just to judge credit but to offer free help and 'repair' guidance to get clients back on their feet.

Lee discusses his second book, 'Drawing Strength from Your Roots.' He shares the harrowing story of his grandmother, who immigrated from Switzerland in 1905 at age three and survived a train wreck in Colorado. He used Google Earth to physically locate the ancestral home in Switzerland and the site of the train accident, creating a digital 'story map' of the journey. He shares these stories with his daughter, who is facing health trials, to remind her that the same strength her ancestors used to survive train wrecks and immigration is literally in her DNA.

After serving a mission, Lee followed his brother into the manual labor of installing fire sprinklers. However, a broken back in 1990 created a crisis point. For five years he struggled to continue physical installation until a doctor gave him an ultimatum: undergo surgery or find a new occupation. This injury forced Lee into the world of technical design. He taught himself AutoCAD and specialized software to design fire safety systems for commercial buildings, schools, and churches, turning a physical limitation into a specialized technical career.

Joan discusses the financial instability that often accompanies entrepreneurial life. She recalls times of 'fretting' over basic needs, such as when she couldn't immediately buy her children new shoes. While she regrets worrying so much, she notes that these hardships taught her a profound appreciation for stability. Interestingly, she observes that because of these 'ups and downs,' all of her children chose steady, traditional careers over the risky entrepreneurial path of their father.

Last year, BYU Pathway underwent a massive, painful decoupling from BYU-Idaho's systems. This involved merging three major databases and implementing a new student information system, which led to corrupted data and immense challenges for both students and staff. Melissa describes teams working through weekends and holidays, driven by a desperate desire to take care of the students. It was a 'challenging year' of short-term pain for long-term scalability. The experience was a trial by fire for the organization, requiring intense dedication and a eventual shift in strategy to provide relief.

After a career in game design and graphic design, Brent found himself unemployed in his mid-40s. He attempted to pivot into corporate sales for a cruise line, but found the work hollow and 'unreal.' Driven by a need for something tangible and authentic, he pursued a seemingly 'crazy' and 'stupid' idea: opening a specialized focaccia bakery. This shift represented a total reinvention of his professional identity, moving away from digital and corporate spaces into the physical labor of bread-making.

In one of the most poignant moments of the oral history, Jean recalls traveling to the Miss America pageant in September 2001 to support Jackie Hunt (Miss Utah/Lehi). The trip occurred just days after the 9/11 attacks. She describes a hauntingly empty flight from Salt Lake City staffed by older pilots and flight attendants, as younger crew members were too frightened to fly. She recalls the eerie silence of New York City, the signs for missing persons, and the surreal experience of the pilot flying low over Ground Zero so passengers could witness the site. She also reveals a chilling premonition: just weeks prior, she had felt a sense of 'evil' while atop the World Trade Center and insisted her family leave the building immediately.

Facing a diagnosis of prostate cancer and multiple back surgeries, Mike was told by doctors that he might not survive to see the 2023 Christmas season. Despite his physical weakness and bones made brittle by treatment, he persisted in setting up the displays with the help of his brother and wife. The display became his primary source of purpose, keeping him active and focused on the future despite a grim medical prognosis.

John reveals a unique hobby that has literally changed the geology of Lehi. He and his wife collect dull beach rocks from San Diego, bring them home, and tumble them for a month. He then scatters these shiny, polished stones across local playgrounds for children to find. He uses this as an analogy for life: the 'adversity' of the tumbling process—the grinding and beating against other rocks—is what reveals the beauty inside. He jokes that in a thousand years, geologists will be baffled by these out-of-place California stones in Utah.

Buddy describes why employers prize kids who grew up on farms: they have learned to solve problems under pressure without 'helpful adults' hovering over them. He shares his own experience driving tractors long before he could legally drive a truck, not because it was a 'lesson' from his father, but because the work simply had to be done. This necessity forced him to think independently and learn through struggle.

After an arson fire gutted the Greenwoods' furniture store and reception center, the family was left devastated. In response, the town of Lehi rallied to support them. They organized a massive fundraising banquet with turkey and gravy, raising $10,000—a staggering sum in the 1960s. This event not only provided the capital for the Greenwoods to get back on their feet but also instilled in Ken a deep sense of debt and gratitude to the community. This moment of collective generosity was the primary catalyst that eventually led him to run for mayor.

Phil shares an experience visiting the family of a slain West Valley police officer. He describes a 'meditation room' the officer's father built, painted white with a blue border, containing a single Lazy Boy chair and the officer's folded flag and certificates. The father explained that they go to this room specifically to meditate and feel close to their son. Phil reflects on the power of memorializing loved ones and the resilience of a younger brother who chose to join the police academy despite the family's loss.

After the Provo Daily Herald abandoned Lehi's weekly paper during the 2007 market crash, Lehi was left without a dedicated newspaper for eight years. Sally Francom, after living in the Bay Area and returning to Utah in 2013, was convinced by her sister to restart the Lehi Free Press in 2016. Despite the terrifying landscape of modern journalism, Sally secured the trademark and DBA, viewing the revival as a 'gift to the community' rather than a profit-driven venture.

During the tumultuous period following the vote to split the Alpine School District, Jeanne-Marie organized a 'popup nacho bar' for district administrators. She recalls a conversation with a curriculum director who felt as though he had been 'fired' by the split, yet immediately pivoted to creating three new curriculum plans to ensure no student was left behind during the transition.

Wallwork reflects on how his leadership style evolved due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He admits that school offices can often become 'no factories'—places where liability and policy lead to rigid refusals. However, the crisis of the pandemic taught him the necessity of empathy, flexibility, and giving 'grace' to families and students struggling with unseen burdens.

In the early years of building their business, Suzanne and their children were deeply involved in the labor. Suzanne would take their young daughters to job sites to vacuum, mask windows, and prep for Keith’s arrival. To ensure they still had family time, Suzanne would cook dinner and bring it to whatever house they were painting. The family would sit in a circle on overturned paint buckets, using another bucket in the center as their dining table.

The expansion of the 'Tracks' (commuter rail) system in Lehi posed a direct threat to the physical footprint of the historic rodeo grounds. Mike details the negotiations and the resulting plan to modernize the facilities. Instead of viewing the rail expansion as a purely negative intrusion, the committee is using the opportunity to replace aging 1950s-era restrooms and add 350 new seats. This story illustrates the constant negotiation between Lehi's pioneer past and its high-tech, transit-oriented future.

Years after the war, Quinn Allred was contacted on Facebook by a woman named Janet. She revealed herself to be the little girl in a photo he possessed—a child from the orphanage whom he had once danced with. Janet shared her harrowing story of escaping Vietnam as a 'boat person' after the fall of Saigon, walking 200 miles barefoot through enemy territory to reach safety. She eventually settled in Michigan, but she never forgot the American soldier who had helped her.

While living in Poway, California, Merrilee experienced two major wildfires. Frustrated by the total lack of response from the city council during the first disaster, she volunteered to run the evacuation center and fire relief. This experience compelled her to run for office herself. Over eight years on the city council, she revolutionized community preparedness by training every city employee as a disaster service worker, placing supply 'sea-tainers' throughout the city, and establishing cross-agency communication. When the second wildfire hit, the community was radically better prepared, moving from chaos to structured safety.

Steven recalls the Traverse Mountain fire as a defining moment for Lehi Link. As flames threatened the community, the group became the primary source for up-to-the-minute information on evacuation zones, safety protocols, and emergency locations. The speed of the crowdsourced information outpaced traditional channels, providing residents with the immediate clarity they needed during a frightening and fast-moving natural disaster.

Phil discusses being a 'Depression baby,' born six months after his father passed away from pneumonia. He describes how his mother and nine siblings managed a farm with sheep and dairy cows during the Great Depression. His eldest brother, only 20 at the time, took over the farm management, enabling the family to keep their land and stay together despite the economic collapse.

Charlene Freestone recounts graduating from BYU in 2009 during the height of the economic recession. Despite her background in business management and corporate training, the job market collapsed, forcing her and her husband to settle in Lehi and 'scrape up' whatever limited opportunities existed. This period of scarcity forced her to wait for the right professional fit, eventually leading her toward community-focused work rather than the corporate track she initially envisioned.

Hadfield recounts the dramatic turnaround of the Lehi High School football program. Before the tenure of Coach Ed Larson, the team had suffered through a decade of poor performance, culminating in a winless 0-10 season. Hadfield joined the staff the following year, which saw three wins, and within two years, they were in the state championship game. Over the last seven years, the program has won three state titles and reached the semi-finals six times. Hadfield attributes this not just to talent, but to a stable coaching staff and a culture of consistency that didn't exist before.

During Doug's tenure as principal, Lehi High School underwent a massive four-year 'design-build' reconstruction. The project was physically demanding, involving constant dust, mud, and the encroachment of construction on a tight campus. Despite the difficulty, Doug marvels at how the faculty, students, and neighbors remained supportive and 'good to work with,' resulting in a beautiful modern facility that serves the town today.