2024 S.M.I.L.E. AWARDS

After getting some fancy degrees, working in orphanages in Eastern Europe, setting up enrichment programs for at-risk kids, and training educators across the country, Saren met and married and had 5 kids in 5 years, launching hard-core into the world of motherhood. She felt pretty confident going in—having been the oldest of 9 kids and the forementioned experience—but she quickly found that taking care of so many small humans 24/7 was a whole different ball game. She longed for the kind of education, support, and collaboration for her motherhood career that she’d experienced in her pre-motherhood career. So she spent every moment when her kids were otherwise occupied (nap times, school time, late nights) co-founding Power of Moms. As Saren worked with moms, she realized that the dads needed to be part of the training too, so she moved her work to a new organization, Power of Families, which offers training and support for both moms and dads and has supported thousands of parents around the world. 

Saren’s parents, Richard and Linda Eyre, are New York Times #1 bestselling authors of parenting books, and Saren credits them for much of the content she offers through Power of Familie. Saren and her sisters host the podcast In the Arena with the Eyre Sisters, where they share how their experiences growing up have impacted their motherhood journeys.

America’s Violinist, Jenny Oaks Baker is a Grammy Nominated, Billboard No. 1 performer and recording artist. Jenny has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and has collaborated with luminaries such as Gladys Knight, Marie Osmond, and Kurt Bestor and has released 19 studio albums, which have sold over a million copies. Music from her album, Wish Upon a Star, is featured at Disney World and Disneyland to introduce the nightly fireworks show. 

Jenny’s greatest joy comes from being a wife and mother. She and her talented children, musical group Family Four, have been performing together throughout the world since each child started playing their instruments when they were three or four years old. Jenny, her husband Matt, and their four children are from Salt Lake City, UT. 

SalsaQueen (yes, that’s her legal name) started her business in 2014 as a single mother in order to provide for her seven children. Since then, the company (also Salsa Queen) has quickly grown into one of the largest regional producers of fresh, gourmet salsas, now in more than 1,500 stores in over 30 states. SalsaQueen immigrated to the US with her family when she was still a teenager and spoke no English. When her first child was being treated for leukemia, she spent 19 months practically living at the children’s hospital. Unfortunately, he passed away, but she was blessed with seven others.  

After her divorce, she found herself needing to provide for her children without any work experience or even a high school degree. It was important that her new business reflect her love of cooking and her cultural background, which is how Salsa Queen was born.  

At first, orders were generated from Facebook postings followed by meeting in a parking lot! She and her children would make the salsas around their small kitchen in their Magna house. She was accepted into the Wheeler Farmers’ Market; then four local stores; eventually Kroger and Associated Foods the following year. Now, Salsa Queen can be found in Sprout’s, Smart&Final, and Costco, and hundreds of independent stores.

SalsaQueen incorporated the sugar skull as the Salsa Queen logo, and it is a constant reminder of her first child who passed away, so for her Salsa Queen is the ultimate in a family-owned business.

One of SalsaQueen’s proudest accomplishments is that her initial motivation of providing for her family is now allowing her 30-plus employees to provide for theirs. In 2019, she completed the naturalization process, during which time she legally changed her name to SalsaQueen Zapata. Salsa Queen LLC is 100 percent woman/minority owned and is living proof that the American dream is alive, vibrant, and attainable. 

 Salsa Queen LLC

info@salsaqueen.com      

801-307-8336

Originally from Portland, Oregon, Whitney Call went to BYU, where she received a BA in English and a MFA in creative writing. After 4 years performing in the campus sketch group Divine Comedy, she and nine other cast members approached BYUtv in 2011 and created the sketch comedy series Studio C, writing and acting for nine seasons. In 2018, she left Studio C to co-found JK! Studios, a web series production company, where she wrote and acted in the workplace comedy series Freelancers and in the satirical vlog series Loving Lyfe. She works in freelance ad writing and in 2019 originated the Lumē Deodorant spokeswoman—she loves being known across the web for good smelling pits and privates! 

During the 2020 pandemic, Whitney and her writing partner/best friend Mallory Everton wrote and produced the feature film Stop and Go, a comedy about two sisters who embark on a cross-country road trip to save their grandmother from a COVID-infested nursing home. They wrote, filmed, and edited the movie in six weeks on a shoestring budget with a skeleton film crew and had the good fortune of being highlighted at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival and then acquired by Hulu. Last year, she wrote the JK! Studios debut feature Go West, which premiered in theaters last summer and is available on VOD at Apple TV and Prime Video.

You can find Whitney on Instagram with the handle @whitneycall, though her social media presence is scant and sometimes veers away from funny videos to make earnest posts about mental health, so it’s a pretty specific algorithm. She currently resides in Provo, Utah, with her husband, three boys, her dog Rolly, and six chickens to balance out all the testosterone.

When Angie had her first baby in 1998 it changed her life and set her on a path she never could have imagined. She trained as a doula in 2003 and found a rewarding role in helping others along their journey into Mothering. 

Angie went on to have five children, some of which were born at home, who are now ages 25 to 9. Being a Mom has been the greatest honor and privilege of her life. Watching each child grow and develop in their own unique way provides opportunities for learning and growth throughout the years.  

Angie homeschooled for 16 years and enjoyed the connection from time spent together each day. Part of homeschooling was taking month-long cross country trips to explore the beautiful world we live in.  

As a lifelong learner Angie received her Masters degree in Maternal and Child Health Systems in 2020 and got her IBCLC not long after. 

Personally and professionally Angie finds joy in connecting with others and hopes to lift and improve the lives of those around her. She counts it a great honor to be involved in people’s lives and has learned many life lessons about love, work, determination, and heartache from the families she has served over the last 20 years