by Arya S. Hammon

Mayor Donia Jessop receiving the Element Award on Friday, March 26th, 2021.

Hildale Mayor Donia Jessop was honored this Friday by the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce at their inaugural Element Awards. Among 15 other fabulous women, the Mayor represented the very best of Hildale with grace and love. By the end of the celebratory dinner, Mayor Jessop was so moved that she quickly rewrote her closing remarks. “I am so grateful to have been here tonight… I am so grateful for every woman in my life for their resilience, for their strength, and for their capacity to love.”

Mayor Jessop was also co-host of the event, along with the chamber’s Women’s Initiative Chairwoman Kelli Charlton, who said the Mayor had been chosen for the host position long before her award nomination. Charlton had felt an instant connection to the Mayor, and when her nomination came in, she and the board chose to keep her as host and honor her as well. Charlton explained that she expects to see much more communication and collaboration between the chamber and Hildale City, especially now that she and the Mayor have formed a friendship.

A strong relationship is growing between Hildale City and Washington County.

Mayor Jessop, when asked to reflect on her journey, highlighted the importance of authenticity. “When I first took office… I was so afraid to say the wrong thing, to look like an idiot, to look uninformed… Now, every time I am on stage, or not on stage, I am authentic. I remain Donia… and then I’m not scared anymore.”

The Element Awards honors women who are “in their element and changing the world where they stand.” Pioneered by the chamber’s  Women’s Initiative committee, the awards recognized a diverse group of Washington county women that are giving back and leaving a legacy. Among them were Sergeant Choli Ence of the St. George police department; Dr. Martina Gaspari of GeneSTAT Diagnostics, who greatly improved COVID-19 tests; Nicole Goulding, co-founder of Tan’s Treats, a non-profit organization which feeds children in need; Sherrie Lou Tate of Staheli Family Farms; and many others.  

“I am so glad to be a part of yet one more thing that is the ‘beginning.’ We’ve had a lot of firsts in Hildale, and this is yet another first – and it’s the first of many,” the Mayor said. Even at an event in which she specifically was put in the spotlight, she only wanted to talk about her community and her friends, and that says everything one would need to know about the woman.