In choosing a resident of the year, one thing became clear — our community is not short of people who devote their time to helping others.
Although one resident was chosen — Logan City Mayor Holly Daines for her significant impact on the community as a whole — a non-exhaustive list suggested by community members was considered.
The list included interim Athletic Director at Utah State University Jerry Bovee, retired Cache County School District Superintendent Steve Norton, Bear River Association of Governments, Executive Director of Cache Valley Center for the Arts Wendi Hassan, St. John’s Episcopal Church, the William A. Burnard Warming Center, Jamie Buttars with Cache Coffee And More, Bicycle Brent, Ted and Stefanee Chalfant with Little Lambs, Burke TheButcher, Jaymee Kay Loftin Avery with Families Feeding Families, Jason Hansen with the Christmas Car Project, 4 Helping Hearts, the Cache Refugee and Immigrant Connection, Shelley Compton, Jim and Carol Laub and Robyn Nelson with One Wish Cache Valley.
Daines, who served on the Logan City Council for eight years from 2010-17 and has served as mayor since 2017 with one reelection, said she doesn’t do anything alone.
“I appreciate the honor you’ve given me, but I also do have to just say I’ve had an amazing city council to work with,” Daines said. “They approve the budget, right. I go to them with the vision, but we all have to come together on a vision, and I have to have their support. And the same thing with my amazing staff that gets things done. We can make a decision, but they’re the ones to carry it out.”
Daines has changed the face of the center of our valley in an effort to not only revitalize downtown Logan, but to create a gathering place for the community she says was not there before.
“It’s just become a real gathering place,” she said. “I don’t think our community had a gathering place. So, between Center Street and the Plaza, there’s a place to come that is downtown. That is festive and fun, and you can come with your friends or your family or whoever. There’s a draw or reason to come downtown and we can have events that create a sense of community.”
This year — in another non-exhaustive list — Daines hosted the former president of Ukraine, named a new police chief and a new fire chief, completed a new transportation master plan, expanded Logan City’s trail systems, bridges and underpasses and upgraded aging infrastructure. Daines spearheaded a new outdoor recreation complex, the Carol and Jim Laub Plaza, the ongoing revitalization of downtown, the Cache Valley Marketplace mall redevelopment project, the new Logan Library and a new fire station.
“That’s probably the thing that I’m most grateful for, is the amazing staff and the really amazing city council that I’ve had to work with, and frankly, that was one reason I was willing to run for mayor six years ago,” she said. “This city is well run; I’m not rescuing a sinking ship. I just can move things forward and have a really good group.”
Logan City Council Member Amy Anderson said Daines has focused on strengthening relationships between city staff, council members and the community and has always been “mindful of the core work of our city — providing necessary services in a fiscally sound way.”
She said she is honored to serve alongside Daines.
“Every tradition has a beginning,” Anderson said. “Holly’s office has a watercolor painted by her mother, Louise Hubbard, hanging over her desk. It is reflective of her passion for family, relationships, art and the importance of memories. As a leader in our community, Holly sparked initiatives for the Historic Theater District, Public Art plan and improvements on Center Street, Center Block and our new city hall and library plaza. These spaces have begun to create new traditions for us all.”
Julie Hollist Terrill, director of the Cache County Visitors Bureau, said Daines is a “class act in every way.” Adding that Daines is a professional gardener and gourmet cook as well.
“Holly is a consummate professional,” Terrill said. “I love working with her because she makes things happen; she doesn’t just talk about doing them. She has dedicated many years to public service and has galvanized residents and granting organizations to create and fund wonderful projects that benefit the entire county without raising taxes for residents.”
Sitting together in the new Plaza, on a not-so-cold December day and becoming surrounded by enthusiastic ice skaters, Daines reflected on her 2023.
During the first month Daines was elected mayor in 2017, she started talking to business owners on Center Street, assessing their interest in redoing the area.
“I think when you’re passionate about something, and you believe in something, you’re willing to go to the extra effort to make it happen,” she said. “And when there are setbacks, you can’t give up. You kind of have to regroup a little bit, and listen and say, ‘How do I need to adjust and change a little bit?’ But ultimately, you continue forward.”
Daines grew up in Logan from the age of six and spent a lot of time on her dad’s farm.
“I think I learned to work really hard,” she said.
Playing in the canal at Merlin Olson Park as a young girl and spending time outside, Daines said she has always loved Logan and remembers always thinking it is a beautiful city.
“I guess maybe as a child, I took that for granted,” Daines said. “But as you travel and go to other cities and other places, you realize what a beautiful historic downtown we have.”
Daines’ mother — an artist and lover of the arts — took her to concerts, art galleries and plays and taught painting and drawing.
“My mom, she was just a very positive person, had great confidence in me and would try and instill confidence in her children,” Daines said. “And so I think that allowed me to take criticism and not let it bother me. And just say, as long as I’ve done my homework, and I know there’s a good plan and I know I have the support, then you can just go forward and do it — because you’ll never make everyone happy. There will always be critics. But you know you’re doing the right thing. There are occasional setbacks. And occasionally you make mistakes. I mean, no one’s perfect. I’m just a hard worker, too. I worked hard. And you try and you just want to make good things happen.”
Daines has always had an appreciation for arts, design and the quality and integrity of the city’s historic buildings, she said.
Daines attended Wilson Elementary, Mount Logan Middle School and Logan High School. She received her bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Utah State University — always knowing she would pursue a second degree — and her master’s degree from the University of Utah in arts administration.
She also wrote human interest stories for The Herald Journal after her time at USU.
Daines moved to New York City with her husband and worked for a foundation providing grants to young artists. She said she gained a new perspective on walkable cities and didn’t own a car for four years living there.
Once back in Logan, Daines’ city involvement began with saving the Ellen Eccles Theatre from demolition and joining an effort to restore the theatre.
While being a stay-at-home mother, Daines volunteered on the board of the theatre and became part of a park committee — helping to organize community members to build more parks.
“I learned that when you get involved, you can get things done, and people at the city will listen, and it’s a process but we were delighted when finally got a park for the neighborhood,” she said.
After volunteering for a few years on the board of the theatre and for the Bullen Art Center, she was asked to step in as interim executive director of the theater for about six months.
When her youngest daughter was able to drive, Daines had more free time and decided to run for city council — after impactful encouragement from two women on the council at the time.
“I just really have always cared about my community, and I’ve wanted to find a way to give back to my community,” she said. “So it seemed like a good way to give back to my community.”
Although running for mayor was not part of Daines’ original plans, after eight years on city council she started considering it.
“I started to think there’s things that I could do as mayor and I felt like after eight years on city council, I had a really good understanding of the budget and the finances, which is a critical part of being mayor,” she said.
Daines had four goals in starting her new chapter as Logan City Mayor.
“My first goal as mayor was basically financial stability and accountability, that we need to spend money wisely,” she said. “The second was downtown revitalization. The third was continue to promote our parks and trails to try and connect trails and add parks as we can. And then the fourth was improve aging infrastructure and add new infrastructure because, again, those are the things sometimes people don’t see especially those pipes under the ground.”
After 100 years, she said, reinvestment in infrastructure is needed and important to leave it better for the next 100 years.
“I think one blessing of being in the city is our elections are nonpartisan,” Daines said. “I wish a whole lot more elections could be nonpartisan, because I think that helps take out some of the controversy. In just a city, you want to just pick up the garbage and make sure the sewer and the water works and have public safety and parks and rec. It doesn’t matter what party you’re in. You just want to get those critical services done.”
We have an amazing community, she said, and there are so many good people in our community.
“You often hear from the vocal minority, who can critique and complain,” Daines said. “But there are just good people out there that are willing to help others that support good projects that enjoy improvements to downtown. I think overall, people really are pleased with what we’ve done downtown and in the community with our parks and trails with infrastructure. They’re good investments, and they will serve the city well for years to come.”
Looking past 2023 to her younger self, Daines would have told herself that as a young woman, you can make a difference. Getting involved is not always easy, but you can make a difference if you are willing to work hard, get involved and get others involved.
“I think women should consider running for office, we need more women’s voices in government,” Daines said. “There are a lot of good people that run for office, but it’s getting more and more challenging to find good people to run. Because there’s the criticism that comes with it. But that’s okay. You can be a little tough. You do want to get input and make good decisions for everybody.”
Starting as a volunteer in the community and seeing where it takes you is a great way to start, she said.
“Dream big. And consider community service,” Daines said. “Although I didn’t run for office until later in my life, I think I had set the stage by serving in many volunteer positions. And when I ran for council the first time, my platform was 20 years of community service.”
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