Sally Hunter Jensen has what can only be termed a “big
personality” and a talent for performing, along with a sincere concern for
those who may not otherwise find acceptance. These traits, among many valuable
others, have endeared her to her hometown and her alma mater and make her a greatly
worthy recipient of this year’s Carmen Rose Hepworth Award.
She was born into one of Cedar City’s pioneering families, one
that also is among the 142 families appearing on the SUU Monument to the
Founders. She is the granddaughter of a Cedar City mayor, and her father, the
late Forrest Hunter, operated several retail enterprises here before purchasing
KSUB radio in the 1970s. He was a popular figure, and Sally’s mother Dawn, now
nearly 90, continues to be among the city’s grand dames.
Sally grew with a panoply of dreams, but knew somehow that
her future would include the arts, so she religiously studied piano, becoming
her vocalist father’s most trusted accompanist. Soon she was performing at
Cedar High and at what is now SUU, singing and acting in plays and operas. A
popular student, she was elected Snow Queen in 1980.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in vocal performance with a
secondary teaching certificate and taught at schools in Utah, Colorado and
Arizona in the 1980s before deciding the calling was not for her. Along the
way, she says, she kept her hand in performing. Among her side jobs was a turn
as a singing waitress.
It was always her goal to become better at whatever she
tried to do and to seek after excellence for her own fulfillment. If someone
noticed, she says, that was always good too.
She has always been a welcome presence on SUU’s stages and her
many performances included a role in the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s first
matinee and first musical, The Mikado,
in 1977. While enjoyable, performing was not paying her bills, so with the
encouragement of her father and an industrious hunt for financing, she was able
to follow her merchant heritage and open a retail store on Cedar City’s Main Street
in 1990.
The Wizz is now a town jewel and has supported a wide variety
of local programs, while also allowing Sally to contribute in broader strokes
to the University, as well, as she has employed dozens of SUU students over the
years. Campus customers provide greater than 50 percent of her business and important
to her is the connection she feels with students, particularly those who may
not feel that they fit in. Her store is a place where all feel welcome and comfortable
and she counts herself as a friend, sounding board and mentor to students.
That speaks to her wide appeal to others, as she connects generations,
hierarchies and interests.
She has also established an SUU scholarship in the name of
her late husband. The Jason Ted Jensen Scholarship aids future
teachers with an original approach to teaching and life and the desire to improve
the education system.
Sally, with a strong sense of service, has also given integral
labor to the Cedar City Music Arts Association, the Orchestra of Southern Utah,
the Neil Simon Festival and the Red Rock Singers.
The Carmen Rose Hepworth award is presented annually at Thunderbird Awards.
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