Pamela Atkinson has devoted her life to caring for and helping Utahns experiencing poverty and homelessness.
In the Gold Room at the state Capitol on Friday, surrounded by her friends and family along with legislative, church and business leaders, Gov. Spencer Cox declared Feb. 24 as Pamela Atkinson Day to recognize her longtime service in Utah.
“This is a very special day,” the governor said.
Atkinson, he said, has always exemplified the very best characteristics of people and deity.
“She treats everyone with the same amount of respect whether she’s in the halls of the legislature meeting with some of the most powerful people in our state or in the Rio Grande district with those who feel left behind, and who have stopped believing even in themselves,” Cox said.
The unconditional respect that Atkinson holds for everyone is rare and desperately needed today, he said.
“I want to be like Pamela,” Cox said, “because Pamela is like Jesus.”
Cox cited her childhood in London where she “lived in the margins of society in poverty,” thanking her for the path she has followed before reading and signing the document declaring Pamela Atkinson Day.
“Pamela Atkinson has devoted her life to serving others, donating countless hours to personally provide people in need with bedding, clothing, food, shelter and medical care,” the declaration reads.
The declaration lists her involvement in the Lincoln Family Health Center, Intermountain Neighborhood Clinic, Rose Park Family Health Center and her service for 10 years on the Utah Board of Regents, the State Board of Education and the Utah College of Technology board.
It stated her involvement in other boards including Utah Homelessness Council, Envision Utah, Utah Coalition Against Pornography, the state Refugee Board, BMW of North America and her role as an elder at the First Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City are also listed.
“She has had a tremendous impact on the state of Utah and we celebrate her iconic legacy of being recklessly good as we strive to live better and love bigger, as she always has,” the declaration said.
Atkinson is a “shining example,” of what a Utah citizen should be, said Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson.
“I think it’s impossible to overstate the impact that Pamela Atkinson has had on our state,” she said.
Atkinson’s work, Henderson said, has shaped the conversation in Utah about caring for the poor and the homeless.
President M. Russell Ballard, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke of his friendship with Atkinson.
Atkinson is a “wonderful example of a person who has spent a lifetime helping others, one who has a deep and abiding faith in God, and one who sees each one of us wherever she finds us as children of God,” he said.
House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, recognized Atkinson’s contribution to the community as well.
“Every interaction I’ve had with her I’ve always wanted to be better at what I do. She is a champion of helping everyone in this state find dignity in themselves and in humanity,” Wilson said.
Even in the face of disagreement, Atkinson is a friend to all, he said.
Wilson said, “Her willingness personally to share her time, her financial resources and her love is unmatched.”
