Amanda the Mom
Amanda Dickson is a 44-year-old woman who is in love with her amazing husband Aaron and her children - all 5 of them. She is the step-mother of Laurel (20), Ashley (19) and Cameron (16) who have taught her more about forgiveness and hope than she felt capable of learning. She is also the mother of Ethan (4) and Aiden (3) whose smiles and squeals make her feel glad to be alive. Amanda thought she had had some pretty cool experiences before she became a mother, but now she understands what all mothers understand - nothing comes close to this one!
Her day starts every morning at 2:45, or whenever Aiden wakes for a bottle. (He still wakes in the night, poor sweet guy.) She tiptoes out of the house before anyone else is awake and hurries home before anyone gets back from school. She delights in her time with her children, whether it's wrestling on the floor with the little boys or talking about college and career dreams with Cameron and Ashley. Amanda's oldest daughter, Laurel, has Down syndrome, and is a source of constant love, affection and inspiration for Amanda.
Amanda the Radio Announcer
Being a Mom is her favorite job, but not her only one. Amanda is the morning show co-host for KSL in Salt Lake City, a job she's cherished for 16 years. While she's on the air every weekday morning from 5:00 to 9:00 AM, she is addicted to multi-tasking - reading newspapers and blogs , checking email and text messages, updating facebook and her website - oh yeah - and reading the news. She and her co-host, Grant Nielsen, have been partners for longer than many married couples stay together. She is also a motivational speaker (more on that under Services), an author, a book reviewer, a voice-over artist, an enthusiastic baker and a reluctant house cleaner. At one time or another, she's been a waitress, lawyer, college professor, disc jockey, newspaper columnist, restaurant manager, WNBA announcer, receptionist, and pizza maker. In case you couldn't tell, Amanda loves to work.
When Amanda isn't speaking on the radio or to groups, or working on her latest book, she thrives from reaching out to her community. She is a regular speaker to elementary and middle schools in Utah and frequently emcees non-profit events. She also serves on the boards of various charities and arts groups. But before this sounds like a resume, she wants only to say that she believes strongly in giving back to the community that has given her and her family so much.
Amanda the Speaker and Coach
Amanda never set out to be a speaker, motivational or otherwise. This was a calling for her that seemed to develop a life of its own, as all inspired endeavors do. After years of speaking to groups of all sizes and makeups, she found that she was able to be of service to people, that her funny stories and self-deprecating anecdotes let people put down their stress for an hour. She now enjoys speaking all over the country on topics including embracing change (the topic of her new book), building successful teams, finding joy in your work, and discovering uptapped energy.
Former Presidential Candidate and Governor Mitt Romney said of Amanda when he was in Utah and managing Salt Lake's 2002 Olympic Games, "We asked Amanda to host our pre-show ceremonies because she most represented the spirit of Utah." Her spirit is infectious, right along with her laugh, and audiences of all backgrounds have felt and benefitted from that irresistible energy.