Jim and Karen Slavens:  Lives of San Juan Service 

Jim and Karen Slavens were honored as the Grand Marshals of the 4th of July parade in Blanding. They will also be honored in City Council on July 8.
Jim and Karen Slavens have given their entire lives to the building and the betterment of Blanding, as well as San Juan County.  
The following is a small sample of their lifetime of service to community and county: 
• Jim and Karen drove bus from 1982 to 1993 for school activities and to get students to and from school for Mayflower Contract Services in Blanding.
They always kept their buses clean, inspected for buses needing repairs, did paperwork and interacted with youth and parents of the youth.  
Their duties included correlation, instructing, directing, organizing, report filing, logging required information, assessing, developing and implementing individual and group plans, and interacting with community organizations.  
In the nine years they drove bus, they counseled and supervised youth, assessed needs, attended meetings, and completed training.
• Jim and Karen owned the Slavens Hardware and Lumber Company.  They sold hardware and lumber, as well as constructed many homes in our community.  They also operated Ute Mountain Construction Company from 1960 to present, where they did bookkeeping and managed rental property.
• Jim served as Mayor of Blanding and was also a City Councilman.  He always managed and spent city dollars wisely and in a manner that has benefited the city.  He was a proven leader who listened to the community and acted on facts, not emotions.  He promoted progress yet was cautious about unnecessary costs to the taxpayer.  He was successful in finding money (other than tax money) for the City of Blanding and for school projects. 
 Some of the things he did while mayor is the following:
1. Reconstruction of Highway 191. (Main Street Project.)
2. Lights on each end of town and through the town
3. Curb, gutter and paved streets spreading throughout our neighborhoods.
4. Water system was tied to Recapture Dam reducing the impact of future droughts,
5. Improvements to the airport.
6. Improvements to the cemetery.
7. Other work on water projects including the tunnel.
• They worked for Utah State Government, Division of Family Services at the Canyonlands Youth Home from 1988 to 1993.
They cooked, booked youth in and out of the facility, cleaned, did paperwork, planned and correlated youth activities, instructed, directed, organized, ordered, bought, filed, logged required information, assessed, developed and implemented individual and group plans, interacted with community organizations, and interacted with families of youth.  
They had a knowledge of care for delinquent youth, extensive knowledge of the juvenile justice system; and knowledge of community resources including after care and educational services available to youth.
• From 1993 to recently, they worked in Utah State Government, Division of Youth Corrections at the Canyonlands Youth Home.
They were skilled in individual and family counseling techniques to include group process dynamics.  They maintained the safety of everyone in the facility. They kept supervisors informed of any problems that pertained to their job or the facility.  
They also provided security for the youth and saw to it that their rights were not violated and that they received professional help if needed.  
They had to know Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), First Aid, and Suicide Prevention (ART) and had to have a Food Handlers permit.  
They oversaw the Aggressive Replacement Therapy (ART) program, Receiving Program Enhancement Process (PEP), Youth Services, C.A.R.E., Shelter, Receiving, helped staff know the rules of Material Safety Data Sheets, (SDS).  
They trained new employees writing a “New Employee Training Manual”.  They elicited donations, they wrote articles for the Youth Corrections newsletters. 
 They compiled and maintained a Resource List for San Juan and Grand counties.  They always maintained a pleasant, homelike environment, which was warm and non-threatening to youth.  
They always had a non-judgmental attitude.  They studied and learned and were well trained.  They planned and developed and implemented the best possible shelter program for CYC Shelter and Receiving. 
They always had the best-trained staff possible that specialized in teamwork and good relationships between staff and always had a calming influence.  They took pride in their work and motivated staff to take pride in their work.  They made a difference in people’s lives.  
They had a good relationship with the Division of Child and Family Services, the school and court personnel, and the different law enforcement agencies.  The facility was always in perfect condition they were good examples and good role models.
• Karen Slavens was the first women to get a pilot’s license in Blanding.  They both flew for years, Private Pilots License #528501612
• They owned and operated, “Karen’s Gifts and Gowns” starting in 1972.  Their shop was next to the pharmacy in Blanding. They ran and provided clothes for Blanding for years.
• They owned and operated the San Juan Theater also starting in 1972.  They ran if for many years.
• They owned and ran “Spa America” from 1980 to 1988.  Blanding’s first private exercise, weight management, and racquetball facility also provided the community with sun-tanning beds, exercise clothes, equipment, supplements and herbs.
• For 50 years they successfully operated several private businesses.  They have valued the resources that the City of Blanding took generations to accumulate. 
• Both were involved in many years of religious service in the community, serving as Bishop, Stake Relief Society President, Young Men, and Young Women youth organizations.  Their religious service also included many years serving in the Monticello Temple and Bluff Fort.
• They served in many community organizations in the community.
• Karen was a member of the Republican Women Assossiation.
• Karen was also Secretary for the Utah Republican Party, Blanding Northeast Precinct
• They both served as Blanding delegates.
• Karen served as PTA President
• Both Jim and Karen were involved with the Civil Air Patrol.
The following is just a short snapshot of the impact Jim and Karen have had on the lives of many different people in this community:
• Karen is always doing all she can to help someone solve a problem find solutions for anything they need help with or sending flowers or she finds ways to help out.  When we took care of my mother-in-law she would visit with her when she was processing with a color touch up or perm.  She is truly a bright light in so many of our lives.  I love both Jim and Karen they are so kind.  – Sherrie Stanley
• From the time I was just a small child growing up in Blanding, I thought one of the prettiest girls in town was Karen Alexander.  As a girl, I used to see her frequently at the San Juan Theater that her family owned and ran. I never really had the opportunity to get to know her personally until I was asked to serve as the Family Search Director in Blanding, Utah a few years ago. About that time Karen Alexander Slavens was very interested in her genealogy and I had the opportunity to go visit her and her husband frequently and help her with a few new things on FamilySearch.  It has been a joy to go to their home and have great conversations with Karen and her husband Jim. They are both very good, friendly people and have made a lot of contributions in making Blanding, Utah the amazing town that it is today. – Beverly Guymon Vowell Black

• My love for Jim and Karen started when I worked for them at the theater when I was in High School. I moved away for 20 years and as soon as I moved back to Blanding, Karen reached out to me to see if I would be interested in helping them with errands as often as I wanted or needed. That’s where my love for them grew even stronger. Each week Karen would have me pick up Subway. She always had me pick up a 3rd sandwich and had me deliver it to an Elderly neighbor who had lost his wife in recent years.  When my husband passed away tragically last year Karen was one of the first people to reach out to me to see how I was doing and how they could help. We weren’t able to bring his body to Utah to get buried, Karen and Jim generously said they would pay for a headstone for him. She told the employee that the headstone was a gift they wanted to give that will last forever. It is going to mean so much to me and my kids when it’s done and it will be a place we can go to think about their Daddy. I know I’m not the only person in town that they have helped alleviate burden that accompanies grief. Jim and Karen always do random acts of kindness for people but often don’t get the recognition in person. Them being basically home bound they often have meals delivered to a Family moving in or out of the Ward or contributing food for funerals. They do so much for our little community. They are so loved, respected and I can’t think of any two better people to be honored as this year’s Grand Marshall’s. – Terra Fepuleai

• I have known Jim and Karen Slavens since I was very young. I have always admired their kindness and friendship. Almost four years ago now, I had a surgery that went wrong, and I became very sick. I had many surgeries and spent the majority of four months in different hospitals and was bedridden for most of the next two years. Jim and Karen were a major blessing for us by helping us out financially every month during that time. Karen also lifted my spirits with text messages checking up on me regularly.  They did all this while they were also struggling with medical issues. They are angels on earth. – Sylvia Nielson

• Jim and Karen are the most wonderful and so deserving of this award, they are some of the kindest more generous people I know.  They have a genuine love for Blanding and the people who live here.  They are no respecter of persons and seem to love everyone.  There were many times when I was the RS President that Karen would just call me and ask if there was any way she could help, and willing to help wherever there was a need.  She always felt bad that her health kept her from getting out these last years but said she could help financially.  I remember one time a sister was moving out of our ward, and we were helping her clean her house and move stuff.  It was an all-day job, and Karen couldn’t come so she just ordered and sent pizza over for the rest of us for lunch.  The community is a better place with Jim and Karen in our midst.  – Alyson Chamberlain Christensen

• I have known Jim and Karen for many years.  We both worked at the Monticello Temple.  Later I was called to work there, too.  We went on the evening schedule.  Jim and Karen would pick me up and I would ride with them arriving around 4:00 pm.  It was enjoyable to visit with them on our trips.  Even though I have moved from Blanding several years ago and I now reside in South Jordan, we still stay in touch by phone calls, and I still send them cards on their birthdays.  – Joel Tate

• My husband and I moved into the Slavens neighborhood when we moved to Blanding in 1978.  They immediately took us under their wings, giving their hearts and home to us and our children.  They stood as examples of loving their neighbors their whole lives.  Jim and several sons stood in at various times in our children’s lives to perform sacred ordinances, they are the best examples of Christ-like love.  They offer so much to so many.  We love them.  – Bonnie Purcell

• I worked with Jim and Karen at the Detention Center here in Blanding.  They are very talented, and I don’t think they have ever met anyone that they didn’t love.  I appreciated my association with them.  They are great examples for all of us. – Tom Winder

• I also worked with Jim and Karen at the detention center.  They both befriended me and made me feel very welcomed.  Over the years our friendship became deeper, and I came to rely on them.  I have fond memories of working at the theater and Jim and Karen giving my three children an opportunity to learn the value of doing a job and earning money cleaning the theater.  After living in Blanding for 30 years I have moved on, but I can truly say that Jim and Karen will be missed by me the most.  I will always have fond memories of the kindness of Jim and Karen.  They are truly the best Blanding has to offer. – Ed and Wendy McDonald Johnston

• I haven’t lived here in Blanding for most of my adult life. We lived here for nine years in the nineties and then we moved away for seventeen years. We have been back home for about six years. On occasion I go visit them.  Jim and Karen are good people. I admire them both for hanging in there in spite of their poor health. Jim Slavens was bishop of the Blanding Sixth Ward when my parents were alive, though my father may have already passed away. In the past couple of years, we were ministering brother and sister in our LDS ward to a dear lady who needed to have a better bed. She wasn’t very well and struggled financially. Jim and Karen Slavens graciously paid for a new mattress for this sister. We were able to purchase the mattress and help set it up in her home. I know she appreciated it very much. It was much better than the bed she had before. We appreciate the Slaven’s kindness and generosity. Though neither of them has good health at this time, they find ways to serve others in our community. We are thankful for caring people like them.  – Joe and Ruth Glass

• I guess I can start by saying that I was renting the pink trailer next to Jim and Karen for 5 years I was neighbors to them, always giving me good advice.  Jim as well as Karen, came and checked on me when they wouldn’t see me.  They offered me all kinds of help.  Just the other day I was kind of complaining to them about not being able to read the Book of Mormon very well because of the printing so months later they bought me a new Book of Mormon that I could read along with a disc.   Jim and Karen bought me a $3,000 recliner, so thank you Jim and Karen.  Just a year ago I was in the hospital all summer they called me every day asking for my update.  – Sawd Montano

• Jim and Karen are my American grandparents.  They have adopted my parents and me as their own.  We are from Brazil.  Grandpa and Grandma hosted my parents when they were students in their twenties trying to learn English.  Because of Jim and Karen’s kindness, my parents were able to advance their careers, give me a good quality of life and plenty of opportunity.  I am now applying to medical school and am hoping to pursue a career as a physician.  Dreams come true because of good people like Grandpa and Grandma Slavens.  I will forever be grateful for their love and kindness, and know it impacted people locally and globally.  – Giulia Da Silva

• I worked with Jim and Karen when I was on the police force and with the detention center and shelter.   They did a lot for the community.  They were shining examples for us all and did a lot for our community at all hours, day and night.  They were a lot of fun, we had a lot of laughs besides all the hard work, stress and tears.  They were very efficient and hard workers, I really enjoyed working with them both.  – Bevan Wright

• Jim and Karen let us get drinking and water to wash at their house on a regular basis.  They are an excellent choice for parade marshals.  They represent the community very well.  They are extra nice and are always doing for others.  They were always so upbeat and good to us.  They are an excellent couple, great to work with!  They always give me the help I need.  I pray for them both and hope to return all the favors they gave to me someday.  – Gladyse Clyde