Democratic
State Party Chair Jim Dabakis praised the selection saying,
“Representative Patrice Arent is a modern example of the courage and
values we saw from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor Roosevelt was a woman
ahead of her time, a warm, loving, sincere, kind, wise, strong, disciplined,
and very human person who used her talents and position to help bring about
much needed social change for which she will never be forgotten and will always
be treasured. We think the same can be said for Patrice.”
First
elected in 1996, Patrice served for a decade in the Utah House and
Senate. After completing her term in 2006, Patrice moved out of her
Senate district to the Millcreek
community. During her legislative tenure, the Deseret News repeatedly
named Patrice as one of the five “Most Effective” members of the
Senate and House. She was elected to the State House in her new district in Millcreek in 2010 and currently serves as a member of the
Democratic National Committee where she has been nominated to serve on the
powerful DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee.
As a
legislator, Patrice worked hard to increase support for education, health and
human services, and preservation of open space. She helped lead efforts to stop
higher-level nuclear waste from being stored in Utah. She also worked to amend or
defeat legislation that wasted tax dollars.
Patrice
works with her husband David Mock in a small family business and teaches
part-time at the University
of Utah's S.J. Quinney
College of Law. She is the proud mother of Sarah and Josh,
fifth-generation Utahns. Patrice is a graduate of the University
of Utah and Cornell Law
School. She was a
division chief in the Utah Attorney General's Office, Associate General Counsel
to the Utah Legislature, and practiced in a private law firm.
Patrice has
been actively involved in community service for most of her life. She has
volunteered on several boards including the University of Utah Hospital, Ronald
McDonald House, AARP, and committees at Skyline and Olympus
high schools. Patrice volunteers at the homeless shelters and in the
public schools, and is active in Rotary International. She has won many awards
for her community and legislative service.
Patrice
worked as a parking lot attendant, gift wrapper, buyer, and sales clerk for her
family business, “Arent’s Doorway to Fashion.” Working
in her family's business taught Patrice the value of hard work, the importance
of listening to your customers, and providing good, honest service. She has
also worked as a waitress, substitute teacher, and law clerk in federal
court.
In their
free time, Patrice and her family enjoy exploring Millcreek Canyon, music, skiing,
theater, and hiking in Boulder, Utah. Patrice's wonderful father, Marvin
Arent, often joins them on vacations.
Patrice
Arent was selected by a committee of past award winners from nominations
submitted by members of the public and party activists. Special recognition
will also be given to the Utah Democratic Women’s Club, the longest
continuing Women’s Democratic Club in the nation at over 100 years of
activity.
The award
will be presented at the eighteenth annual Eleanor Roosevelt Award Luncheon to
be held on October 27, 2011 at the Garden
Place at This is the Place
Heritage Park
in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Past award
winners include former Congresswoman Karen Shepherd; Utah First Ladies Lucy
Beth Rampton and Norma Matheson; former Attorney General Jan Graham; Salt Lake
County Clerk Sherrie Swensen, former State House members Judy Ann Buffmire and
Beverly White; State Senator Karen Mayne and former State Senators Karen Hale
and Paula Julander; Party activists Fae Beck, Rosa Vida Black, ShaRon Nelson,
Louise Henson and Helen James; former Executive Director of the Utah Education
Association Susan Kuziak; former Utah AFL-CIO political director Beverly
Saathoff; well-known community activists Annette Cumming, Esther Landa, Robyn
Matheson and Peggy Swenson.
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