2022 Mother's Day $45,000 New Smile Giveaway Winner: Shaylynn Gardner
Our 2022 Stubbs Dental $45,000 Mother's Day New Smile Giveaway has concluded! After reading hundreds of nominations and spending many hours learning about the wonderful mothers and women of Utah we have narrowed it down to one, and we are proud to announce Shaylynn Gardner as our winner!
Shaylynn has clearly had clearly had a profound effect on her family, friends, and those around her. She received many touching and heartfelt nominations and we would love to share some excerpts of them below.
As I got older, I was able to realize the challenges my mother overcame and obstacles she faced everyday. Her and my father have always struggled with making a stable financial income. My father owns his own business in tile. It is never an easy task to own your own business because it can be so fickle at times, but my mother always supported him in this because that's what he wanted to do. My mother is extremely selfless and gives the world to her children. She decided for a very long time to stay at home with us and raise us to be good stewards of the world. She is a wonderful housekeeper, a tremendous comforter, and the best teacher I could ask for. For her and our family, in this chapter of our lives, we needed her home. She put all of us children through music and theatre lessons at school because she wanted us to grow our talents. This was especially beneficial to me as I grew a love for playing the violin, acting in theatre, and singing in choir. My mother, no matter what she had on her plate, came to every single concert, dropped me off to every single recital, and supported me through every mistake I made. This goes for my other siblings as well, whether it was art, band, or volleyball. As we got older, my mother sacrificed her dream of being a stay-at-home mother to help my father with the income. Money was always tight growing up, but at this point in our lives, we knew that she would have to start making some bigger sacrifices. And that she did. She would wake up at 3:00 in the morning to work every day, working over 40-hours a week. Although she was juggling this full-time job, my mother always made the effort to be at home with us after we got home from school to support us in our schooling. She has sacrificed more than any mother I have ever met. Because of my mother's selflessness and all of the times that she has focused on her family rather than herself, things started to add up for the worst. With my mother staying home to take care of us and my dad working under his own name, we were never able to afford valid health care. Us children were supported under medicaid, but my parents were not eligible. My mother did the best that she could in taking care of her teeth, but this wasn't enough. She had the choice "send my children to the dentist or send myself to the dentist;" she chose her children. This was the most honorable, yet the most sacrificial decision she ever made. And it breaks my heart to bits.
Shaylynn Gardner deserves to win this contest because she is one of those moms I give everything to her kids and does not take care of herself. As a child she was not able to have the appropriate dental care and now it’s taking its toll. Shaylynn is kind, giving, and selfless. She will not smile, answer the door, or go into public. Shaylynn has a wonderful laugh and she won’t share it anymore in fear of showing her teeth. If chosen as the winner she would radiate and glow with confidence.
After so long of taking care of me and my sisters, she never made time for her and slowly started loosing her teeth. She lost a lot from sensitivity, rottenness, and stress. This past year she lost her brother and my uncle and she lost 2 teeth from all the stress. We have no photos of my mom in any family pictures due to
her being embarrassed and in pain. I answer the door for her so no one has to see her smile. Winning would change my moms life by bringing back her light in her smile and involving herself with her friends, family, and my school events!
Growing up, she had a lot of trials, including coming from a long line of smokers that did not take care of their teeth. Despite my mother never smoking, she grew up not learning the importance of brushing her teeth. As she grew up and moved away from home, she learned the importance of it, but it was too late. While doing the best she can now, there is a lot of damage she can’t afford to fix. My mother is kind, service oriented, and beautiful. But she doesn’t feel comfortable in her own smile. It is a trial in itself for her, and I have watched her struggle to be confident on days like my wedding day. She is the most deserving woman of anyone on this planet for anything, and I believe she deserves a beautiful smile to make her feel confident.
We are so happy to be giving back to a woman who has done nothing but give throughout her entire life! Her willingness to sacrifice to improve the lives of those around her is truly admirable, and we are so excited to give Shaylynn a brand new permanent set of teeth with the All-on-4® procedure!
Thank you to everyone who entered, we had hundreds of nominations and every single year is it a monumental task to narrow it down. We truly appreciate hearing every single one of your stories and want to recognize all of you for the difference you make in the lives of those around you!
