Friday, October 20, 2023, 5:00–9:00 p.m.
UVU Sorenson Center Grand Ballroom and Ragan Theater, Orem, UT
Thank you to the over 300 people who joined us for our annual fundraiser, the LDSPMA Awards Gala!
Please return to this page in the summer of 2024 to find information about our 2024 Awards Gala.
The Evening’s Agenda
Awards Banquet
5:00 – UVU Sorenson Ballroom doors open
5:30 – Buffet dinner served by UVU Catering
6:00 – Musical Entertainment by Emma Nissen and Mat and Savanna Shaw
Awards Show
6:30 – UVU Ragan Theater doors open
7:00–9:00 – Awards presentation in the Ragan Theater
9:00–9:30 – Dessert and mingling in Ballroom
Emcee
Amy Morgan Davis
Amy is a well-known public figure in the state of Utah for her extensive performing background as a concert pianist, public speaker, and former Miss Utah. She obtained a Master’s degree in Piano Performance from the U of U and a Bachelor’s of Science in Musical Theater from WSU. During her graduate studies, she was a member of “The Ladies In Red,” a prestigious piano quartet that performs extensively across the US to raise money for the Piano Outreach Program. She had the opportunity to travel and perform in Washington DC at Governor Huntsman’s home as well as in NYC at Steinway Hall. She has studied with Professor Lenora Brown, Dr. Yu-Jane Yang, and Dr. Jie Lu.
In 2004, Amy competed against 53 contestants and won the title of Miss Utah as well as the Evening Gown and Swimsuit in Fitness scholarship awards. At 19 years old, Amy suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a member of the scholarship varsity cheer and dance teams at WSU. She used music as a tool to help with her recovery and became the National Spokesperson for BIAA to support patients with TBI. She was awarded the Lifestyle Swimsuit in Fitness scholarship award at the Miss America Pageant in 2005 and the Presidential Service award for the state of Utah. In 2007 she also won first runner up to Miss Utah USA. Through these competitions, she won over $20,000 in scholarships as well as full tuition for cosmetology school with Taylor Andrews Academy. Amy finished her training in 2007, and after studying abroad in Paris, France, she operated Center Stage Salon for seven years.
Currently, Amy travels every week as a professional HMUA and film Actress, working on national commercial shoots all over the state. As a full-time actress, Amy has been the spokesperson for over 50 websites and was the covergirl of Verage Skin Care by DoTerra in 2015. She has been chosen as the principal actress for numerous commercials including RC Willey, Comcast, Bullfrog Spa, Arches Health Care, Ivory Homes, ASEA, Udo, Overstock, Nuriche, NordicTrack, Disney, and many others. She was also the piano hands in High School Musical 3 and was the featured pianist in Alex Boyé’s music video “Set Fire to the Rain.”
As a business owner, Amy started a professional pageant coaching business where she trains girls, teens, and women of all ages in an extensive program for each area of the pageant. She is proud to be the coach of 15 State Titleholders and five national winners from all different pageant systems. In her program, Win the Pageant, she teaches specific tools to becoming a winner, but most importantly, how to win in life. Besides her busy schedule, Amy has performed the piano and been interviewed live on Good Morning America, The Today Show, Geraldo At Large, and Inside Edition. She travels often as a motivational speaker sharing her personal story of survival and what it takes to achieve success.
Musical Entertainment
Emma Nissen
Emma Nissen is a Swedish-American singer-songwriter who grew up in Mesa, Arizona. She has four older brothers who all play piano and sing.
In 2019, Emma was called to serve in the Stockholm Sweden Mission. Two months after arriving in the country, COVID-19 emerged. Looking for a way to bear her testimony beyond her apartment walls, Emma began writing songs. Her first song (“Gotta Have Faith”) quickly gained popularity on social media and was shared by missionaries and investigators around the world. Several songs followed with the same result.
Emma recently signed as a recording artist with Deseret Book and can’t wait to continue performing and sharing her music.
Mat and Savanna Shaw
Mat and Savanna Shaw are a daddy-daughter duo from Utah who rose to prominence during the COVID-19 quarantine. Savanna, eager to keep in touch with her music friends, started a music social media account. Normally a shy and private teenager, she was nervous to sing her first song by herself, so she asked her dad to join her in singing “The Prayer.”
After that video went viral, Mat and Savanna continued releasing duets on social media and streaming platforms, with singles charting in multiple countries. They quickly garnered a worldwide following, now resulting in over 640,000 YouTube subscribers. In October of 2020, their first album “Picture This” debuted at #1 on the iTunes Pop Chart and #1 on multiple billboard charts. They have now released a total of six albums, all of which have debuted at the top of iTunes, Amazon, and Billboard charts worldwide. Mat and Savanna are now performing throughout the world and have shared the stage with many other artists, including Jim Brickman, Ryan Seacrest, David Archuleta, Neon Trees, Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons, and The Piano Guys. The New York Times said they “harmonize into billowy bliss.” Kelly Clarkson called them “incredibly gifted” and Good Morning America said, “This father-daughter duo’s music is bringing hope.”
Mat and Savanna’s uplifting song choices and harmonies have inspired people the world over. They have a passion for using music for good—often supporting charities, good causes, and providing inspiration with their performances. Their goal and mission is to share hope and spread joy through music.
Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients
Lyle Mortimer
Lifetime Achievement Award in Publishing
Lyle Mortimer has left an indelible mark on the publishing world, illustrating his dedication and passion for improving lives. As a proud alumnus of Brigham Young University, Lyle earned a degree in theater and cinematic arts, where he cultivated a deep appreciation for storytelling, creativity, and the transformative power of visual expression.
In 1986, Lyle became the founder of Cedar Fort Publishing & Media. Under his leadership, Cedar Fort emerged as a prominent publishing house, releasing over three thousand captivating titles that resonate with readers worldwide. With a special emphasis on serving members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Cedar Fort has sold millions of copies. Notable among their accomplishments are the widely recognized Made Easier series and the Beyond the Veil series.
Throughout the years, Lyle actively engaged in community theater and embraced various roles as an actor, singer, director, set builder, and producer. His extensive experience in theater provided him with a profound understanding of the intricacies of form, fueling his love for the craft.
Lyle has devoted his life to service in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Alongside his wife, Sheila Hunter, he served as a senior missionary in the Philippines Manila Mission from 2015 to 2016 and later in the New Zealand Auckland Mission from 2019 to 2020, specifically the island of Niue where Lyle served as a youth. They are currently serving a service mission from home. They reside in Springville, Utah and find joy in their loving marriage of forty-eight years. Together they are the parents of four sons and three daughters. They cherish their thirty-five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Jared Brown
Lifetime Achievement Award in Media
Jared F. Brown is the co-founder of Living Scriptures Inc. and Nest Entertainment. Over his career he has been involved in the production of almost two hundred hours of dramatized audio stories, sixty-nine animated films on scripture stories and heroes, thirty-one live-action docudramas on Church history and the modern prophets, and one national theatrical release with ten full-length sequels.
When he co-founded Living Scriptures in 1974 with his partner Seldon Young, Jared’s mission was to create vivid audio stories that engaged families and adults in the scriptures. But it wasn’t until 1986 that Jared realized his most important mission: to visually translate the scriptures into a language young children could easily understand and enjoy—animation. To accomplish this, he enlisted the talented writer Orson Scott Card, gifted musician Lex de Azevedo, and former Disney director Richard Rich. For ten years, this vibrant team created beautiful films that, more than thirty-five years later, still encapsulate the power of Christ’s gospel through fun and moving stories.
These animated films have reached an audience of hundreds of millions of people throughout the world. They have been translated into eight languages, were among the first outside shows to play in Russia after the fall of the Iron Curtain, and became the main curriculum library for children in thousands of Christian churches. Many viewers have been influenced by the positive messages found in these films, and Living Scriptures has received hundreds of stories of how these films have inspired people to join the Church, serve missions, or dramatically change their lives for the better.
In 1994, Jared was the executive producer for the film The Swan Princess. This film, based on the ballet Swan Lake, was an ambitious project whose major competitor was Disney. The Swan Princess has since become one of the longest running full-length franchises with ten full-length sequels over twenty years.
Jared’s business and mission continues today through his son, Matt, who has expanded Living Scriptures into a popular streaming service, reaching hundreds of thousands globally with over five thousand family friendly films, original series such as Line Upon Line and Latterday News, and of course, the still very popular original films Jared and others produced to make gospel learning fun.
Michael McLean
Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts
Michael McLean is a songwriter, composer, author, performer, playwright, and filmmaker with a career spanning five decades.
Born in Utah in 1952, Michael’s family moved every few years as he was growing up. While attending high school near Chicago, he played the role of Harold Hill in John Hersey High School’s production of The Music Man and took second place in the Illinois High School State Speech Competition for an original monologue.
From 1971 to 1973, Michael served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Southern Africa. While there, he discovered his passion for songwriting when he performed in a musical group known as The Family Band. After returning from his mission, he formed a band called Light which scored and performed the music for the film The Life And Times of Grizzly Adams and created musical jingles for several regional and national clients. His first break came in 1976 when he was hired to be the radio and television broadcast producer for The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. This led to him producing Mr. Krueger’s Christmas, a film for television starring film legend James Stewart.
Since 1983, Michael has written music and lyrics for more than thirty albums, which have sold over two million copies. Since 1991, he has starred in a theatrical version of The Forgotten Carols to sold-out audiences on his yearly holiday tour. Michael was the original story writer, producer, and director of Nora’s Christmas Gift starring Academy Award winner Celeste Holm. Other films he has written and directed include Together Forever, The Prodigal Son, and What Is Real?
During his seventeen years in the advertising industry, Michael received numerous national and international awards for advertising, including the prestigious Clio Award, National Addy Award, New York Ad Club’s Andy Award, two National Emmy Finalist awards, and the Bronze Lion at the Cannes Film Festival.
Michael and his wife Lynne have three children and two grandchildren.
Praiseworthy Awards
The LDSPMA Praiseworthy Awards program recognizes works that are “of good report or praiseworthy” (Articles of Faith 1:13) in multiple categories across the fields of publishing, media, and the arts. Each year, the Praiseworthy Awards recognize works released during the previous year that are held up to a professional standard.
In August, three finalists for each of our 29 categories will be announced and invited to the LDSPMA Awards Gala. There, the winners will be announced and given their awards.
Praiseworthy Award Categories
Publishing
- Historical Fiction
- Suspense/Mystery
- Science Fiction/Fantasy
- Romance
- Short Story/Anthology/Novella
- History/Biography
- Lifestyle
- Memoir
- Religious Topic/Scripture Study
- Resource/Self-Help
- Poetry
Media
- Picture Book
- Multimedia Digital
- Podcast
- Audiobook
- Short-form Film
- Filmed Dance Performance
- Music Video Cover/Arrangement
- Music Video Children’s Original
- Music Video Adult/Youth Original
Arts
- Secular Music Cover/Arrangement
- Original Pop/Rock/Electronic Music
- Original Folk/Indie/Gospel Music
- Original Classical/Instrumental Music
- Original Musical Theater
- Religious Music Cover/Arrangement
- Religious Adult/Youth Original Music
- 2D Art
- 3D Art
Spark Awards
A primary purpose of LDSPMA is to lift creators from where they may be struggling to find new inspiration, hope, and opportunities. Part of the way LDSPMA fulfills this mission is to recognize aspiring, amateur creators in a variety of categories in publishing, media, and the arts. These creators receive not only the Spark Award, which recognizes their potential and talent, but also valuable resources and scholarships to propel their creative career forward.
Spark Award Categories
Publishing
- Historical Fiction
- Science Fiction/Fantasy
- Short Story/Anthology/Novella
- Lifestyle
- Memoir
- Religious Topic/Scripture Study
- Resource/Self-Help
- Poetry
Media
- Picture Book
- Screenplay
- Music Video Cover/Arrangement
Arts
- Secular Original Music
- Religious Original Music
- 2D Art
Thank You to Our Sponsors!
Utah DIY Wedding Decor Rentals
Mountain Event Rentals
Your Donation Matters
The LDSPMA Awards Gala is not just an awards banquet—it is our annual fundraising event. Funds from donations will be used to (1) award grants to the Spark Award winners to help advance their creative careers, and (2) fund other LDSPMA programs that empower Latter-day Saints to spread light and truth. Thank you!
Make a Donation
Our gala has passed, but you can still make a difference!
All donations will go to support our Awards program and/or fund scholarships for Spark Award winners.