JoAnn B. Seghini generally puts in a full day at the Midvale city offices before racing off to community meetings or to one of the several volunteer boards on which she sits.

The 71-year-old mayor, whose city position is technically part time, also can be seen at the state Capitol advocating for children, schools and low-income housing.

On top of it all, the white-haired and bespectacled mayor finds time every Christmas to make hundreds of jars of freezer jam for city employees and board members, according to Midvale city manager Kane Loader. And she does it all with a warm smile and a listening ear.

"I've never known a more busy person in my life," Loader said. "It's hard to keep track of her."

Seghini's walk has slowed to a shuffle over the years, but her spirit of compassion, wisdom and hard work continues to be evident.

She has worked tirelessly throughout her life serving her community. She started her career in education but was elected to the Midvale City Council in 1986 and ran for mayor in 1994. She's held the seat ever since.

"I'm available to most everybody most all of the time," Seghini said. "I think I have to. In order to represent people, it requires that kind of effort."

Seghini is the only female mayor among Utah's 25 largest cities. Her city of about 28,000 is sandwiched between Sandy, Murray and Cottonwood Heights. But unlike those municipalities, the average household income in Midvale is estimated at just $44,000, and almost 17 percent of city residents are below the poverty level. Nearly 20 percent are Hispanic.

In surrounding cities, the average household income is roughly $63,000 a year, and a higher percentage of residents own their homes.

Seghini has made the best of a rough situation by implementing numerous community programs and fighting tooth-and-nail for grants and federal funding for her constituents.

"She's a great, great mayor in the sense that she works to make her city not just a functioning community but an embracing community," said Alice Steiner, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Utah. "That takes a fair amount of planning and thought."

Among Seghini's recent accomplishments is the creation of a preschool for Latino children. The youngest kids attend with their mothers and are taught things like colors, counting, shapes and English. A few years before kindergarten, the children attend alone.

La Escolita was started with a grant, but the funding dried up. Now, the little school is funded by the Latino mothers whose children attend.