Paige Albrecht did not grow up in Lehi. She grew up everywhere — a military and IBM family that moved wherever the next opportunity appeared. She never had a hometown. And that absence is precisely why she chose Lehi, Utah, and why she has spent over a decade in public service working to make it worth choosing. Her entry into civic life began not with idealism but with frustration: a canceled men's softball league. She attended a city council meeting expecting action, left feeling defeated — and then went back. For nearly eight years, before she ever held a position, Paige attended city council and Planning Commission meetings simply because she found the process fascinating. She served on the Planning Commission for three years, the Board of Adjustments for a year, and has now served multiple terms on the Lehi City Council. She holds a master's degree in public service, earned decades after her English degree from BYU. Paige has navigated triple-negative breast cancer, raised a son with special needs, fought for all-abilities parks, helped preserve downtown Lehi's historic brick homes, and championed everything from the return of the men's softball league to a dignified baby land section in the Lehi Cemetery. She is a liaison for the Environmental Sustainability Committee and the Parks, Trails and Trees Committee, and has been a driving force behind the North Utah County Task Force for regional transportation cooperation.
Life Lessons
- • Service can begin with frustration — but curiosity is what sustains it
- • The best preparation for leadership is showing up before you have a title
- • Building for future generations means planting trees you'll never sit under
- • Local government is not 'them' — it's us, neighbors serving neighbors
- • For every negative, there's a positive
- • Empathy is earned through lived experience, not just intention
- • Preserving history sometimes requires personal financial sacrifice
Timeline
Moved to Lehi with her husband and young sons, intentionally choosing it as a hometown
Attended her first Lehi City Council meeting after the men's softball league was canceled
Attended city council and Planning Commission meetings every week as a community observer
Appointed to Lehi Planning Commission; later served on Board of Adjustments
Elected to Lehi City Council after being encouraged to run by Mayor Mark Johnson
Navigated triple-negative breast cancer while continuing her council service
Purchased a historic 1899 brick home in downtown Lehi to preserve it from demolition
Men's softball league returned to Lehi — a decade after she first advocated for it
Family Park opened — fulfilling a longtime dream of all-abilities recreation in Lehi
Featured on Roots & Branches of Lehi, Episode 2
Memorable Quotes
"For every negative, there's a positive."
Paige Albrecht
Choosing a Hometown — Paige Albrecht
"That's when you know you live in a community that cares — even when nobody's watching."
Paige Albrecht
Choosing a Hometown — Paige Albrecht
"I really wanted my kids to have a hometown."
Paige Albrecht
Choosing a Hometown — Paige Albrecht
"It's not a them or a they. It's us. We are the government."
Paige Albrecht
Choosing a Hometown — Paige Albrecht
"If you want to control what happens on a piece of property, the very best way is to own it yourself."
Paige Albrecht
Choosing a Hometown — Paige Albrecht
"I'd love to say it was some noble cause, but I was ticked off."
Paige Albrecht
Choosing a Hometown — Paige Albrecht
"We're enjoying the fruits of probably other people's labors."
Paige Albrecht
Choosing a Hometown — Paige Albrecht
"The hardest thing is not to have cancer yourself, but to love someone who has cancer."
Paige Albrecht
Choosing a Hometown — Paige Albrecht
"I have a different reality than you do."
Paige Albrecht
Choosing a Hometown — Paige Albrecht
Stories
Paige Albrecht
Baby Land — A Place of Refuge Most People Don't Know About
Asked what she was most proud of in ten years of public service, Paige bypassed the fire stations and police building. She talked about Baby Land — a specially designated section of the Lehi Cemetery for infants, with a beautiful statue. Her nephew and his wife lost their baby and found it there. 'That's when you know you live in a community that cares — even when nobody's watching.'
Paige Albrecht
Trees at Wines Park — Planted for People They'd Never Meet
Reading old issues of the Lehi Free Press, Paige discovered that a hundred years ago, families could sponsor a tree at Wines Park for a dollar or two. Not Christmas trees — the actual trees now standing in the park. Families who didn't have much gave what they could, knowing the trees would outlast them. Many of their descendants still live in Lehi.
Paige Albrecht
A Canceled Softball League and the Birth of a Public Servant
Paige bought her husband a softball team for Christmas — wrote a poem and gave him his own roster. For a few years it was wonderful. Then the league was canceled. She researched, went to city council, stood at the podium, and left feeling defeated. But she stayed for the whole meeting. And the next. For eight years, before holding any office, she attended city council and Planning Commission meetings every week — simply because the process fascinated her.
Paige Albrecht
A Promise Kept: The Softball League Returns After Ten Years
Ten years after the men's softball league was canceled, Paige posted a photo of her oldest son playing on his own softball team in the same league. The park space materialized. The lights went up. Even the mink farm moved. 'Promise kept,' she says. She was careful to note she had almost nothing to do with it — it was departments, staff, years of planning, and many unseen contributors.
Paige Albrecht
Buying the 1899 Brick Home — Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
When the house next door — a 1899 brick building — went up for sale and out-of-state investors were likely to demolish it for duplexes, Paige and her husband bought it. 'If we want to preserve old Lehi, we have to put our money where our mouth is.' Weekends refinishing floors and repointing brick is the price of that commitment.
Paige Albrecht
Baby Land — A Place of Refuge Most People Don't Know About
Asked what she was most proud of after a decade in public service, Paige bypassed fire stations and park projects. She talked about Baby Land — a special section of the Lehi Cemetery for infants, with a beautiful statue, created during her time in office. Her nephew and his wife lost their baby and found comfort there. "That's when you know you live in a community that cares — even when nobody's watching."
Paige Albrecht
A Canceled Softball League and the Birth of a Public Servant
Paige bought her husband a softball team for Christmas — complete with a poem she wrote as an English major. For a few years the team played in the Lehi men's softball league and everyone loved it. Then one year she went to sign them up and was told the league was canceled. She went to city council. Nothing happened. But she stayed for the whole meeting — and then the next one, and the next. For eight years before holding any office, she attended meetings every week simply because the process fascinated her.
Paige Albrecht
Buying the 1899 Brick Home — Preserving Old Lehi with Personal Sacrifice
When a 1899 brick home next door to Paige's downtown Lehi house went on the market and she learned out-of-state investors planned to demolish it for duplexes, she and her husband bought it. "If you want to control what happens on a piece of property, the very best way is to own it yourself." Mystery jars in the crawl space included.
Paige Albrecht
Trees Planted for People They'd Never Meet — Wines Park and Generational Sacrifice
Reading old issues of the Lehi Free Press, Paige discovered that a hundred years ago, families could sponsor a tree at Wines Park for a dollar or two — not for themselves, but for the people who would sit under them decades later. Many of their descendants still live in Lehi. Many who enjoy the trees today have no idea a struggling family planted one for them a century ago.
Paige Albrecht
Cancer, Purpose, and the Hardest Lesson
During triple-negative breast cancer treatment, Paige made a deliberate choice: keep city council, defer everything else. Her husband believed her sense of purpose kept her alive. But the biggest lesson she took from the experience was unexpected — the hardest thing is not having cancer yourself, but loving someone who does.
Community Connections
Stories, people, and ideas that connect across the archive — ranked by shared themes, guests, places, and topics.
Related Episodes
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From Military Brat to City Leader: Paige Albrecht's Story
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A Heart of Service | Phil Wasden’s Journey as Lehi’s Community Chaplain
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Mayor Paul Binns on Service, Growth, and Community Involvement
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Related People
(4)Lara Bangerter
Manager, Lehi Historical Society & Archives
Andy Hadfield
Head Football Coach, Lehi High School · Business Owner · Lifelong Lehi Resident
Phil Hanks
Grandson of Ephraim Hanks · Mission President (Samoa) · Temple President (Samoa) · Church Education System Leader · Stake President · Senior Missionary (Ukraine, Freiburg) · Lehi Resident
Mark Johnson
Mayor of Lehi, Former City Council Member, Engineer & Business Owner
Related Stories
(4)A Canceled Softball League and the Birth of a Public Servant
Paige Albrecht
A Canceled Softball League and the Birth of a Public Servant
Paige Albrecht
Baby Land — A Place of Refuge Most People Don't Know About
Paige Albrecht
A Promise Kept: The Softball League Returns After Ten Years
Paige Albrecht
Related Quotes
(4)"That's when you know you live in a community that cares — even when nobody's watching."
— Paige Albrecht
"It's not a them or a they. It's us. We are the government."
— Paige Albrecht
"If you want to control what happens on a piece of property, the very best way is to own it yourself."
— Paige Albrecht
"For every negative, there's a positive."
— Paige Albrecht
Related Themes
(4)Volunteerism
Lehi's century-long tradition of residents building their own city through service — from book brigades and sponsored park trees to committee work and parade committees.
Family Legacy
The stories of families who planted roots in Lehi across generations — the ones who built the traditions, the parks, the businesses, and the sense of belonging that others now enjoy.
Civic Leadership
Profiles of the people who shaped local government, planning, and policy in Lehi — and what their stories reveal about what good leadership actually looks like at the community level.
Community Resilience
How Lehi residents have navigated challenge, change, growth, and hardship — and emerged with optimism, connection, and a deeper appreciation for what they've built together.