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Show Reflections After 15 years, Kim still offers a 'soft sell' - ' . ' f - By TOM HARALDSEN Perhaps more than any other person in Utah, she grew up before our eyes. She made her first television commercial when she was seven. Now, 15 years later, we still see her occasionally, occasional-ly, reclining on a sofa or easy chair. Today, Kimberlee Blacker is a wife, mother and soon-to-be graduate in public relations from Weber State College. Though much has changed in her life during the past 15 years, much remains the same. She still has the warm, friendly eyes, the perfect smile, and the soft, personable voice she's used on dozens of Blacker Furniture commercials. I ran into Kimberlee, who is now Mrs. Stephen Hall, during the annual awards ceremony for the Weber State student newspaper, news-paper, the Signpost. Somewhat reluctantly, she agreed to discuss dis-cuss how she began the television commercials back in 1973. "We had moved back to Utah, and my grandfather's furniture store was considering a television campaign. The first one we filmed in Salt Lake City was when I was seven," she recalled. Kim had to memorize all the words of that ad, as her father didn't want her using cue cards. "I remember that I was missing my front teeth at that time, so some of the words came out sounding pretty funny." She survived that first commercial experience, and has since produced dozens of ads for the store. Her appearances on behalf of Blacker Furniture have become a Utah television tradition. There was a flip-side to this story not quite as happy, however. howev-er. Through the years, as Kim attended North Ogden Junior High and Weber High School, she was often the victim of jokes played on her by her peers. "Everyone figured I'd be stuck up, I guess, because of the commercials. Sometimes I'd go to games and a group of kids would chant, 'Hi, I'm Kim Blacker,' in sort of a mocking way," she said. Ironically, that success never went to Kim's head, and, in fact, it even embarrassed her. Whenever her family gathered to watch the ads, as they were provided a schedule to let them know when each would run, Kim found a reason to leave the room. "I'd find an excuse. I sometimes stayed in the bathroom until the ads were over. I guess we never get used to seeing or hearing ourselves," she said. Kim was active in student government at Weber High, running run-ning for and elected to the office of studentbody president. After graduating in 1984, she attended Utah State University for two years, prior to her marriage to Stephen. They settled in Morgan, where Stephen teaches seminary at Morgan High, and daughter Jerrica arrived almost two years ago. Kim is expecting a second child this fall. She's satisfied with how her life has progressed, enjoys motherhood, and looks forward to working in public relations as her time permits. She and her husband are building a home in Morgan. "I think some people were surprised that I got married at 19, and that I didn't pursue a career in commercials. That was never my intention," she said. Teased by some of her friends as having become a "Mollie Mauve Mormon," in honor of the numerous mauve sofas she's posed on, Kim insists that she "only has about three recipes, and I don't really make casseroles that often." The teasing has ended now for Kim Blacker. She's grown into a beautiful young mother who's still in touch with her roots, something she never lost sight of while growing up in front of our eyes. And though she may not have turned out the way some thought she would, she's become what all of us hoped she would. It was a great visit, Kim. |