Highly Favored

This episode dives deep into the world of Claire Cain, a prolific author whose stories blend strength, vulnerability, and the unwavering spirit of military life. Whether you're a romance lover or just curious about the powerful stories behind the pages, Claire’s journey, her purpose, and her heart come alive right here. In this episode: Claire Cain shares how her literary criticism background...

This episode is a heartfelt journey through the transformative year of Jaimee Beard, Miss Utah for America Strong 2025. She opens up about the raw, real moments of competition, personal growth, and the profound impact of staying true to herself. If you’ve ever felt the pressure to be perfect or wondered how to keep your integrity in the spotlight, this is your story. In this episode: Jaimee shares...

Most women’s stories hold power — but what happens when you turn trauma into a voice that changes lives? Sheri Murray’s journey from deep trauma to fierce advocacy will shatter your limits and ignite your courage. She’s a survivor, a pageant queen, and an unstoppable force of transformation—and now, she’s here to tell YOU it’s never too late to rewrite your story. This episode dives into Sheri’s r...

Get ready to feel inspired, empowered, and uplifted! In this episode, Amy Winder shares her heartfelt story of stepping into the pageant world for the first time, her powerful platform advocating for women’s health, and the bold steps she's taking to make a difference. This is a call to all women to embrace their unique beauty, voice, and purpose — because your story matters. Amy’s journey int...

Summary In this engaging podcast episode, Kimberly Chatto and Ashton Pankratz explore the themes of friendship, women's ministry, prayer, and personal growth through the lens of their experiences. They discuss the importance of supportive friendships, the impact of women's ministry in fostering community, and the power of prayer in their lives. Additionally, they share insights from Kimberly's pag...

Re-released episode! Crystal is a dear friend of Kim's and while working together, Kim came to realize that Crystal is also a Christian. Through their friendship Kim realized how incredibly powerful Crystal's testimony is and could be to so many. The Highly Favored Team is so incredibly excited to have her on today's episode. Crystal discusses many challenging topics such as abuse and overcoming i...

As we wrap up the pageant series, we are excited to welcome Ashlee Stratton, Mrs. Spanish Fork, with this episode releasing the day before the Mrs. Utah America/n and Miss Utah for America Strong pageant. Ashlee's platform, "Frozen to Forward," discusses actionable steps to reaching your goals and it is the perfect head space leading into the pageant.

Today's episode is dual hosted by Kim and Mrs. Vineyard, Aubin Palmer. As both women prepare to compete is the Mrs. Utah America/n and Miss Utah for America Strong pageants, they discuss empowerment and standing tall together as they overcome insecurities and grow as they go after their goals.

Michelle Jones, Mrs. Herriman, shares her pageant experience as she competes in the 2025 Mrs. Utah America and Mrs. Utah American pageant. She has a passion in advocacy against child abuse and believes in using her voice to inspire others to overcome their abuse. "Be Brave, This is not your ending...it's theirs. Yours has yet to come!"

Today's episode highlights one of the amazing women competing in the 2025 Mrs. Utah America and Mrs. Utah American pageant, Portia Blanchard. As Mrs. Maple Mountain, her platform, You are Worth Living For, shares the same title as her internationally-selling book as she advocates for making the most of your life and seeing yourself in the best light. As a mother of seven, Portia also shares the ex...

Can you believe that the 2025 Mrs. Utah America, Mrs. Utah American, and Miss Utah for America Strong Pageant is in 11 Days? I am thrilled to interview Mrs. Utah America, Chelsi Rasmussen, as we dive into advocacy work, her pageant experience, the influence being a title holder and Queen has on her daughters, and the sisterhood found in pageantry.

After a two week break, we are excited to welcome Ashtin Pankratz to the podcast! Ashtin is a military spouse, Christian, and shares with the Highly Favored listeners her experiences with neurodivergence and getting diagnosed as an adult. She also promotes healthcare advocacy with a diagnosis of mold exposure with her brain and her journey through symptom treatment. Plus fun hyper fixations like t...

Vanessa is a military spouse and Christian mother who started homeschooling her children as a calling from God. With humor and humility, Vanessa shares her experiences - the good, the challenges, and the misconceptions that accompany homeschooling. Vanessa is a great friend of the show host's and one of the top reasons Kim brought her on the wad not only is Vanessa hilarious and so personable, but...

Join us as we interview the lovely and talented Miss Nebo Valley, Jaimee Beard, as she shares her platform, Dance with a Purpose. Jaimee has an absolute heart of gold and through this journey saw a need within the dance communities of California following the destruction created by the wildfires. Through her efforts, she raised awareness for the need of donated dance supplies and collected them th...

We are so excite to have Charlotte on the podcast to speak on her immense pageant experience, being an adoption advocate, her career as a professional chef, and her platform of celebrating neurodiversity. As someone who also dabbles in "neurospiciness," our host Kim Chatto loved the discussions from this interview and how we can better advocate for one another.

Episode 14 features Mrs. Utah County, Clarissa Thomas with her platform, Build it Beautiful. She is strong, bold, and committed to helping women build their best lives as leaders. She presents everyday tools for everyday leaders for everyday life. We had the best conversations as she shared her unconventional pageant journey and how beneficial the experience in competing in pageants can be. Our fa...

Episode 13 with Miss Bountiful, Kimberly Wirfs, covers her platform of being prepared for the unexpected. She has developed an emergency preparedness binder so that you are ready regardless of what life throws at you. Her bubbly personality and fun demeanor make this episode a blast to listen to and we know you will enjoy everything she has to share. We cover everything from being a military spous...

Episode 12 continues the pageant series featuring Mrs. Daybreak, Amanda McCombs. We cover so much in this episode and many of the topics are heavy such as single parenthood, societal expectations, faith and religion, stalking, losing a loved one, grief, and recovering from live-changing illnesses. Despite this, Amanda is so incredibly resilient, fun, and such a light.

Episode 11 was recorded after a longgg day of driving after doing a custody swap of my kids back to their dad after Christmas break. If you saw my National Parks video, it’s like a mini documentary of the complex emotions you run through over a seven hour drive back home without the two people who mean the most to you in this earthly life. If you ever wanted to gain some perspective on what that i...

Ashley Butler, Mrs. Mountain Ridge, discusses how experiences with abuse became the motivating factors to be a chain-breaker and to change her perspective on life. Going through therapy helped to become the foundational premise for her platform and to inspire others. Ashley is also our first guest on the podcast who is a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) and we navigate conversations...

Abbey's platform and ministry, Not Yet My Daughter, provides Biblically-based hope for those experiencing infertility, miscarriage and baby loss. Through her platform, and as she competes in the Mrs. Utah America and Mrs. Utah American pageant system, she has created and distributed "Hesed" kits that are self-care kits for women who are navigating challenging experiences. We also dive into her Chr...

Kaylyn is a southern girl through-and-through, hailing from Alabama and now has several Utah pageants under her belt. We think you are going to love her charming self in Episode 8. As a military spouse, Christian, and nurse her platform, Reclaimed, is an opportunity for her to share how to navigate intimate conversations with the goal of strengthening relationships. #WarEagle

Episode 7 kicks off the special pageant series leading up to Miss Utah for America Strong, Mrs. Utah America, and Mrs. Utah American 2025 with podcast host Kim Chatto sharing about why she is doing a pageant as a 35-year-old single mom. Kim dives into insecurities, showing up confident, moving into a new community and calling it home after serving in the military, and the beauty of competing for y...

We are back with Part 2 where Emily continues to share from her military experiences, but this time under the lens of navigating service as a woman, approaching mental health resources, community, rising above toxic leadership, and taking care of yourself. We leave you with the message that you deserve to be here!

Part 1 - Emily Barielle reflects on her experiences serving in the military as an Air Force Officer. Emily brings up how she navigated starting her career as a nuclear combat crew commander and then transitioned to maintenance. She also shares on the leaders who greatly impacted her and her leadership style through lessons learned, especially through the 2014 missiles investigation. Stay tuned for...