Thirty-nine years and back for more

Gayle Petersen knows the Senate, and the Senate knows Gayle Petersen.

During her time at the Senate, she did everything from working in the kitchen, to guiding tours, to working as the Senate pages leader. Over 39 years of working in the Senate and every year was memorable, Petersen said. She said she’d done it so long, it became second nature. It all started with a request from her brother, Kay Cornaby, a senator himself at the time. “He said to come and work for a session, and I said, ‘Oh I’m teaching school, I can’t do that,’” Petersen said. “Just one session he said, and that was 39 years later.” Cornaby learned over the years how important it is to be personable. “You have to be a person who has an interest in other people and be able to portray that,” Petersen said. She also noted the Utah Senate is special because of the real, genuine concern they have for the people. “They really care about what’s happening,” Petersen said. “They care about the people in the state of Utah, and the things that are going to serve them best.” Tags: petersen, senate family, utah legislature, utah senate