You may know the name Wendy Jaquet from her eighteen years in the state legislature (she’s a former Democratic representative, minority leader, and budget committee member), but Wendy has played many roles in the Wood River Valley, and beyond. She and her husband, Jim, moved to Ketchum from San Francisco in 1977, as Jim had been hired as city administrator for the City of Ketchum. Soon Wendy found herself dabbling in a variety of roles, from president of her two sons’ school PTA to managing an art gallery, to managing the Wagon Days parade (which she did for twenty-five years, and still announces for), to being executive director of the Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber of Commerce for thirteen years.
In 1994 she decided to run for the state legislature, which she did full time until 2012, when she began teaching foundational studies and intro to public administration at Boise State University. Tired of the commute to Boise, she quit teaching but has remained busy ever since, serving on the board of Visit Sun Valley and the advisory council of the Trailing of the Sheep, giving historical tours of downtown Ketchum, coordinating the Resort Cities Coalition for the City of Ketchum, participating in book club, playing the bells at church and singing in the choir, and helping with two election campaigns.
How does your day start?
Wendy: At home, I have the same thing for breakfast every day: goat yogurt and a little lemon curd to make it taste better, and granola. On Mondays and Wednesdays I go to the Y—this started during Covid—and it’s . . . not senior citizens, but older people, and we do three rounds of circuits with our trainer. It serves for socialization as well as exercise and it’s the same people; you can only have 20 people in each class, so we all fight to sign up online for a spot.
What’s mid-morning?
Wendy: I usually have a meeting, some kind of housekeeping thing I’m involved with. Then I go to the grocery store because I’m into cooking—that was one of my resolutions, that I would become a better cook when I left Boise State. I did this really great recipe the other day: I got some chives from my garden and mixed them with sour cream and a little onion powder and rubbed it as a marinade on my chicken and cooked in the frying pan—it was delicious! I’ve taken a couple cooking classes at the Culinary Institute, because I think I need more hints.
What are you doing for lunch?
Wendy: I would do lunch with a friend, to catch up. I like to go to Rickshaw on Fridays, but otherwise Scout. I like their meatball dish, it’s really good. I really love their soups; they’re really hearty and healthy for you. At Rickshaw on Fridays, I always get the chicken curry. Alex knows what I want.
What’s your afternoon like?
Wendy: I go home and work on things, like the campaigns I’m working on; I’m making signs and dropping them off and organizing forums for the candidates. And I’ll do work on city tours. Then go for a walk in the neighborhood.
What’s your evening like?
Wendy: I make dinner. I recently did a chicken stir-fry with asparagus and brown rice, which Jim actually liked. I’m trying to get him to eat more healthily. Then I’ll read. I work the Writers’ Conference—I’m in charge of the info booth—so I feel I’m a better employee if I’ve read a lot of the books, so I’m working on reading the books of all the authors coming. I do try to read every night and get ahead of it.