The Citizen

AUBURN - A black limousine pulled up to the entrance of the Holiday Inn on Saturday morning, and when the driver opened the rear door, a young boy and girl piled out, followed by their 30-something dad. The last passenger to step out was, perhaps, the most important. She was Cayuga County's Mother of the Year, chosen by a panel of staff members at Elements Salon and Day Spa for a few hours of much-deserved pampering.

Jamie Lockhart, of Auburn, was transported to the salon, located in the hotel, by J&J Limousine Service to get the full treatment in preparation for Mother's Day. Her husband, Jeff, son, Justin, 7, and daughter, Kara, 5, came along for the ride. Gordon Bowles, “driver extraordinaire,” (his words) and store manager of Quality Rentals was happy to take everyone else back home to Burt Avenue while Jamie spent about four hours at the salon.

Elements owner Sheryl Puylara, who got the idea for the Mother's Day contest, greeted Jamie at the salon door with a bouquet of roses from Blossoms florist in Seneca Falls, and Brenda Fillingham, pedicurist, escorted her to the foot bath. A facial, manicure and hairdo from the staff of specialists at Elements came next. Jamie received a gift certificate to return for a massage as well, since the therapist's schedule conflicted with available time. Elements has eight staff members specializing in different areas.

On Sunday Jamie will also be driven to the Holiday Inn for a complementary Mother's Day brunch, which she plans to share with three other mothers - her mom, mother-in-law and sister-in-law.

Lockhart was chosen to receive the Best Mother prizes from a pool of 12 nominating letters.

Her husband, Jeff, said, “I just saw it in the paper and thought it would be a good idea. I didn't think I would win.”

“I was actually really shocked,” Lockhart, 31, said when she found out on Tuesday that she had won. She hadn't had any idea that her husband had written the letter.

“I had a rough year last year,” Lockhart said. “It felt really nice to be appreciated.” She said she was 4.5 months out of surgery on her back and that her mother was ill, as well.

“It was nice to get a little reward,” she said.

Lockhart has been employed as an accountant at Hueber-Breuer Construction Co. in Syracuse, and her husband works at NUCOR in Auburn. They've been married 10 years. Their son is autistic. A benefit was held for him last year to defray costs for Total Approach, a Philadelphia facility for a group of occupational and speech/language pathologists practicing Tomatis Therapy. It effectively addresses sensory integration challenges and auditory processing disorders and has helped Justin a lot, Jamie said.

Jeffrey's letter described Jamie's devotion to her two children, and her perseverance in spite of her own physical problems stemming from a back injury.

Puylara said one of the panel members who knew someone with an autistic child understood the constant demand on Lockhart's time and energy.

Branches, a local business offering children's yoga, has also donated classes for Jaime's family.

Jeff will stay at home with the children while Jamie is at Mother's Day brunch.

“He had no expectations of going,” Jaimie said. They had agreed that the environment might be too much for Justin, so Jeff will be home with Kara and Justin.

“I'll have to give him back for Father's Day,” she said.

Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253=5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net

The winning letter

Auburn resident Jeff Lockhart wrote this letter nominating his wife in the Mother's Day Contest held by Elements Salon and Day Spa:

My name is Jeff Lockhart. I recently heard about your Mother's Day Contest and I would like to submit my wife for consideration. My wife's name is Jamie, and we have two children, Justin (7) and Kara (4). Our son is autistic, and my wife has given everything for him.

Three times last year, she took time off from her job to take my son to Philadelphia for sensory integration training. These were three week periods. The time and effort she put in for the fundraising for these programs was consuming to say the least.

Somehow, she was able to work full time and still find time to take classes that would help her to better understand what my son needed. My daughter can be a handful also. She doesn't really understand the situation, and she has a tendency to be very needy.

My wife hasn't complained, she just keeps plugging away, until recently. My wife had surgery in December of last year to remove two discs from her neck that had been causing her pain for years. She has been out of work ever since she had those discs taken out, and now she found out she may have another bad one. This has caused a lot of depression for her, yet she is still finding a way to be a great mother. I think if anyone deserves a day at the spa, it's her. She could use some good news right now! Thank you for your time.