Juggling career and home is second nature to Heidi Kim, a 38-year-old Aiea resident who was named National Young Mother of the Year by American Mothers, an advocacy organization founded nearly 80 years ago by Norman Vincent Peale, Sarah Delano Roosevelt, Mamie Eisenhower and J.C. Penney.
She is the first "young mother" from Hawaii to be awarded the national title — and the first Asian-American.
"I’m proud of that. It shows that our nation is coming together. A mom is a mom is a mom," said Kim, a marketing executive at the engineering firm R.M. Towill Corp.
(Hawaii had two previous National Mothers of the Year: Carolyn Shumway in 1996 and Mervlyn Keapo Swain Kitashima in 2003.)
Kim, originally from Kauai, married her college sweetheart, 41-year-old Edwin Sniffen, in 1997, and the couple spent some time in Oregon to advance their careers before returning to the islands to raise children. Kim graduated cum laude with a degree in marketing from Santa Clara University.
She has three boys: Sam, 12, and 8-year-old twins Simon and Eli.
"The typical Asian mom is seen as a tiger mom. I’m definitely not that at all. I need to debunk that stereotype," Kim said. "The boys have so much energy; it’s lots of fun."
Kim volunteers with Girl Scouts, March of Dimes, American Diabetes Association and Kamehameha Schools. She’s one of the founding board members of Move Oahu Forward, which comprises business and community leaders that support the rail transit project. (Her employer is involved with the major construction effort.)
Now she’ll have even more responsibilities as National Young Mother of the Year. She becomes a part of the national board that meets a few times each year to discuss the issues that are affecting women across the nation. She plans to raise awareness at a state level and raise funds for domestic abuse victims.
Kim was named Hawaii Young Mother of the Year in March. (Candidates must be 40 or younger with children under the age of 18.) She attended the 79th annual national American Mothers conference in Colorado Springs, Colo., at the end of April, when the national titles were announced.
"We were evaluated on parenting, philosophies and what we’re doing for each of our children to help them find their potential," she said.
Members of the selection committee also observed how the nominees interacted with other mothers at the conference.
Kim strongly believes in the responsibility of mothers to support their children, families and communities. She feels like she was chosen for the honor because she’s the "embodiment of the modern mom."
"I’m not necessarily the best mom. I believe that they wanted someone who was relatable and relevant," Kim said.
"Thankfully, there was no bikini contest. It’s nice to be evaluated on what’s on the inside."
