Meredith Lynn Auld — A Life in Pageants, Pages, and Philanthropy

Basic Information

The Early Years, the Crown, and the Small-Town Start

I like to think of Meredith Lynn Auld as beginning her life onstage long before the world knew her by a married name: a young woman who won Miss South Dakota in 1959, stepping into the kind of small-town spotlight that seeds a lifetime of public-facing work. That year — 1959 — is a clean, bright number in her timeline. Two years later, in August 1962, she married Tom Brokaw; that union, now spanning more than six decades (1962 → 2025 = 63 years), is as much a public partnership as a private one.

Pageants in the 1950s were cultural signposts — part Cinderella, part local pageant circuit — and Meredith’s title placed her squarely in that narrative. From that moment, the script veered from personal pageantry to family, business, and civic life. If you like origin stories with a ribboned sash, this one has it.

Family: The Brokaw Auld Household — Three Daughters, Three Directions

Family is the steady axis of Meredith’s public biography. The household she helped build is populated by three daughters who followed distinct professional paths — proof, to me, that an upbringing that values curiosity and civic duty can take many elegant forms.

Three daughters — three careers — three concentric circles of influence that reflect the household’s reach: medicine, music/business, and wellness/media. That trio reads like a modern-family mini-anthology, where each chapter explores a different corner of public life.

Career: Penny Whistle, Books, and the Business of Childhood

Meredith’s public career is less a single headline than a collection of sturdy chapters: entrepreneur, author, and nonprofit leader. She founded Penny Whistle, a children’s-activity/toy business built on the idea that play is both practical and portable — the sort of business that pairs paper crafts, party plans, and parent-friendly how-tos. She authored a series of Penny Whistle books (activity guides, holiday planners, party books) that read like tiny toolkits for family life.

Numbers to anchor that: she moved from a pageant crown in 1959 to launching consumer-facing products and books across subsequent decades — a career arc that folds in small-business know-how, authorship, and hands-on product development. The exact count of her published titles can be read as “several” in the public record, but the shape of the work is clear: practical, domestic, and creative.

If entrepreneurship is a stage, Meredith’s was a quiet, domestic kind — less TED Talk, more kitchen-table hustle — and that’s part of the charm: craft, commerce, and a clear audience of families.

Philanthropy & Public Service: Boards, Benefits, and the Civic Life

Meredith didn’t just run a business and raise a family; she stepped into civic leadership. Over the years she has held trustee roles and appeared in the leadership circles of cultural and environmental nonprofits — organizations that ask for time, money, and the stamina to host dinner-tables and auctions.

Think of this as the “public interior design” of civic life: serving on boards, showing up at galas, helping translate private resources into public goods. Those are roles that add up: trusteeship, event hosting, fundraising — the soft-power work that keeps museums, conservation groups, and cultural institutions alive.

Public Profile & Media Mentions

Meredith’s name tends to surface in profiles about family, philanthropy, and occasionally in real-estate coverage — the kind of mentions that place a person in public life without turning them into a headline machine. She is often referenced in tandem with her husband, a prominent journalist, but with her own list of credits: pageant winner (1959), founder/author (Penny Whistle), and longtime nonprofit participant.

Numbers again: a marriage beginning in 1962, three daughters who each shaped careers of their own, and decades of combined public service — these are the facts that make Meredith a recognizable name in certain social and philanthropic circles.

Timeline Snapshot

This compressed timeline reads like a film montage: a sash, a wedding, the slow, patient build of business pages and benefit programs — shot in warm light.

FAQ

Who is Meredith Lynn Auld?

Meredith Lynn Auld is a former Miss South Dakota (1959), founder of a children’s-activity brand called Penny Whistle, an author, longtime nonprofit trustee, and the spouse of journalist Tom Brokaw.

How many children does she have?

She is a mother of three daughters: Jennifer, Andrea, and Sarah.

When did Meredith marry Tom Brokaw?

She married Tom Brokaw in August 1962.

What is Penny Whistle?

Penny Whistle is Meredith’s children’s-activity and toy business, accompanied by a series of small, practical books about kids, parties, and play.

Has Meredith written books?

Yes; she authored several Penny Whistle activity/party books and related titles focused on family activities.

Does Meredith have a public net worth figure?

No reliable, independently verified public net-worth figure for Meredith Lynn Auld was found; public numeric estimates commonly refer to her husband.

What philanthropic work has she done?

She has served on nonprofit boards and appeared at fundraising events and benefit programs for cultural and environmental organizations.

Is she active on social media?

Meredith herself keeps a low public profile; other family members, particularly one daughter active in wellness/media, maintain public social accounts.

Was she involved in pageants?

Yes — Meredith won the Miss South Dakota title in 1959.

How long has she been in public life?

From at least 1959 onward, with public roles spanning business, authorship, and nonprofit leadership across multiple decades.