A woman from Howard County is one of 30 people featured on bags of Lay's potato chips.

The next time you buy a bag of Lay’s potato chips, you might be getting a bag with a picture of your neighbor on it. Fulton resident Tracy Quisenberry is one of 30 people chosen for Lay’s 2020 smile campaign. The annual campaign lauds individuals for helping people in their communities and around the world. In addition to spotlighting these people, Lay’s is also donating $1 million to Operation Smile, an organization that performs free cleft palate and cleft lip surgeries for needy children. 

Quisenberry lives in Fulton, Maryland, and is the founder and director of Icing Smiles, a nonprofit that provides couture celebration cakes to families with critically ill children. She entered the contest in an effort to shine a light on Icing Smiles and was surprised when she won. She never really liked her smile and was suddenly hit with the realization that it would be emblazoned on bags everywhere.  

Normally Lay’s has each participant visit a studio to take photos, but because of COVID that wasn’t possible. Instead, each winner took their photos with a smartphone and the images were put on 30 varieties of Lay’s potato chips. Quisenberry’s smile is on bags of cheddar jalapeño potato chips. She has enjoyed hearing from family and friends who have seen the bags in the stores.

“So many people are posting or texting me their selfies with the bag," she said. "That has been the best part. Of course, I would love for my kids to have the same enthusiasm. I think the most I got from my high schooler was, 'At least it wasn't on the dill bag.'”

Each bag has a special QR code that can be scanned to find out the story behind the person featured on the bag. Quisenberry hopes the bags will get people to notice and start conversations about Icing Smiles. Like many nonprofit organizations, Icing Smiles has had to change the way they operate due to COVID-19. Bake sales have gone online and extra care has been taken to prepare and deliver cakes. To learn more about Icing Smiles and donate your time or money, visit Icing Smiles on the web or on social media.