Mary Leavitt is proud to be an American. She’s proud of her family and her heritage and she’s proud that she’s the Founder and President of The Flag Lady’s Flag Store. She was married to her husband Tom for 45 years before he passed away in 2001. They have three children and seven grandchildren.
Mary will tell you that she did not allow her past to determine her future. Her father died when she was just 13 and yet at that early age, he imparted a lifetime of wisdom that she follows to this day. He made her prom- ise to graduate from high school and when she did, she declared a victory! Her mother hadn’t shared her father’s desire and wanted Mary to go to work right away to help the family. That situation made it quite difficult to “honor your father and mother,” she said, and gave her determination, dreams, and aspirations for her future. She was determined to rise to a new level. Since then, she’s been committed to her priorities and principles, following a creed that “wherever and whatever I am to do or can do, I am willing. Life is a splendid torch I have hold of now. I want to burn it brightly as possible before handing it over.”
She’s certainly shining brightly – serving on the Leadership and Safe Trust
Committee of National Federation of
Independent Businesses; Vice-Chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party; one
of the Founders and member of the Clintonville Chamber of Commerce; a member and one of the Founders of the National Independent Flag Dealers Association; and she gets involved in the ministries at Grace Brethren Church.
Mary’s heroes are the ones who have served and sacrificed their lives for our country, the Founding Fathers who risked their lives, their fortunes, and sacred honor for “We The People.” She wants us to know that we were given an opportunity to partake of the richest blessings over any country in the world, and now it’s up
to us to pass this rich tradition of legacy to our future generations.
The advice she always likes to give others is “Don’t forget the ones who pulled up beside
you and helped dig your well.” When we asked Mary what she plans to do now that she’s one of Sunny 95’s “20 Outstanding Women” she said, “I will go to work tomorrow and look for oppor- tunities where I can give back to others through mentoring. Nothing is going to change. I will be available to pull up beside others and help them dig their well – like so many others did for me.”
For more information on The Flag Lady’s Flag Store, visit www.flagladyinc.com.