Congratulations to Marcia Mitchell,
the winner of our Gold Medal Mom™ Contest
View Marcia’s original nomination,
submitted by her daughter, Missy.
Marcia stood out among the thousands of entries received as the most inspirational woman. Marcia’s acts of dedication and selflessness have helped her daughter Missy, along with countless children and parents, to live dreams never thought possible. Marcia was nominated for the contest by Missy, who wanted to show her appreciation to her mom for all she has done to support and positively impact Missy’s life.
Missy was born legally blind, sending Marcia on a quest to find a place that could provide early intervention. As a Speech and Drama teacher Marcia knew the importance of early childhood education for future development in children. She wanted to improve her daughter’s life and the lives of other legally blind children. With an idea and proceeds from a garage sale to fuel her dream of starting an educational center for Missy, Marcia founded Little Light House, a developmental center for children at the pre-school level. Today, 35 years later, her organization has evolved into a nationally recognized state-of-the-art developmental center that has helped hundreds more children with special needs reach their highest potential.
The Little Light House is an inspiration for Marcia and she thrives on helping others, especially children with special needs. She understands that hard work is essential to helping them achieve critical milestones. Marcia learned the value of hard work at an early age from her mother. “My parents had a chain of bakeries. During my childhood and teenage years I struggled with having to work such long hours and work so hard, but later in life realized that had I not learned to work so hard, I wouldn’t have been able to do some of the things I feel I’ve been called to do. I think I was able to pass those core values on to Missy and I think it proved invaluable to her,” says Marcia.
As a busy wife and mother, Marcia manages to stay very connected with her family. She says, “Communication is the key, be it long conversations over a Mom/Daughter luncheon, a family meeting to discuss sensitive topics, or laughing till we’re crying on Family Fridays; those times spent together bring us closer and stronger as a family unit.”
Life is made up of all kinds of moments and we asked Marcia about some of her favorites. “One of my most favorite moments was when Missy was one of those selected to carry the Olympic Torch for the Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah. As she ran through the streets of Oklahoma City and passed the torch to the next person, our hearts were filled to overflowing. It was a victorious day for us all!”
Marcia is truly an inspiration to her family and community. She is also the epitome of support, encouragement and perseverance. And now she is our Gold Medal Mom!
Grand Prize Includes:
- Round-trip coach air transportation to Beijing, China
- Four (4) nights standard double occupancy hotel accommodations
- Two (2) tickets to each of four (4) 2008 Olympic Games Events
- Breakfast daily for four days, two lunches and two dinners
- $6,000 check for spending money
- Ground transportation to and from events
- Onsite Program Manager and bilingual host to accompany winner and her guest
