These words are engraved in marble on the Rollins College campus in Central Florida. While a student at Rollins, Ann Marie passed that plaque almost daily. Decades later, she learned that a photograph of those four words sat on the desk of Fred Rogers—better known to the world as Mister Rogers—and were the source of his inspiration. In 2001, Ann Marie had the remarkable opportunity to meet Fred, who is one of Rollins’ most famous alumni. She corresponded with him and his return letter to her is one of her most prized possessions. She credits her commitment to her family, the community, her clients and her profession to her hero and these four words. She works daily to uphold that credo in everything she does.
Ann Marie is an advocate and engaged community leader giving back in many ways personally and professionally. She has been active with the Public Relations Society of America for decades and currently serves as a counselor in the profession’s accreditation program. She has mentored many young professionals throughout the years and currently participates in her alma mater’s Career Champion Mentor Program. Ann Marie was featured in the November 2019 edition of Rollins magazine.
Inspired by the Comfort Dogs she met following the Pulse nightclub tragedy in Orlando in June 2016, today Ann Marie and her chocolate Labrador Retriever, Gunner, are a qualified Animal-Assisted Therapy team through Therapy Patient Connections (an affiliate of Intermountain Therapy Animals). She and her “chocolate chunk” volunteer hundreds of hours 
annually to bring joy to children and adult patients, families and employees during visits to BayCare’s Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater as well as John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and WTSP-Channel 10 in St. Petersburg. Follow the adventures of Gunner on Instagram @gunnerthechocolatechunk.
Her other personal “projects from the heart” over the years include extensive and varied service to the American Heart Association (AHA) in honor of her late mother and to children’s causes. For five years, Ann Marie served as a member of the executive committee for Orlando’s Go Red for Women annual luncheon, was a featured speaker at the event three times and worked with AHA as a high level advocate. A champion for kids, Ann Marie brought fitness and happiness to hundreds of Central Florida kids for more than a decade through the Orlando Magic’s largest halftime show and her work as a Jazzercise instructor. Later she helped raise nearly $90,000 for Children’s Miracle Network through Miracle@Rollins (Rollins Dance Marathon), which was the largest and most successful student-run philanthropy in the College’s history.