CCPC Member Spotlight

Marie Ames

Marie is from the rural Olivet area where she grew up on a dairy farm. It was on the dairy farm where Marie learned at a young age to work hard and be on time as neither of those two things were negotiable in her upbringing. Marie attended Olivet High School and then went on to get her degree from Albion College where she studied Economic Management and Organizational Communication.

Marie, blessed beyond measure has been married to her best
friend, Rich for 25 years in which they share 6 children and 12 grandchildren. Marie, wanting to be a teacher as a kid enjoys staying busy substitute teaching at local elementary schools despite retiring from Albion College after 17 years of employment in which she held numerous positions including Executive Secretary to the Vice President, Director of college events and Senior Director of development. While exhausting, Marie found great joy and reward traveling across the country fundraising for various college projects. With a big heart, Marie is motivated by her love for helping others in need. “It’s amazing how just the smallest things can mean so much to another person.” Marie wants to be remembered as a person that is giving, dependable and always giving 110% effort. One that puts family first by spending quality time together and making special memories with those closest to her. Marie’s caring heart extends beyond her family and is on display every Tuesday as well, where she coordinates a senior social preparing lunch for 35 – 45 seniors. At these social events you will find guest speakers, music and euchre entrainment. While being a massive amount of work, it brings Marie a tremendous amount of joy to see how much our seniors enjoy the opportunity. Marie enjoys a good prime rib dinner and her favorite movies are “Top Gun Maverick” and “When Harry Met Sally.”

On football Saturdays, Marie roots for both Michigan and Michigan State but leans more to the “Go Green” side of the rivalry. Based on her commitment to volunteering for the senior social and everything she has done to help the club, Marie’s favorite quote is fitting, “Count your blessings, not your troubles.” When asking Marie what life advice she would give a young, 18- year-old person today she responded, “It’s ok to make mistakes, everyone does. Some of life’s best lessons will come from our mistakes. Remember, it’s not how you start the game of life, it’s how you finish.” So true!

Marie’s favorite hobby is of course, PICKLEBALL! Marie has been playing pickleball for 8 years now and sincerely enjoys the fun competitive way to exercise and stay healthy. Marie currently uses a Paddletek Wave Pro paddle in which she has 5 of them, ALL PURPLE, her favorite color. She likes the overall feel of the paddle including the power and
control that this paddle provides.

As a member of the Cereal City Pickleball Club, Marie’s efforts to help out and volunteer at any capacity do not go unnoticed and we are extremely grateful to have her. Her excellent play on the court as a competitor also speaks for itself as she is a tremendous player. The Cereal City Pickleball Club is very thankful and proud to have Marie as part of the club.