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12 • Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013 Eastern Idaho Business Post Register
By Krysten [email protected]
After nearly 50 years work-ing as vice president forthe company her husband
founded, Mary Lynn Hartwell isenjoying retirement.
Hartwell’s husband Ralphfounded the Hartwell Corpora-tion in 1963. The couple sold thecompany last November.
“It’s been really interesting af-ter working forever, “ Mary Lynnsaid. “When you have your ownbusiness you work a lot of hours.It’s not just the hours you put in,but all the responsibility you feeland take care of.”
Th e Hartwell Corporation isan independent insurance agen-cy with offices in Idaho Falls andCaldwell. The company employsabout 45 people between the twolocations and sells personal, busi-ness, life and health insurance.Both offi ces primarily deal withcommercial insurance, while Ida-ho Falls puts some emphasis onconstruction and Caldwell focus-es more on manufacturing andagriculture.
As vice president, Mary Lynnhandled major commercial ac-counts, and more recently han-dled management issues.
When the Hartwell’s sold thecompany they sold it back to theiremployees through an employeestock ownership plan. So it’s nowemployee owned.
After spending some timetraveling, the Hartwell’s returnedto Idaho Falls and Mary Lynnjumped right into communityprojects.
Her first project was the audi-
torium.“Carrie Getty Scheid and I de-
cided it was time for someone toput a big push on (the auditoriumproject) and get it over the hill,”Mary Lynn said.
The duo’s experience raising $5million to get the Colonial Th e-ater off the ground several yearsago, helped them raise the last$450,000 for the auditorium.
“Through that process of mak-ing something that big happen inIdaho Falls, we got to know a lotof people and got to know a lotof people that cared about IdahoFalls,” Mary Lynn said of raising
money for the Colonial Th eater.“When you put the right peopletogether and you get that synergyof their efforts it makes wonderfulthings happen.”
Mary Lynn is also thevice-chairman of the Idaho Com-munity Foundation. It’s a state-wide foundation that “gathersfunds, grows funds and grantsfunds” according to Mary Lynn.
“It’s a wonderful organizationthat’s really helped bring Idaho to-gether with a common purpose,”Mary Lynn said.
The group has 30 directors thatrepresent areas of Idaho. Every
year three regional grant panelsmeet to review grant requests anddistribute the money the grouphas raised.
“Idaho Community Founda-tion Grants go throughout theentire state and tries to touch onevery county,” Mary Lynn said.
Mary Lynn is also on the boardof directors for the Idaho FallsSymphony and emeritus on theArts Council as a past-president.
“All the past presidents of theArts Council become emeritus di-rectors,” Mary Lynn said. “We con-tinue to stay involved in the Arts.We go to board meetings if we wantto, we just don’t get to vote.”
Mary Lynn is also on the IdahoState University Advisory Council.
“I think it’s wonderful howISU has tried more and more toinvolve Idaho Falls business peo-ple in what’s happening,” MaryLynn said. “Especially with theadvancement of what’s happeningat University Place and the expan-sion of those programs.”
Mary Lynn’s favorite hobby isgolfi ng.
“Golf can be such a wonderfulexperience. You can be out in thebeautiful sunshine looking at abeautiful golf course and makingyourself crazy,” Mary Lynn said.
She also enjoys gardening bothflowers and vegetables. MaryLynn and Ralph also love art andpurchased a lot of the artwork intheir home from local artists.
But above all, Mary Lynn en-joys her time spent dedicated tovolunteer organizations.
“Volunteerism is what reallymakes your life,” Mary Lynn said.“You meet so many people thatyou would never meet.”
Continued from page 11
They also sent technicians tohelp install them by the bridgeat Peterson Park. Sadly, one ofthe lanterns was destroyed byvandalism. The city of IdahoFalls purchased a replacementlantern, but the lanterns wereso expensive that the replace-ment is about a third of thesize of the original.
During her presidency sofar, Thorsen has worked withher Sister Cities team andjoined together with MasterGardeners to make the parkbeautiful. They worked hardfor three years to transformthe area from a dirty, over-grown disgrace to a beautifulpark that is now a commonwedding reception location.
The current project forthe Japanese-style park is ateahouse that will be called theMoon Pavilion. Th orsen hasdone much of the fundraisingfor the project and said shehopes it will continue to be abeautiful place for people tovisit as well as a representationof the Idaho Falls Sister Cities.
Thorsen explained that herdrive to do volunteer workstems from her desire to giveback to her community.
“Volunteer service is thedues you pay to live in a com-munity,” said Th orsen. “Th erewas a time when I didn’t havemuch money, so I donated mytime instead. Then later whenI didn’t have much time be-cause of my career as a REAL-TOR®, I donated money so Icould still support the causes Ibelieved in. Find a cause, anycause. Pick something thatis dear to your heart and dosomething about it.”
‘Volunteerism ... makes your life’Hartwell spends retirement continuing volunteer work
Krysten Bullock/[email protected] Lynn Hartwell sits in her living room for an interview recently.
Thorsen
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