Welcome Our New Member
Mary Hedges
Mary Hedges and her husband, Josephier Brown, moved to Citrus County in 2008 from Minnesota. They live in Pine Ridge with two horses and a cat. While Mary spent the biggest part of her life in Minnesota, she grew up in West Virginia and has many siblings still there. Before retiring early, Mary worked for state government in Minnesota for 25 years, initially in the state’s Human Rights Department, later in the Department of Health, and the last 10 years as the director of the state agency that licenses ambulances services, paramedics and EMTs. Mary continues her career in EMS with her part-time, remote work with the National Association of State EMS Officials. She also served on the Board and as its last President, of Nature Coast Emergency Medical Services, Citrus County’s nonprofit ambulance service, before it was taken over by Citrus County Fire and Rescue in 2021. She has 3 children, 2 stepchildren, and a slew of grandkids between the two of them. When she is not traveling around the country to keep up with family, Mary is active in the Citrus County Democratic Party.
Mary explained her reasons for joining NCUU, albeit late in life. She was raised as a Catholic and while looking around for a church home that better fit her philosophy, she attended a local Episcopal church for 7 years—after all, it had the ritual of the Catholic Church but not the arcane rules. After becoming disillusioned with being a part of one of most conservative dioceses in the country, she started regularly attending NCUU. She reports it to be the first time she actually looks forward to attending Sunday service and looks forward to being engaged with NCUU.
