‘A Dose of Perspective’ Maggie Ogilvie Stacy ’97 stays connected to her community as president of the board of the Ronald McDonald House in Houston.

Joan Tupponce
August 30, 2019

“I think it’s our obligation to do good and serve others with the things we’ve been given,” said Maggie Ogilvie Stacy ’97, who majored in art history and minored in economics. “I learned that from my parents when I was very young.”

Stacy and her family regularly served in their Houston church and adopted families for Christmas. She recalled joining her grandmother in Shreveport, Louisiana, to deliver Meals on Wheels. “I remember going in and connecting. My grandmother knew these people and developed longstanding relationships with them.”

Those visits made a lasting impression: “I felt their loneliness, and I felt the light when my grandmother walked in.” Now co-owner of Brooks Stacy, L.L.C. in Houston, a senior level executive search firm, Stacy is also president of the board of Ronald McDonald House Houston. She has served on the board for five years, the last two on the executive committee.

Previously Stacy and her husband were involved with Texas Children’s Cancer Center, and she served on the Lamb and Goat Committee for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which helps raise money for youth scholarships. The Ronald McDonald House Houston serves 3,000 families a year, providing housing, food and support for families that come from around the country and the world for medical treatment.

“We provide a home away from home for families with critically ill children seeking treatment in our Texas Medical Center. We provide lodging and meals and family-centered care. A donation of $25 per night can be made but families are not obligated to pay anything,” Stacy said.

A mainstay of the house is Mogie, a Labradoodle. The oldest Mogie (on Stacy’s right in the pic) just retired from RMHH after 10 years. The youngest (on her left) lives on-site and is a source of comfort and love for the children and their families. “We published a children’s book called, ‘Mogie: The Heart of the House.’ It’s wonderful,” she said.

The organization recently raised $24.5 million through a capital campaign, adding additional rooms and completing renovations. “We rely on a lot of generous people, corporations and foundations in the Houston community to help us do what we do.”

Stacy credits her time at W&L with preparing her for her role as board president. “We were encouraged to share our opinion and back it up with facts and feelings, and then if someone didn’t agree we could respectfully disagree,” she said of her academic experiences. “That is so healthy, and it’s essential on our Ronald McDonald House board.”

She was a member of Kathekon, the Steering Committee for the Mock Convention, the Student Activities Board, the Student Executive Committee and Kappa Kappa Gamma. “I call my four years there ‘Utopia.’ ”

Overseeing the board at Ronald McDonald House gives her “an amazing dose of perspective. It keeps reality in check,” she said. “If I feel stressed, I can walk into Ronald McDonald House and realize very quickly that I don’t have any problems. My husband and I and our two children are healthy. The rest is gravy. It gives much more to me than I give back.”