Hatton’s entrepreneurial drive became evident in 1957 when she developed the first nursery school in Western Michigan, the first child care company to go public in 1970, and the first multi-state computerized USDA child care food program in 1976. Encouraged by a supportive family and a dynamic mentor, Hatton also established herself in media ventures that included FM radio, UHF television, and cable networks.
Hatton brought her leadership experience to state and national politics as well: she was a candidate for Michigan’s new State Board of Education in 1964, Republican County Chairman in President Gerald Ford’s Fifth District, and a delegate to the 1968 GOP national convention in Miami. And she logged over a decade of ocean sailing, charting the course with a talented lifelong sailor.
In this personal narrative, Hatton hopes to encourage other women to value independent economic status, be entrepreneurial, take risks, and march to their own drum.