Professionally
With her best-friend style, at-ease approach, and insights into how to interact with ease, savvy, and sincerity, Maralee mentors people with the skills to change the ways others perceive, interact with, and respond to them and the brand, service, or mission they represent.
A sought-after expert in all areas of modern manners (social, business, youth, and family), Maralee doesn’t go about solving problems. (That’s for Dr. Phil!) In her unique approach, she shares step-by-step skills that when used proactively equip you to shine in all your encounters, from the most important of meetings to the simplest of e-mails to visiting friends to teaching your children the social skills they’ll need to thrive on their own one day.
Founder of Manners Mentor, Inc., Maralee travels nationally presenting contemporary programs for corporations, church and ministry organizations, universities, and women’s groups. Her clients include: Hyatt, Chick-fil-A, State Farm, Campus Crusade, Paychecks Inc., AT&T, MOPS, and hundreds of churches, executives, and small to midsize businesses. Each program is custom designed. You can chat with Maralee about how she can assist you or your organization in shining in all your encounters by contacting her via e-mail at Maralee@MannersMentor.com.
For over ten years, Maralee’s mentoring has been featured on national television and in newspapers and magazines across the country. She’s been quoted in All You, Cooking Smart, and Nick, Jr. In addition, she is a former magazine and newspaper columnist and currently writes her blog www.MannersMentorBlog.com.
For three years Maralee was a segment host of the TV show “Today’s Family.” For five years she was the host of Monday Morning Manners on Positive Hits Z88.3 FM, one of Greater Orlando’s most listened to radio stations, where she is still a frequent guest.
Maralee is a contributor to the book Family Table Time, with an introduction by First Lady Barbara Bush. Her first three books for adults, Personal Polish, Manners that Matter to Moms, and Ministry Manners, will be published in the next 36 months by HigherLife Development Services.
Maralee’s fun etiquette classes for children are engaging, memory-making, and impacting. They gained national media attention and were featured on NBC News: “…Maralee McKee’s class is the one that could change your child’s life.” In another feature, she was named a national Smart Women expert in teaching modern manners, morals, and character to children.
She is excited to announce a children’s etiquette program she is designing with specialists in children’s curricula. This modern, fun, memory-making, hands-on, mom-inspired program will be the most extensive children’s etiquette curriculum ever created. Limited to just 3000 lucky women across America (currently there are 75 million moms in the United States), these fortunate few will be able to purchase exclusive rights to become Manners Mentors®. They will become local experts, mentor children through etiquette classes in their own communities, prosper financially, gain personal fulfillment, and form relationships with other Manners Mentors ® in bi-annual retreats featuring nationally recognized speakers and performers. The first mentors will be chosen in the coming months and the program will ship starting April 2010. Look for more information in the weeks ahead!
Maralee partnered with Troy Schmidt, author of the Hermie® series of DVDs (which have sold over two million copies) to write a series of children’s books staring a magical, lovable, and always fun cat that shows your child how to interact with ease. Miss Eticat’s Guide to Purrfect Manners® will be debuting in the future.
Personally
Maralee is a native of Orlando, Florida, where she currently lives. She is a wife and the mom of two boys, ages 7 and 12. Her boys give her lots of practice in instilling manners and keep her humble! She’s a good cook, an awful Scrabble® player, and admits to the annoying habit of chewing on small ice cubes—when no one is around, of course! She hardly ever passes a Starbucks without buying a tall, whole milk mocha, but then feels guilty that she spent the money.
She would love to spend her free time doing all kinds of exciting things, but for this season in life her free time seems to be taken up with laundry, packing school lunches, helping with homework, and cleaning the house. Which actually is just fine with her!
She does not set a beautiful table every evening; her family does not eat on china or feast on gourmet food (except on the occasional holiday). This all sounds lovely to her, but please, where does the time for all of that come from? Her house always needs picked up a little before she would want you to see it, her dog begs at the table, laundry is always piled high in the basket, and just recently she saw her oldest son lick his plate clean of spaghetti sauce.
However, she knows how to set a table, can cook up a gourmet meal, and will put the dog in the other room while eating. Plus, her sons do know how to eat well enough to pass muster with the Queen if Maralee spent the two weeks before the meal reminding them of everything she’s taught them.
Manners to Maralee have very little to do with which fork to use and nothing to do with how expensive one’s home, car, or clothes are. Good manners are about remembering that we’re each sharing this train ride of life with others, and that the way we interact and respond to them speaks to the very heart of who we are.
Raised by a single mom, she grew up with very limited financial resources and low self-esteem. Her interpersonal skills come from extensive self study and her business and ministry were birthed out of her passion for sharing with others the same skills that changed the way she viewed herself and how others perceive her.
On Monday nights she makes sure the kids are in bed early and never misses an episode of “24®”—not because she’s a huge fan, but because it’s her husband’s absolute favorite. She enjoys watching it with him and listening to him talk to the TV screen as if he’s somehow able to help out Jack from the comfort of the family room sofa. (It must be a man thing!)
Maralee proudly cheers for both the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs. (It’s a long story.)
Her etiquette pet peeve is when people talk loudly on their cell phones in the stalls of public restrooms. Can either one of these two things not wait just a minute?!
