10/02/2019
BEST-SELLING AUTHOR AND WAR HERO TO SPEAK AT MAYOR'S BALL
Each year, the Cottage Grove Mayor’s Ball is highlighted by remarks from a keynote speaker who commemorates the enduring bond between the military and the Cottage Grove Armory. This year, we’ll feature a true pioneer and trailblazer in Major MJ Hegar — as if the Mayor’s Ball weren’t already an event that’s not to be missed!
From serving as class president, cheerleader and President of the Fellowship of Christian athletes during her youth in Texas to her military and, more recently, her political career, Mary “MJ” Jennings Hegar has never failed to stand out as a team player.
Hegar grew up in Cedar Park, Texas, and in 2017, she decided to seek the nomination for her home Congressional district, Texas’ 31st, though this was far from the first time she’d aspired to a position of leadership.
Hegar was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force in 1999, and in 2004, she was selected for pilot training by the National Guard. She’d go on to fly over 100 Combat Search and Rescue missions in Afghanistan and was awarded the Purple Heart for a wound she sustained while protecting her crew.
Shortly after receiving her wound, Hegar was medically disqualified from flying due to the military’s Combat Exclusion Policy, which barred women from combat due to their gender. In 2012, she was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit arguing that the policy was unconstitutional. The policy would be repealed the following year, expanding opportunities in the military for current and future female soldiers. Her experiences are chronicled in her bestselling book, "Shoot Like a Girl."
In July of 2017, Hegar announced that she would seek the Democratic Congressional nomination in her home district, though she was narrowly defeated by incumbent John Carter in 2018.
MJ married Brian Hegar in 2011; she has two sons, as well as stepchildren from her husband’s previous marriage. Her appearance at the Mayor’s Ball has been generously sponsored by PeaceHealth.
