Mary Leuca’s happy place: The Holiday Tree Festival

Akron Children’s President and CEO Chris Gessner presents Mary Leuca with the 2025 Luminary Award.

Mary received the “Luminary” award at the Oct. 1 Akron Children’s More childhood, please.™ Awards, honoring her dedication to the Akron Children’s Holiday Tree Festival. The yearly event means more to Mary than just raising funds for Akron Children’s. It’s a community treasure – and her happy place.

Mary’s love for kids leads her to Akron Children’s

Mary and her husband, George, couldn’t have children of their own. “I have 13 siblings, so George and I were the fun uncle and aunt as our nephews and nieces grew up,” she said. “Volunteering at Akron Children’s made perfect sense because I love kids. I did a little bit of everything at first, from taking the cookie cart around to working the surgery and information desks.”

She got involved with the Holiday Tree Festival in 2008. Partly because of her work in banking, she became the festival’s head treasurer the following year. She has served as the event accountant for a whopping 17 years.

In 2011, she stepped up to chair the entire Holiday Tree Festival. “It was supposed to be a 1-year job,” Mary said, with a chuckle. “I ended up chairing the festival for 12 years!”

Overseeing many committees, volunteers and tree decorators seems like a daunting task to most people. But not to Mary. “People think, ‘It’s all this hard work.’ But being head chair isn’t that bad because we have good committee chairs,” she shared. “It’s important to let them do their jobs. I’m especially thankful for younger committee volunteers who are more computer-savvy than I am.”

The Holiday Tree Festival is a magical way to kick off the holiday season. (Photo: © Chris Smanto. All Rights Reserved.)

Mary’s award

Vicki Parisi, Akron Children’s director of volunteer services, nominated Mary for the Luminary Award. “I don’t know anyone in the hospital who can compete with Vicki’s knowledge about anything, anybody or any department at Akron Children’s,” Mary said. “We’ve worked together closely on the Holiday Tree Festival over the past 15 years, and she’s become a very good friend.”

Although honored by the nomination, Mary never expected to win an award for doing something she loves. “I called my family to let them know, and they were so excited,” she shared. “It was great.”

Mary’s brother, Joe, meets his golfing buddies every Wednesday – all year long. They only miss a gathering if someone in their family passes away. “The More childhood, please Awards took place on a Wednesday – and I didn’t expect Joe to come,” she said. “But he said there was no way he’d miss it. What a blessing to have a table of loved ones at the awards dinner; we enjoyed it so much.”

Vicki Parisi, Chris Gessner and Mary Leuca celebrate the amount raised at the 2024 Holiday Tree Festival.

Continuity and changes

After 18 years of dedication to the Holiday Tree Festival, Mary continues to look forward to it each year. “The festival raises money for Akron Children’s – but it’s also a community event to thank people for their ongoing support of the hospital,” she explained. “The continuity of giving families a free event they can attend each year hasn’t changed. Another thing that remains is the ‘wow’ on kids’ faces when they walk into the main room and see the decorated trees and wreaths.”

One thing that has changed over the years: the Holiday Tree Festival’s size. “I remember going to the festival with my parents when it was at Quaker Square and had about 30 trees,” Mary recalled. “We’re up to 155 trees now, and we have to turn potential tree donors away every year. The gala – which kicks off the festival – has grown to more than 1,000 seats with a waiting list the past few years.”

Mary is currently busy wrapping up this year’s Holiday Tree Festival financials. In January, the total amount raised will be announced at a celebratory gathering attended by about 100 festival chairs, core volunteers and hospital staff.

Mary has a heart for community service, learning from her beloved mom.

Family, faith and the festival

Mary has logged more than 19,000 total volunteer hours for Akron Children’s. She had a great role model – her mother – who taught her the importance of helping others. “Even though my parents raised 14 kids, Mom volunteered a lot,” she offered. “I admired my mom so much and wanted to grow up to be just like her. My siblings and I couldn’t have asked for better parents.”

In addition to a strong family support system, Mary relies on her faith. “My mom had Alzheimer’s disease, and I took care of her. George has late-stage Alzheimer’s now,” she shared. “Whenever things get hairy at home or I have a Holiday Tree Festival challenge to overcome, I know God will take care of us. He and my guardian angel always look out for me.”

Mary has no plans to “retire” from being an integral Holiday Tree Festival volunteer. “I’m very proud of what we’ve done, raising close to $8 million for the hospital,” she said. “But I’m equally proud for what we’ve done for the community. The Holiday Tree Festival is a special tradition for many families, and I’m blessed to be part of it.”