He said she has made legislators sit up and take notice.

“Last year, our shelter could have been closed,” said Lazio, who works with the Agency Emergency Shelter. “[Lawmakers] were talking about cutting funding. She went and testified before the House Appropriations Committee. She and her husband single-handedly got that funding restored.”

So why is this specific cause so important to Mari Culver?

“It was born during the campaign. I started visiting women’s and children’s shelters,” she told the Courier.

They were her first visits to such places, and the impact on her was strong.

“To see women or children in our beautiful state living in shelters ... it really pulled at my heart,” Culver said. “Helping at-risk children, at-risk families, will be my priority as first lady.”

And while the catalyst may have been emotional for her and others involved in the effort, she wants to use her position to make a difference, just like the volunteers receiving plaques on Tuesday have made a difference.

“I [hesitate] to call what I saw heartbreaking,” she told shelter volunteers. “I don’t want my heart to break — I want my heart to be called to action.”

Mark Newman can be reached at 683-5358 or by e-mail at mgnewman@mchsi.com.