Molly Hilligoss has a passion for the Eastern Shore having grown up in Ocean Pines and then Salisbury, MD. Her early years were spent on Boston Drive in Ocean Pines, fondly remembering the days of catching minnows and exploring the marshy coastline of the Manklin Creek with her siblings. She attended Showell Elementary, St. Francis De Sales Catholic School, Bennett Middle and Parkside High School.
The oldest of 5, she spend many afternoons caring for the younger siblings. As soon as she turned 12, she hand-wrote flyer’s advertising her babysitting services and soon had many jobs in her Rustic Acres Neighborhood. One of those families owned the Mr. Donut in Salisbury and as soon as she turned 14, she was working the 7:00am – 3pmshift. Late in her junior year of high school, she moved to Pittsburgh, PA to live with her father and then attended and graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a B.A. degree in Speech Communication and minor in Business Logistics (1993).
She brings over 23 years of experience working in Marketing, Human Resources and Sales in Corporate America for companies such as Movado Watch Company, Domino’s Pizza, Comcast Spotlight as well as owning a Budget Rent-a-Car and Budget Car Sales Franchise in Gulfport, MS.
Hilligoss is extremely active in the local community and non-profits as Vice President and Secretary of the Furnace Town Living Heritage Foundation, Maryland Capital Enterprises Women’s Business Center Advisory Council, Rotary Member of the Snow Hill Club and member of several chambers: Snow Hill, Berlin, Ocean City, Ocean Pines, Salisbury and Dorchester. Formerly, she was the Chair of the Dorchester Chamber Ambassador Committee (2011-2012), Fund-raising Chair of the Snow Hill Middle School PTA (2012-2013) and a Rotarian at the Cambridge Rotary Club (2012-2013) as well as Mississippi Quality Award Examiner (2002-2005)– this program was mirrored after the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program.
In January of 2013, she launched her own business, Beach To Bay Publishing, Inc. As President and Editor-in-Chief, she publishes Beach To Bay Times monthly and Beach To Bay Bridal Magazine twice a year.
As some on her clients needed additional marketing services, such as TV commercials and website design, Molly Hilligoss joined the Matice Team, in Salisbury, acting as a liaison between her clients and their creative design team. Her expertise is discovering the clients marketing and business growth needs and coming up with creative ideas that will take their business to the next level of success.
In her day-to-day meetings with business owners and residents of Worcester County, as well as being a small business owner herself, Hilligoss is keenly aware of the economic challenges and infrastructure issues that currently face the county. Recently helping her husband open a new business in Berlin, Brews Up, Inc., she personally understands the process and speed bumps that new business owners face. She has friends who make their living farming and raising chickens and even helped a local farmer with part of their potato harvest – enlisting the help of her family too! Currently she is leading the Furnace Town Board in their 5 Year Strategic Planning Process. If elected as County Commissioner, representing District 4, she pledges to work toward economic growth and development to stimulate the growth of jobs as well as common sense approaches that balance the needs of existing business, farming and the environment.
She currently lives in Snow Hill, MD with her husband, Tony Hilligoss and her two children, Dale and Lindsey. She is extremely proud of her husband’s grown children, Brittany and Jaclynn Hilligoss. Brittany is currently attending Salisbury University and Jaclynn completed her Masters Degree in Accounting and currently works in Baltimore. In her free time, Molly Hilligoss can be found at both the Worcester County Rec Center or Crown Sports cheering on her children as they play indoor and outdoor soccer.
Her campaign Treasurer is Valerie Phillips Trader, resident of Worcester County.
