Marilyn Loeffel was first elected to the Board of Commissioners in 1998, culminating years of work as a community activist, most notably as president of FLARE (Family, Life, America, and Responsible Education).

As head of FLARE, Mrs. Loeffel received coverage in several national publications, including Time magazine, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, and USA Today.  She was named one of the top 100 leaders by Memphis Magazine.  During her term, FLARE membership increased from 165 to over 800, making FLARE one of the most influential activist groups in the Mid-South. Marilyn was awarded the Eagle Award in 1990 for contributions to God, Home, and Country.  She was named Tennessee full-time Homemaker in 1992.  She is a recipient of the Shelby County Republican "Bob James Political Leadership Award" and was recognized by Madison County Republicans for "valor in moral combat."  She serves on the Advisory Board of Life Choices, a crisis pregnancy center, the Center City Commission, and serves on the Pyramid and Fairgrounds future re-use committees and the Shelby Farms Advisory Committee.  Marilyn was named in July 2003 as one of the "50 Women Who Make A Difference" by Memphis Women's Magazine.

Since serving on the County Commission, Marilyn arranged for voluntary payroll deductions for county employees to aid survivors of law enforcement officers. Marilyn worked with the Commission on Missing and Exploited Children to educate parents and students on dangers of kidnapping and has lead the challenge and successfully helped to filter pornography from our public library Internet system.  She has also sponsored the resolution allowing the display of The Mayflower Compact, The Bill of Rights, and The Ten Commandments as historical documents on county property.  She has served as Chair of the Education and Libraries Committee, the Conservation, Chickasaw Basin & Shelby Farms Committee, is currently chair of the Land Use, Planning, Transportation and Codes Committee, and led the re-districting of the County Commission.  Marilyn was the only elected official in Shelby County to run unopposed both in the 2002 primary and general elections, and was elected Chairman Pro-Tempore of the Commission in September 2002 and Chairman in 2003. 

A native Shelby Countian, Marilyn is a freelance writer, public speaker, consultant, and former radio talk show host.

Mrs. Loeffel and her husband Mark live in Cordova and have three daughters.  The Loeffels are 27 year members of Bellevue Baptist Church.