Meet marilyn
Founder of uc
Hi, I’m Marilyn Pettigrew, Founder and Director of UC Family Outreach, formerly known as Ultimate Connections. What began thirteen years ago in Tyler, Texas as a vision to empower and restore families has now grown into a dynamic, faith-rooted movement serving communities across Dallas and beyond.
Our mission remains steadfast: to equip families with the tools, encouragement, and partnerships they need to thrive in every season of life. Through Christ-centered mentorship, trauma-informed care, and holistic support, we walk alongside families as they navigate challenges, rediscover identity, and build lasting legacy.
Today, UC Family Outreach is more than a program—it is a community of connection and healing. We design outreach initiatives that strengthen the whole family, blending education, empowerment, and spiritual growth. Bonds are formed daily as hearts unite in love, expectancy, and shared purpose. Together, we are restoring hope, renewing legacy, and expanding the reach of God’s love across generations.
Mentorship & Coaching
2015
In 2015, a new chapter unfolded as Marilyn Denice Coaching Services was birthed. After years of pouring into families in ministry, growing in corporate administration, and nurturing her own family, Marilyn began to see how all the pieces of her journey were coming together. What had once been separate paths—education, leadership, mentorship, and ministry—merged into a single vision: to walk alongside individuals and families as they discovered healing, clarity, and purpose.
This was more than the launch of a coaching practice; it was the culmination of Marilyn’s lifelong passion for people. With faith as her foundation and psychology as her framework, she created a space where transformation could take root. Through one-on-one coaching, group mentorship, and motivational teaching, Marilyn Denice Coaching Services became a bridge—connecting dreams to reality, struggles to breakthroughs, and hearts to hope.
Radio & Media Outreach
2017
When Marilyn moved to Dallas in 2016, her ministry expanded—and new doors opened for her to step into media. Her radio journey began with Yo Radio, creating a fresh avenue to share encouragement and faith with a wider audience. Shortly afterward, the It’s A Family Affair Radio Show was birthed through Power Play Radio with Don & Trudy Willis. Adding to the platform her co-hosts Joe Williams, Faith Davis and Alvino Bell. As the show gained momentum, it transitioned to Globe Life Stadium with Fishbowl Radio Network, giving Marilyn and her team an even greater platform to reach families and communities with messages of hope, healing, and unity.
After the pandemic, the radio team adapted by launching virtual radio broadcasts, airing across various social media platforms to continue engaging audiences with messages of hope, healing, and empowerment.
To further widen her engagement, Marilyn also launched Morning Motivation via social media—daily encouragement designed to inspire, uplift, and remind people of their God-given potential.
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Women's Retreat
2019
In 2019, prior to the pandemic, Marilyn birthed the Women’s Retreat, a sacred space for women to gather, reflect, and be restored. The very first retreat was held in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, with more than 100 women in attendance. It truly took a village to bring it together, as various leaders oversaw six cabins to ensure every woman received care, attention, and nurturing. What happened at that first retreat was nothing short of magical—bonds were formed, healing was experienced, and women left renewed in strength, identity, and purpose.
In 2020, our country was hit with a major pandemic, which altered plans to return the following year for a second retreat. Instead, Marilyn and her team hosted the first-ever Virtual Summit via Zoom. Seamlessly, women came together once again to make magic happen—this time across screens and states. The Summit expanded UC’s reach into new regions, connecting women from Georgia, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Germany, Memphis TN, Chicago, Florida, and of course, Texas, which gained a host of women to love on and care for. What began in Broken Bow blossomed into a global sisterhood, proving that no distance or circumstance could hinder the power of connection, healing, and faith.
Dallas Expansion & UC Administrative Team
2023
As growth continued, Marilyn recognized the need for structure to sustain the expanding vision. The UC Administrative Team was formed, allowing her to continue creating new outlets for families and healing while ensuring the ministry’s foundation remained strong.
Today, Marilyn resides in Grand Prairie, Texas, and continues to draw strength from her family as the foundation of her calling. A proud mother of three and a graduate of the University of Texas at Tyler with a degree in Psychology, she has combined academic insight with lived experience to create spaces where healing, restoration, and empowerment can flourish.
As a Certified Transformational Life Coach and founder of UC Family Outreach (formerly Ultimate Connections), Marilyn has spent more than three decades walking alongside individuals, families, organizations, and churches. Through mentorship, coaching, and motivation, she has helped countless people experience life-changing breakthroughs—reminding them that with faith, encouragement, and the right tools, dreams can indeed become reality.
At the heart of Marilyn’s story is a simple truth: she believes in the greatness within every family and every community. Her life’s work is to build bridges of hope, allowing others to cross from struggle into strength, from brokenness into restoration, and from vision into legacy.
Contact
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