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Some ideas begin as plans.
Others reveal themselves one step at a time.
The Journey . . .
These remarkable winged creatures have captivated me for as long as I can remember — their transformation, their migration, the thousands of miles they travel, and the quiet certainty with which they keep moving forward.
More than 15 years ago, I named my real estate brokerage MONARCHÂ because of them.
I wrote Raised by Fire to understand what shaped me.  That story is becoming a musical because some things needed more than words.
And somewhere in creating all of this, I began asking a different question:
What if young people were exposed earlier to some of what it took me decades to discover?
What if they were given access to creativity, accomplished adults, self-trust, responsibility, culture, work, beauty, mentorship, community, and possibility — early enough that they could build from it?
That question became Flight Path.
More than 50 years in the making.
The roots of this work reach back more than half a century.
For more than 50 years, Laura Doughty’s father, Melvyn Doughty, led creative-arts and drama retreats for thousands of young people in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Puppetry, theatre, storytelling, music, participation, and imagination were woven throughout the experience — and young people were even taught how to create puppet groups of their own when they returned home.
That history became part of Laura long before Raised by Fire, Flight Path, or Monarch Legacy Foundation existed.
It helped shape a belief that has followed her throughout her life:
young people should not simply watch creativity, possibility, leadership, and community from the outside. They should be invited inside it.
Today, that belief is being carried forward in an entirely new form.
Through Flight Path, Creations, the Theatre, the Institute, the Book and the broader work of Monarch Legacy Foundation, the next generation will be given access to experiences designed to expand confidence, creativity, responsibility, self-trust, belonging, and possibility.
This is not a recreation of what came before.
It is the continuation of a thread.
A legacy of creating spaces where young people can discover more of who they are — and more of what may be possible for their lives.
The Invitation
Becoming a Founding Donor
An invitation to witness the beginning.
Founding donors helping launch this work will also be invited to join us in New York for The Scorpio Ball at The Plaza — an intimate private evening where Raised by Fire and the emerging Flight Path world will be experienced together.
You may feel called to participate directly, introduce someone who should know about the work, or explore sponsorship of The Scorpio Ball and future Flight Path experiences. All of those doors are open.
The work has been created. Now it needs a way into the world.
Become a Founding Donor . . .
Founding Sponsor
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$10,000
Founding Patron
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$25,000
Founding Benefactor
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$50,000
Making a Founding Gift
Founding gifts may be made by check or wire transfer to Monarch Legacy Foundation, Inc.
If you would like to become a Founding Donor, please contact us directly and we will provide the appropriate giving instructions and any documentation you may need.
Monarch Legacy Foundation, Inc.
Kentucky nonprofit corporation
For gifts by check:
Make payable to: Monarch Legacy Foundation, Inc.
Mail to:Â 200 W Farthing St. I Mayfield, KY 42066
For gifts by wire transfer:
Please contact [email protected]Â for secure wire instructions.
Founding gifts may be made at the level that best reflects each donor’s capacity and desired impact.
Your founding gift helps provide the support required to move the Flight Path ecosystem from established infrastructure into real-world impact — advancing its creative and educational programming, original theatrical work, Creations, and the infrastructure necessary for what comes next.
Founding Donors will also be invited to join us in New York City for The Scorpio Ball at The Plaza on November 19, 2026, where Raised by Fire and the emerging Flight Path world will be experienced together.  Learn more about The Scorpio Ball here.
