Laura Fleming was busy in the year 2000. She became involved with a local organization, indirectly saved at least one life and raised a lot of money for people in Mercer County.

Mrs. Fleming, Hermitage, was the Volunteer of the Year for the Mercer County Division of the American Heart Association. She was honored June 14 at an annual dinner at Oak Tree Country Club, Shenango Township.

"I was very surprised," Mrs. Fleming said of being named Volunteer of the Year. "It was quite an honor."

Mrs. Fleming was the spokesperson for the 2000 American HeartWalk which was held in September in memory of her husband Mark, who died of a heart attack April 25, 1999, Mrs. Fleming said.

Left behind with three children -- Ryan, 17, Joshua, 14 and Carly 11 -- someone told the people at the association about Mrs. Fleming, and they asked her to get involved.

At first, Mrs. Fleming said, she was apprehensive about getting involved because she wondered if she could really make a difference.

She made a difference in at least two ways.

The morning of the HeartWalk, Mrs. Fleming -- who owns The Engraving Place in Hermitage -- asked a friend to watch the store for her while she attended the walk. As Mrs. Fleming was speaking at the event her friend in the store was reading pamphlets from the association about signs of a heart attack.

Her friend, who hadn't been feeling well, realized she had a lot of symptoms so she closed the store and took herself to the hospital, Mrs. Fleming said. A short time later her friend underwent triple bypass surgery.

Mrs. Fleming said her one goal when getting involved with the association was to somehow save one life and spare one family the pain her family suffered. She said because of her involvement and the literature, her friend's life was saved.

Mrs. Fleming's efforts also helped to raise more than $28,000 for the HeartWalk which benefits local schools, community programming and research, said Diane Barber, division director for the organization. She said the money raised was $10,000 more than the goal.

"She really put in a lot of time and effort," Ms. Barber said. She added that Mrs. Fleming went "above and beyond the call of duty."

Mrs. Fleming said she plans to continue her involvement with the organization and would like to see mandatory cardiopulmonary resuscitation classes introduced to local schools.

This year's HeartWalk is scheduled for Sept. 9.