Leeanne Hackney would be the first to admit that she was more than a bit rebellious as a child. 

“I went up a grade in math in elementary school, but school bored me,” Hackney said. “I was expelled in 8th grade for breaking a few rules. My parents homeschooled me for the rest of the year, but when I went back to school in the ninth grade, I skipped school a lot. I definitely did things the hard way for some time.”

 

Originally from Flagstaff, Arizona, Hackney moved around quite a bit in her late teens to Texas, Montana, Seattle, and back to Texas. When she was 17, Hackney was emancipated from her parents. “Basically, my parents did not want to be held responsible for me as I pushed back against their rules and boundaries, and so they kicked me out of the house and had me legally emancipated,” she said. For the next year she was, for all intents and purposes, homeless. She bounced around staying with friends and the party crowd; a handful of times she had to contemplate a safe place to sleep outside if that plan didn’t work out. She eventually moved to Seattle on a whim, [LH1] but after suffering a one-two punch of a massive panic attack followed by a severe kidney infection that led to a lengthy hospital stay, she decided to move back home to face the music. 

 

“I started working to save money and make changes in my life but didn’t realize that I had some legal issues, because I had so many underage drinking charges that I had never dealt with,” Hackney said. She decided to turn herself in, and she spent ten days in jail. That’s when she knew she was finally ready to turn a corner.

 

She took college classes and met her husband in 2007. They moved to North Dakota for his job in 2008. She became a certified nursing assistant and took more classes to apply for the nursing program. She also worked in banking before getting pregnant and becoming a stay-at-home mom. With a husband in the oil and gas business, Hackney and her family moved a lot. One particular move made her recognize just how strong she could be. 

 

“When our two boys were two and three years old, we took a relocation from North Dakota to Pennsylvania. My husband had to work through his off weeks while we sold one house, purchased and built another, and moved across the country. I pretty much had to orchestrate each piece of this move on my own with no support system to assist with my husband far away and two small children in tow,” Hackney said. “I really had to lean into my faith, and I quickly realized that there is no limit to what I can accomplish if I push past the discomfort into the rough waters and swim.” 

 

When COVID hit, forcing her husband to be at home while many industries all but shut down, Hackney decided to leverage her ability to push through things no matter what and try her hand at the very first thing that she loved doing. “I loved looking at houses when I was a little girl. I would ride around my neighborhood and my friends’ neighborhoods on my bicycle and pull the flyers off of the for-sale signs in front yards of houses that were for sale,” Hackney said. “When my husband was home for a while, I thought there was no better time for me to get my real estate license, so I jumped in headfirst and got my license in two months. I’ve been at it full force ever since.”  

 

Being in real estate full force means that she uses all of her life experiences to make sure that she understands her clients’ needs. “Customer service is key, which is a good amount of sales and customer care. I love getting to know my clients beyond just them needing a four bedroom, three bath house,” Hackney said. “That’s what I love about real estate … the emotional side.”

 

When she’s not helping her clients navigate through real estate deals, she spends as much time with her family and kids as possible. “We have a daughter, Hayleigh, who’s 17 and will be attending University of Arkansas next year. We also have three boys, Rylan, 10, Cayson, 9 and Lincoln, 3,” Hackney said. “We love to travel, and we took all four kids to Colombia last summer. I want them to experience all cultures and different types of people and really know to appreciate everyone and everything.” 

 

She’s also mended the broken ties with her parents, so they are part of her life again. “I have a great relationship with my family now,” she said. “I am grateful for all the hardships I have gone through, because they molded me and made me strong and compassionate and able to persevere. If I can make it from that to this, there is hope for anyone.” 

 

Speaking of learning about different things and embracing the things that you learn at a young age, Hackney has a deep love of astronomy. Her fondness for it grew from spending time with her family at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, where Pluto was discovered. 

 

“I would spend hours in the library reading college level textbooks about black holes, dwarf stars, and super giant stars when I was young[LH2] ,” Hackney said. “There’s just something about space, about its limitless appeal. It reminds you that no matter where you come from, you can do big things, take risks, and pursue dreams. You can be molded through big struggles and be better, stronger, and more successful for it.”

 

Leeanne Hackney would be the first to admit that she was more than a bit rebellious as a child. 

“I went up a grade in math in elementary school, but school bored me,” Hackney said. “I was expelled in 8th grade for breaking a few rules. My parents homeschooled me for the rest of the year, but when I went back to school in the ninth grade, I skipped school a lot. I definitely did things the hard way for some time.”

 

Originally from Flagstaff, Arizona, Hackney moved around quite a bit in her late teens to Texas, Montana, Seattle, and back to Texas. When she was 17, Hackney was emancipated from her parents. “Basically, my parents did not want to be held responsible for me as I pushed back against their rules and boundaries, and so they kicked me out of the house and had me legally emancipated,” she said. For the next year she was, for all intents and purposes, homeless. She bounced around staying with friends and the party crowd; a handful of times she had to contemplate a safe place to sleep outside if that plan didn’t work out. She eventually moved to Seattle on a whim, but after suffering a one-two punch of a massive panic attack followed by a severe kidney infection that led to a lengthy hospital stay, she decided to move back home to face the music. 

 

“I started working to save money and make changes in my life but didn’t realize that I had some legal issues, because I had so many underage drinking charges that I had never dealt with,” Hackney said. She decided to turn herself in, and she spent ten days in jail. That’s when she knew she was finally ready to turn a corner.

 

She took college classes and met her husband in 2007. They moved to North Dakota for his job in 2008. She became a certified nursing assistant and took more classes to apply for the nursing program. She also worked in banking before getting pregnant and becoming a stay-at-home mom. With a husband in the oil and gas business, Hackney and her family moved a lot. One particular move made her recognize just how strong she could be. 

 

“When our two boys were two and three years old, we took a relocation from North Dakota to Pennsylvania. My husband had to work through his off weeks while we sold one house, purchased and built another, and moved across the country. I pretty much had to orchestrate each piece of this move on my own with no support system to assist with my husband far away and two small children in tow,” Hackney said. “I really had to lean into my faith, and I quickly realized that there is no limit to what I can accomplish if I push past the discomfort into the rough waters and swim.” 

 

When COVID hit, forcing her husband to be at home while many industries all but shut down, Hackney decided to leverage her ability to push through things no matter what and try her hand at the very first thing that she loved doing. “I loved looking at houses when I was a little girl. I would ride around my neighborhood and my friends’ neighborhoods on my bicycle and pull the flyers off of the for-sale signs in front yards of houses that were for sale,” Hackney said. “When my husband was home for a while, I thought there was no better time for me to get my real estate license, so I jumped in headfirst and got my license in two months. I’ve been at it full force ever since.”  

 

Being in real estate full force means that she uses all of her life experiences to make sure that she understands her clients’ needs. “Customer service is key, which is a good amount of sales and customer care. I love getting to know my clients beyond just them needing a four bedroom, three bath house,” Hackney said. “That’s what I love about real estate … the emotional side.”

 

When she’s not helping her clients navigate through real estate deals, she spends as much time with her family and kids as possible. “We have a daughter, Hayleigh, who’s 17 and will be attending University of Arkansas next year. We also have three boys, Rylan, 10, Cayson, 9 and Lincoln, 3,” Hackney said. “We love to travel, and we took all four kids to Colombia last summer. I want them to experience all cultures and different types of people and really know to appreciate everyone and everything.” 

 

She’s also mended the broken ties with her parents, so they are part of her life again. “I have a great relationship with my family now,” she said. “I am grateful for all the hardships I have gone through, because they molded me and made me strong and compassionate and able to persevere. If I can make it from that to this, there is hope for anyone.” 

 

Speaking of learning about different things and embracing the things that you learn at a young age, Hackney has a deep love of astronomy. Her fondness for it grew from spending time with her family at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, where Pluto was discovered. 

 

“I would spend hours in the library reading college level textbooks about black holes, dwarf stars, and super giant stars when I was young,” Hackney said. “There’s just something about space, about its limitless appeal. It reminds you that no matter where you come from, you can do big things, take risks, and pursue dreams. You can be molded through big struggles and be better, stronger, and more successful for it.”

 ☺