It’s impossible to invest into a city’s growth without some idea of where that growth leads. The La Porte Economic Advancement Partnership (LEAP) board members have been helping to guide the City of La Porte’s development for years, but what is it about the city that makes them believe in a bright future? GreatNews.Life is looking to discover where their optimism comes from in this final part of the three-part series featuring LEAP board members.
The reason a person calls a city home is incredibly personal and is therefore different for each individual. Some, like Trudy Menke, president of Reframing Leadership, see future progress from the relationships they’ve been able to form in La Porte.
“I appreciate the quality of the people I know here and the capacity for innovation,” said Menke.
Thanks to LEAP’s many developments in residential and downtown districts, La Porte is attracting new people everyday. For President of Boss Industries Todd Hudson, that kind of population growth spells good things for the community as a whole.
“Housing expansion generates more heads to support growth,” he said. “It takes people!”
“The people, the lakes, and the ‘distant proximity’ to ‘stuff’ really benefits La Porte,” added Ryan Seaburg, CEO of Qubit Networks. “We are close to Chicago and South Bend, but we are not in the traffic associated with either of those.”
As more people enter the city, LEAP’s community programs engage them and help them become involved. Once people become involved in the community, they have a stake in helping La Porte improve.
“It’s awesome to have individuals from the community who are invested in making it better,” said City of La Porte Attorney Nicholas Otis.
LEAP works closely with the municipal government on its initiatives, including the massive NewPorte Landing development that’s set to open a lot more retail and commercial opportunities for residents. The close relationship between LEAP, the business community, and Mayor Tom Dermody’s team is part of what brings Director of Economic Development and Community Relations with PNW Don Babcock optimism about La Porte’s future.
“The mayor's leadership and teamwork with the business community is definitely a bright spot,” he said.
“Seeing the business and restaurants coming to our city as well as the building updates and our city becoming a beautiful place makes me optimistic about the city’s future,” added Director of Marketing and Communications with CompressAir Brittany Smith.
Of course, while the concrete benefits LEAP has brought to La Porte definitely make the city’s future bright, it's the attitude of the La Porte residents that really makes it all possible. Through everything, the community stays together.
“Persistence—determination—tenacity, whatever you call it—it is the strongest attribute that LEAP and City of La Porte offer in working together for the greater good,” said Mary Wellnitz, president and CEO of Figment Group.
“La Porte is all about togetherness,” added Superintendent of La Porte Community School Corporation Mark Francesconi.
Whatever their reasons may be, the board members of LEAP know that the City of La Porte will continue to expand and strengthen its community into the foreseeable future. As the people steering the city maintain good attitudes, they’ll have more successes to talk about.
“Optimism breeds success, and we currently have strong, optimistic leadership in place who are inclined to work hard for the City of La Porte,” said Dawn Zigler, senior account manager at Meridian Title Corporation.
This is a LEAP and LPCL mission and member spotlight. Check out Part 1 to get more information on the growth LEAP and its board members have brought to the City of La Porte and Part 2 to learn why LEAP board members continue to invest their time in the organization.
