Friday night the Civic Auditorium in La Porte glittered and glinted from the twinkling lights, sparkling shoes, clothing and bright smiles. It was the second annual La Porte Mayor’s Ball, and La Porte Mayor Blair Milo lead the party as the lovely and gracious hostess.
“We have a great turnout this evening and a wonderful band…although I’m a bit biased,” Mayor Milo said with a laugh. “We’re raising funds that will all go into the Mayor’s Ball funds. Last year, all the money raised at the Ball went toward substance abuse prevention efforts and we will continue those efforts this year as well as some other initiatives.”
Mayor Milo has been working feverishly to see that the city of La Porte grows and prospers. She is pleased with the direction things are heading thus far.
“I am thrilled with all the things that we have been able to do for the past year. I became really excited as I got to compile everything and look back on what we’ve done in just a year.” Mayor Milo said. “I’ve kind of surprised myself as I became kind of inundated on a day-to-day basis on working through and thinking, ‘Okay, what’s the next step,’ and here we are later and I’m thinking, ‘Holy cow! We’ve got a heck of a lot done here.’ We’ve expanded the industrial park, we’ve had a number of really exciting events, we’ve got a boat race coming up that’s going to bring thousands of tourists to the area, we’re doing a lot with our downtown, Newport Landing development; there are so many things that are going on!”
Mayor Milo gives lots of credit to her hard working staff and stated that she trusts them implicitly. This is the mark of a good leader. Good leaders know when to follow and they know themselves and their environment. Mayor Milo is as real as they come and it showed in her confident and relaxed demeanor as she navigated her way through the well-dressed guests at the Ball. They all seemed drawn to her as she chatted with each person.
Positivity radiated throughout the auditorium along with the swell sounds of the Tom Milo Big Band. Couples danced cheek-to-cheek on the dance floor to the melodies that the band effortlessly played. And if they weren’t dancing, guests were milling about chatting with one another, eating light finger foods and crudités that were provided and attended by the competent kitchen and wait staff.
Many came to support Mayor Milo and to give back while enjoying and excellent evening. Tom Casey, Vice President of the Space Center, Inc.’s Midwest Region was there and he was having an excellent time.
“Bert Cook, the Mayor and I have been working together to expand the Thomas Rose Industrial Park and I’m here to support her,” Casey said. “I think that she’s a breath of fresh air and she’s not only creating a movement, but a vibe among the people -from what I can see and read and what I feel personally when in meetings with her.”
Marie Foster, a Development Officer at Purdue North Central seconded Casey’s sentiment.
“We’re here to celebrate Mayor Milo and the wonderful job she’s done as the Mayor,” Foster said. “PNC supports La Porte and we love the community. We got a table tonight so we could engage with everyone and we are having a great time. We love it! We’ve enjoyed the dancing and everyone here.”
We all can be in agreement that the evening was indeed lovely and there was definitely a reason to celebrate. Mayor Milo is really pushing to bring out the best in La Porte and her efforts are paying off with the help and cooperation from her friends, family, staff, community and the rest of her supporters. The future of La Porte is in good hands.
Click here to see all the great photos from the 2013 Mayor's Ball!