Joyce Russell has dedicated her life to telling others’ stories, and now her own story gets to be told. As a Northwest Indiana native, Russell has lived in Portage for 42 years. During this time, she has worked as a newspaper reporter.
“I was a newspaper reporter for 40 years. I started working for a small newspaper in Crown Point after college called Lake County Star and I worked there for a couple of years,” Russell said. “Then I worked for the Post-Tribune for 14 years, and then the last 24 years of my career I worked for the Times.”
Russell attended Purdue University before returning to the Region where she launched her career.
“Our proximity to the Lake and Chicago makes us special, there’s no doubt about that,” Russell said. “You get the best of both worlds where we have a small town atmosphere, yet we can be in the big city in a very short amount of time.”
Russell has always had a passion for writing. When she was younger, she would often pass the time writing.
“Ever since I was a little kid I liked to write,” Russell said. “The area I grew up in was not a subdivision; it was in the country so you couldn't really go play in the neighborhood with friends because everyone was so spread out. So in grade school I just started writing stories.”
This hobby-turned-passion led Russell to the journalism career she finds herself in today.
“I grew up in the time of Watergate, so journalism was really revered because of what Woodward and Bernstein did, but I was mostly influenced to become a reporter when I read the biography of Ernie Pyle, who is a native hoosier, who spent most of his early career traveling the country and writing stories about people,” Russell said.
Russell spent 40 years telling the stories of Northwest Indiana, predominantly in Portage. Her favorite part of her career was being able to share these stories with others.
“People – for the most part – are good, and to be able to tell their stories was a privilege,” Russell said. “To find out what makes people tick and why they do the things that they do was special. I’ve met people that I’ll never forget; their stories just touched me very deeply and I will carry their stories with me for the rest of my life.”
The stories Russell helped to share came from a multitude of backgrounds and each taught unique lessons.
“Some people are just simply interesting, others have lessons to share, and some people can become role models,” Russell said. “They can become influential through their courage, fortitude, and determination, and they can inspire people to do things. I like sharing those stories that inspire others.”
After retiring from her reporting job about two years ago, Russell now works part time with Portage Township Trustee Brendan Clancy and City of Portage under Mayor Sue Lynch. She assists both entities with media work, social pages, and more.
Some of her favorite projects she has worked on include helping organize holiday celebrations and hometown hero banners.
“As a reporter, you never get to become a part of the story,” Russell said. “For 40 years, I couldn't be a part of the story and I couldn't be involved with the community. To be able to retire and now become involved in the community that I have lived in for over 40 years, it's been great.”
Along with the personal involvement she gains through her work with the Portage Township Trustee’s Office, Russell has also had the opportunity to work on an autism fundraising project. They raised funds earlier this year and were able to distribute more than 170 autism sensory kits to each police officer, firefighter, and school in the Portage area.
“Shortly after I was hired, one of my grandsons was diagnosed on the autism spectrum so it's become a passion of mine to work on this project,” Russell said.
In her free time, Russell enjoys researching genealogy and studying her – and others’ – family trees.
“I think that’s the reporter in me because reporters love to research and dig into things,” Russell said with a laugh.