This week’s A Portage Life in the Spotlight is Kelly Bermes, who was recently named the new Athletic Director at Portage High School.
“I am a Portage kid, I graduated from Portage and have lived here all of my life. Then I went away to college and came back and my first teaching job was here in Portage. I got married, and moved away but then I came back because I wanted to raise my family in Portage,” Bermes said. “I have three children and they were all Portage graduates. My family is all from Portage, my father owned a business when I was growing up here in Portage and my sisters and I, we have all stayed here. Portage is very important.”
Bermes is in her 28th year in the Portage Township Schools system. She spent 24 of those years as a teacher in grades 1st through 8th, though never taught 4th grade. For the past four years she has served as the Assistant Athletic Director. At the May 21 School Board Meeting, Bermes was recommended to the Board as a replacement for Jeff Smith who resigned as Athletic Director on March 20.
“It was very emotional for me because not only am I staying here at Portage, and I am not saying that this job is an end-all, but I have always wanted to be around Portage kids,” she added. “I believe that this is a great town to live in and it is just full of great people, so this was kind of a relief for me that the people who were doing the hiring thought highly enough of me to allow me to do this. It comes with a lot of pressure and it is very emotional, I have always wanted to be in Portage.”
Bermes said she loves her job and the ability to see students grow in their four years at Portage High School through the athletic programs the school offers.
“I get to see all of those great kids, I mean all of our athletes are great kids, most of them are great students and I get to see them in a competitive atmosphere. I love that, I thrive on that, I want to win more than some of them do,” she added. “ I always say, the best part of my day begins at three o’clock. The seven to three day changes every day but boy at three, that’s my time. It almost makes me want to coach again, even compete again.”
When Bermes was a student at Portage she competed in gymnastics for four years, played volleyball for four years and was a cheerleader for three years. Bermes was also a coach at Portage during her 28 year career. She was an assistant coach in Gymnastics under her sister, current PHS Principal Caren Swickard. Before coming to coach in Portage, Bermes started the gymnastics program at Wheeler High School and was the head coach there for one year.
“I was very active” she said.
In her new job as Athletic Director, Bermes will deal with many students that will pass through the athletic office or come to compete or watch a sporting event at the school.
“The one goal is to see as many kids as I can be successful and if they chose to go on to do that, that we have given them the groundwork to continue to do that. All along the way, I want them to become better people, you know give back to the community and enjoy their four years here,” she added. “There is nothing more heartbreaking than to have a kid say I can’t wait until it is over. To me it should be, I am sad that it is over, but I hope that they have met a lot of good people here.”
Being a lifelong Portage resident, Bermes feels that there could be no better place to raise a family or to work in.
“It is not to big that you don’t know people and you know there are a lot of families that I have grown up with that have stayed and there is a lot of history that way,” she concluded “I believe that it is changing and it is diverse and it gives my kids a real life experience. But yet, there were some small town values and I am comfortable here and this is such a great place to be.”
For her years of commitment to the Portage Schools system and her countless hours of service to the community, Kelly Bermes is undoubtedly A Portage Life in the Spotlight.
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