In February 2012, the city of Portage found itself with several different part time roles that needed filled. The city needed a financial analyst, an event coordinator, a volunteer coordinator and someone to assist with public relations. Rather than hiring a slew of new employees, the city landed Lori Wilkie, who has the experience and skills’ set needed to fill all of those roles at once.
Wilkie organizes the Fourth of July Parade and Festival and Spring Cleanup Day, coordinates the banners that go up on Willowcreek Road, helps with the Christmas Parade and Senior Health Fair and balances many other duties. She is two weeks removed from the most demanding event of the year, the Fourth of July festivities.
“Last year, it was a nightmare,” Wilkie said. “I was new, I hadn’t even attended the festival; I’d been to the parade, but I didn’t have a clue how things were done. I contacted some people who had helped with the parade in the past and they gave me a little bit of knowledge.”
This year, Wilkie had much more time for preparation in ensuring that the parade went off without a hitch.
“This year, it was so much easier to be prepared for it,” she said. “I started planning for it in April and sent an email out to everyone that had participated last year. The lineup was easier this year because I just followed what I did last year.”
Captain Chris Segard of the Reserves and Randy Reeder of the Street Department were vital components to helping the parade run successfully.
Wilkie, who holds an actuarial science degree from Indiana University Northwest, spent two years frantically looking for a job to no avail before a friend of hers set her up with an interview with the city of Portage.
Portage has been home to Wilkie her entire life, except a three to four year stint during high school when she moved to Illinois because her father’s job was transferred. She attended Myers Elementary School and Fegely Middle School, then spent the bulk of her high school years in Illinois before returning home to graduate from Portage High School.
“My dad always pushed me to finish my education and go after anything that I wanted to be,” she said. “His mom, my grandmother, has always been a really hard worker. Her attitude in life is that you always just pick up and keeping going, you don’t let anything defeat you.”
Wilkie is a mother of four children, who range in age from seven months old to a Class of 2013 PHS graduate. Her middle children are eight and 10 year old boys who are active in travel baseball and football. Wilkie is the treasurer of Portage Pop Warner, while her husband is the manager of the travel baseball team.
In addition, Wilkie is a member of the Portage Township Education Foundation, the Portage Parent Network, the Backpack Program Steering Committee, Kiwanis and the Senior Advisory Committee. Somehow, she finds a way to fit everything into her schedule.
“I’m very lucky to have a retired mother-in-law who helps me out at home with my kids when I’m working,” she said. “I live by my calendar. If I didn’t have my calendar, I wouldn’t know where I was going or what I was doing. I set deadlines and check in on my calendar to make sure that I’m on task.”
One of Wilkie’s favorite aspects of her job is interacting with and meeting many great individuals, including Heather Harrigan of Empower Porter County, Sherry Smolar of the Advisory Claims Committee, Jim Fitzer of the Portage Economic Development Corporation, financial consultant Steve Brady, human resources consultant Mitch Ripley, Director of Public Works A.J. Monroe and the Portage Parks Department.
For someone who is looking for a job with a city, Wilkie recommends starting by volunteering and networking.
“I would say volunteer in your community,” she said. “There is nothing better than networking. If it weren’t for knowing people, I wouldn’t have gotten this job. I think volunteer work is extremely important. The more volunteer work you can put on your resume, the better.”
In the time that Wilkie has been on the job, working for the city has stacked up to be everything she thought it would be and more.
“I love it,” she said. “I can’t believe how much I’ve learned about city government that I never paid attention to before I was here. I love how much I’ve learned about the city since I’ve been here. I take more initiative to be an active part of my community now. The networking is amazing.”