When Portage City Council President Sue Lynch was named the 2012 Humanitarian of the Year by the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce, she was caught off guard.
“That was very humbling because I didn’t expect it and I know that there are so many people in our community that are deserving of that award,” Lynch said. “I really didn’t expect it to be me.”
With the number of hours that Lynch dedicates to service, it should come as no surprise that she received the honor. Lynch works with local veterans’ organizations, volunteers at her church, serves on the city’s Senior Advisory Committee and is a member of the Clean Community Challenge.
Lynch is a firm believer that everyone should serve their community and get involved with their church.
“I think community service is just something that’s ingrained in you,” she said. “It’s very important to serve in some way; I think that’s what God expects of us, I really do. I think I was just born with a servant’s heart, I don’t know how else to say it.”
Lynch puts her heart of gold to good use as a member of the St. Peter’s Church Ladies Gild. The group makes breast cancer pillows for St. Mary’s and Porter Hospitals, crochets lap blankets for nursing homes and helps anyone else that is in need.
Recently, Lynch was on the receiving end of a kind gesture, a change from her usual position on the giving side of the equation. She underwent knee surgery and was inundated by the Ladies Gild bringing food to her home.
“Something comes here every day,” she said. “It’s a very close-knit church; we’re very community-minded and I’m very active in the things that I do there.”
Lynch produces a newsletter every other month for the South Haven American Legion. Additionally, she helped start the Clean Community Challenge under the city’s previous administration. The group selects five topics that it plans to work on in order to improve the cleanliness of the city. She is also a member of the County Solid Waste Board and is adamant about the importance of composting.
“I think the backyard composting is a thing that we need to keep promoting,” Lynch said. “I think you need to teach those things to your children and your grandchildren to pass that along.”
As the chairperson for the Senior Advisory Committee, Lynch sees to it that Portage holds a high standard of life for seniors in the community. The group ensures that the community offers services in order to allow people to continue to live in the city once they reach their later years.
Outside of those many involvements, Lynch also manages to stay on top of the duties of her post as City Council President. She is in her second year in that position.
“It’s pretty time consuming; you’re involved in everything the council is,” she said. “I look at my job as someone who keeps the council informed. The Council President is a person who has to touch a lot of bases over the week. Communication is just vital to being able to work through things.”
Lynch stressed the need for governance within a city and the importance of citizens playing their role in electing those leaders.
“I don’t care who you vote for, but you need to participate with the government in your city,” she said. “I think that’s very, very important. It saddens me now because I look at a lot of young people and they don’t get involved, they don’t care.”
A graduate of Wheeler High School, Lynch has live in Portage for 17 years and has always had roots in the city after her father graduated from Portage High School in 1938. At the time, her father told her that the small town would eventually evolve into a big city.
“Look at what Portage is becoming, it’s just blossoming,” Lynch said. “We have new businesses, we have a great new lakefront and we have so much more to offer than other communities.”
According to Lynch, the city is continuing to head in the right direction.
“Good things are happening,” she said. “We’re going to get a new Street Department this year, which is something that is well deserved. We’re getting some new equipment for our Street Department guys. We have a great group of employees; they’re wonderful. I feel that I’m very committed to them as a councilperson. We have a wonderful police force. I just feel that as a councilperson, I just always need to be aware of the needs of people that are working in the city to help the city be the best that it can be, always.”