La Porte Mayor Blair Milo Speaks At Hobart Chamber Monthly Luncheon

The Hobart Chamber of Commerce, on Wednesday, held their monthly Chamber Luncheon at the Hobart Community Center located at Festival Park overlooking beautiful Lake George. Chamber members gathered to enjoy lunch catered by BC Osaka, welcome and hear from new Chamber members, and to hear from this month’s featured guest speaker: La Porte Mayor Blair Milo.

“We brought in Mayor Milo from La Porte this month because there are a lot of great things happening in her city,” said Lisa Winstead, Executive Director of the Hobart Chamber of Commerce. “She’s having a big impact through economic development and revitalization, and is really a dynamic speaker. She is a person who loves her city and she’s doing great work so we thought it would be great to have her here to speak about that.”

Milo was elected Mayor of La Porte in 2011 and took office with a focus on economic development and infrastructure growth as well as a dedication toward positive lifestyle choices and the promotion of community and individual health.

“I really appreciate the opportunity to come and speak here today,” said Mayor Milo. “One of the things we’ve really tried to focus on in the city of La Porte is trying to foster positive lifestyle choices. We’ve also looked at building a climate that is the most conducive toward economic development and business growth while providing and maintaining a sustainable infrastructure.”

“I really want to thank the Chamber for the opportunity to come speak this afternoon,” Milo said. “It’s been such a treat to get to work with Hobart Mayor Brian Snedecor. He and I have served on the Northern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) for the past four years and I’ve learned a ton of lessons and how to handle some difficult situations from Brian. We’ve had the opportunity to go out to Washington D.C. and meet with some of our legislators and have some important discussions particularly around the context of our transportation and infrastructure across the region.”

“I think it’s important in understanding the world that we’re all in, and in the world of economic development, it’s no longer all about Hobart or La Porte or Michigan City,” Milo continued. “All of us as a region are competing with places like China, India and Europe. It’s so important for us to be collaborating with one another in every facet we can whether it’s through transit and infrastructure or through economic development and cooperatives. We need to be taking advantage of those partnerships overall because that’s where we are seeing tremendous gains. Corporations aren’t making the distinctions between Hobart, Merrillville or La Porte. If we’re going to succeed and grow as a region we have to reach across the aisle, to reach across the city and county jurisdictions to make sure that we are collaborating with one another.”

Also at Wednesday’s Luncheon was Hobart Mayor Brian Snedecor who touched on working with Mayor Milo and her passion for what she does.

“What Mayor Milo said here today, she lives it,” Mayor Snedecor said. “She really lives her job and it’s contagious. As Mayors we don’t look at party or area affiliation. It’s a regional approach and as a group we can make great things happen. Transportation, good paying jobs - that’s the future.”

The Hobart Chamber of Commerce host their monthly luncheon on the second Wednesday every month. To find out more go to: http://www.hobartchamber.com/