When people think of a helping hand within the town of La Porte, many thoughts go toward firemen, policemen, doctors, etc. While these are all extremely helpful people, another person who offers a tremendous amount of aid in the community is Annette Loeffler, the administrative assistant to the mayor of La Porte.
While she currently works as the assistant to Blair Milo, since starting in 1979, she has also worked with former Mayors Chroback, Krentz, Gonzalez, and briefly for Mayor Smith as an assistant to his assistant.
As an administrative assistant, Loeffler’s main job is to assist the people of La Porte with problems that they may have. She keeps up with the emails, messages, and phone calls from community members who are seeking help, as well as people who come into her office to speak in person. If she is unable to solve the problem directly, her job is to find the person who can better help the situation.
“[This job] is always different,” she stated. “I come in, and I think I’m going to do one thing; I think I’m going to work on some project I’ve got on my desk. Then all of a sudden I get a phone call, and it changes the course of the day—sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. But my job is different every day, and I love that.”
Born and raised in La Porte, Loeffler is a woman who genuinely loves everything about her hometown and wants to see it thrive. Perhaps, there is a strong correlation between her love for her town and her love for her job. Because of the job, she sees things in the city from a different perspective than most do.
“I’m aware of what’s going on in the community, and I notice it,” she shared. “I don’t drive by a lake without noticing it. I don’t drive by a park without realizing all the work that goes into it. I think I have a deep appreciation for what we have in our community.”
Because she loves her town so much, she puts every ounce of her effort into helping solve problems in the community, and she does it with a smile on her face and a friendly, positive demeanor.
“My goal in this job is always to meet the needs of the next phone call or the next person that comes to the door,” Loeffler said. “I want to be able to answer the question or get the job done as best as I can. I know that we can’t help everybody, and I know people get frustrated when they don’t get the answers they want sometimes. But I think for the most part we do good work in our office, and I’m proud of it.”
Of her positivity, she shared, “I just feel like if you get up in the morning and you try to see the positive light of what’s coming every day, not only is it easier for you, but it makes it easier for people around you to be more content. I just don’t see the value in wasting my energy on negative thoughts or negative actions.”
Much of her own contentment comes from her family, the most important thing in her life. She has been married to her high school sweetheart Steven for 39 years, and together they have 3 grown sons and 3 grandsons who all live in La Porte, plus a dog named Fred.
,She said, “The thing that has impacted me the most in life would probably be becoming a mother, because I think it guided every other decision I ever made. My children are my biggest accomplishments, and they’re wonderful human beings.”
Loeffler is a person who truly loves her life and loves going into work every day. As a methodical, detail-oriented person, she enjoys her job and is very good at it. She likes filing, typing, and talking on the phone, but most of all she just likes being able to help the people of the town that she loves.
,“This job is really unique," she said. "It’s not like anything that anybody else does. You can talk to any other administrative assistant and it still won’t be the same as being an administrative assistant to the mayor. I really do get a lot of satisfaction, day in and day out, with the instant ability to help somebody, and I like that. It’s a great job, and I love working for La Porte.”
