For Beth Pishkur, community is everything. She’s Michigan City born and raised, and a lifelong health professional dedicated to improving the city she loves.
Pishkur is essentially a lifelong Michigan City Native, having grown up in the city and watched it grow since she moved back after finishing school at age 24. She obtained her RN degree from the St. Elizabeth Hospital School of Nursing and spent the last 40 years in nursing, the last 10 of which were in downtown Michigan City at the HealthLinc Community Health Center. Though she enjoyed her career, her interests started shifting as she grew older.
“My father, Roger McKee, though deceased for eleven years, still has an influence on me,” Pishkur said. “As I grow older and become more involved in the city politics than nursing, I hear his lessons and advice rattling around in my head. So I say to myself, ‘get out there and do something.’”
She is deeply involved around the community, and does whatever she can to help it grow.
“I’m finishing up 8 years on the School board and am a past member of the Planning Commission, Enrichment Board, and Women’s Commission,” Pishkur noted. “I’m also currently a member of the LaPorte County League of Women Voters, Vice President of the LaPorte County Women’s Democractic club, and Eucharistic Minister at St. Stanislaus Church. Most importantly, I’m a community activist who pushes for equal rights for everyone, advocates for the poor and homeless, and the beautification of all areas in the city.
Part of what inspired her to get so involved was seeing the passion her neighbors display in keeping Michigan City a great place to live.
“I’m so proud of my hometown,” she said. “I want to pass on that pride and love by doing anything and everything to make sure that other community members see that they can participate in and enjoy it through involvement in the simplest committee at church or school, boards, or neighborhood watch.”
Her favorite part of the city is what she calls the “beautiful downtown.”
“It’s undergoing revitalization, and as I sat in my office at HealthLinc I would remember my grandma taking me across the street to what used to be Woolsworth’s,” Pishkur said. “I recall taking my children down there to get cupcakes from the bakery after a trip to the library. No one loves Michigan City more than I do and no one wants to see the downtown succeed more than I do.”
So keep an eye open Michigan City, because Pishkur is planning to run for City Council in 2019 and bring her passion into practice.