Tag Kokomo | Hannah Ihms

February 19, 2015 by Hannah

Martha for Mayor!

From the very first time I met Martha Lake, I was struck by her upbeat, optimistic attitude. I was only a kid and I had no idea how much she was doing here in Kokomo. All I knew was that she was an incredibly kind person with a sunny personality.

Today as we talked, I was thankful that a woman who values her duty to God and country, has taken fiscal accountability seriously, and has actively supported our community would take the plunge and run for Mayor of Kokomo. Martha knows Kokomo extremely well, having spent all but 9 months of her life here. She’s served as Howard County Auditor for 11 years and has enthusiastically supported the local prolife cause.

She is an incredible role model and a fantastic choice for Kokomo’s next mayor!

To learn more about Martha, check out the Tribune’s coverage of her campaign announcement as well as her announcement itself:

Good evening: I am Martha Lake and I am declaring my candidacy for Mayor of Our City of Firsts, Kokomo, Indiana. I believe that a great city is measured by the quality of the lives of the people who live in it.

Now is the time for proven leadership to take on the City’s toughest challenges and win! That’s what I will do if elected your mayor.

I grew up in Alto, Indiana, which in the last few years has been made a part of the City of Kokomo thru annexation. I have lived all but the first nine months of my life, right here in Howard County. I have lived on the southwest side of downtown Kokomo since 1976. I love this town and every neighborhood in it.

Here I learned that what matters is not your name, or how much money you have, but what you get done and, especially, how you do it. It’s where I have learned that you get more done when you work with people rather than against them.
But… it is where I also learned that you must be prepared to take on tough fights, and make a real difference in people’s lives, when it matters most.

My dad worked at Continental Steel for 35 years. I learned something very fundamental from my dad… hard work matters, people matter. I am proud of my siblings and I honor my parents and all they taught me. My children live in this town as well as my grandchildren. I have a vested interest in making sure we not only survive, but we thrive! Most of you have that same vested interest!

Five times, the people of this city and county have by their votes entrusted me with two of the most important jobs of this community. Currently, I am serving my third term and starting my eleventh year as County Auditor. Auditor comes with the title and responsibility of the Chief Financial Officer of Howard County. I take this position very seriously, as I should! Over the years we have maintained perfect SBOA audits and made timely property tax distribution to all Howard County taxing entities.

I have also served eight years as County Treasurer, billing and collecting property taxes and working with our tax payers. I have many contacts statewide who are always available to help us with local issues. They are just a phone call or email away. In 2011 I was also chosen by my County Treasurer peers across the state to be County Treasurer of the Year. Both positions have given me unique preparation for the position I seek today.

As both Auditor and Treasurer, my proudest accomplishment has been to stand up for Kokomo property owners and try to stop the city from raising property taxes. I was also instrumental as treasurer in giving money back to our taxpayers almost $900,000 when we received an unanticipated refund, due to a state error on our local income tax distributions.

My service as both Auditor and Treasurer has taken on powerful interest on behalf of all of the people of Kokomo. I am proud of my record….but I can’t be finished yet! As mayor I would work harder than ever in an exciting new position which offers new opportunities to bring new ideas and positive changes to this community.

Also, as mayor, my highest priority is the safety of our people. This starts with establishing respect and appreciation for our police officers, fire fighters and all public safety personnel. It means that all necessary and involved parties are brought to the table when community decisions are being made. It also means making sure that our newly annexed areas are protected as was promised… And… as is required by law. Having sufficient emergency manpower and equipment is essential.

Emergency vehicles must be easily available, well maintained and dependable. We are blessed with professional, dedicated law enforcement officers, fire fighters, dispatchers and EMA volunteers. These people need to receive the right tools, trustworthy support, and positive reinforcement and recognition to help them do their jobs effectively and efficiently. They do not take their responsibilities lightly and neither should we. Every day, their lives are at stake and so are the lives of our loved ones and even our own lives as well.

Next, we need to provide a secure and varied foundation for our young people. We need to help them flourish as they grow up and provide a stable base so that they have the option to continue to live, work and play right here when they become adults. We have the best youth in the state of Indiana. These students are prize winners and scholars. They are smart, talented, hardworking and motivated. We need to offer them the opportunities and challenges that they are moving elsewhere to find. We have great educational facilities. We need great jobs. We need to grow our population from within, not artificially by involuntary annexation of outer county limits. We need to be so attractive to those living outside our community that they want to come here to live.

Many new small businesses have been started here and we are proud and appreciative. However, we need to go after larger businesses too. Those which involve and/or explore technology, research and development, production, manufacturing, service and professional jobs and other new solid entrepreneur opportunities. We have empty buildings that need to be filled and others that need quality renovations. Surely with the right initiatives we can resurrect and bring back to life these needy areas of our City. And, fill them with permanent jobs or make them permanent homes for our people.

We have beautiful trails and we are proud of the quality of life they bring us. However, what is missing is better sidewalks around our schools for our children to walk on. We need better sidewalks in our residential areas as well. Badly cracked, broken sidewalks are dangerous and can easily be the cause of falls and serious accidents. The same is true of our City streets.

We have the hardest working, most dedicated citizens that a community could ever be blessed with. Look at what has happened in Kokomo in the last five years. The mountain top that we are on today, compared to the valley that were headed for five years ago is as different as night and day. Things did not change because of one person or one idea. Our situation has drastically changed from a dark place to a “light on a hill” due to the united efforts and unfailing spirit of all of us living and working in our community. All who have refused to allow Kokomo to be anything other than the very best it can be! I am so proud to be a part of this community and so proud of what this community stands for and has accomplished.

We stand for God and family; we stand for friends and co-workers; we stand for transparency, ethics and morals, integrity and dignity. We take care of each other. We are supernaturally bound together through both the easy and the difficult. Our community is strong, but only because our commitment to each other, to our health, our success and our prosperity is strong. We are united and committed to provide a stable and secure present and future for all who live and work here.
I am determined and dedicated to work hard to keep us on track to grow and thrive financially. I am also determined to work well with all taxing entities in Howard County, our leaders at the state level, our workers in business, our professionals and all taxpayers and citizens. City government is not about separation; City government is about unity, mutual cooperation, respect and appreciation. When working together, all things are possible. So… let us enthusiastically move forward together.

Thank you.

in Politics 0 comments

September 2, 2014 by Hannah

Local Ministry Will Host Former Planned Parenthood Manager

Located downtown at 115 W. Mulberry Street in Kokomo, Living Alternatives Pregnancy Resource Center helps families in the midst of unexpected pregnancies. Whether it’s a listening ear, parenting advice, or baby clothes, the staff and volunteers at Living Alternatives are committed to helping pregnant women and girls during their journey of motherhood. The Center is open Tuesday through Friday and visitors can make an appointment or stop by. For more information, see their website and Facebook page.

Each year, Living Alternatives hosts an annual banquet to share what the Lord has done through their ministry and to cast a vision for the next year. This year’s banquet will be held at First Church of the Nazarene (2734 S. Washington St., Kokomo) on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2014 at 6:30PM. These banquets are an excellent way to learn more about their work and get involved. It is free and open to the public. This year’s theme is, “..He rescued me…” from Psalm 18:19, which is directly related to the story of this year’s keynote speaker, Sue Thayer.

Sue Thayer worked at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Storm Lake, Iowa, in 2002 when a deceased infant was found in the county’s recycling center. Law enforcement subpoenaed pregnancy records from all local medical providers, but Planned Parenthood was the only agency that refused to supply patient information. Sue was directly in the crossfire of what became a national controversy regarding the privacy of medical records. Then, in December 2008, Planned Parenthood began introducing webcam abortions in every clinic in the state. Sue was fired from her role as the Center Manager when she refused to offer this new “on demand” product.

Sue has gone on to become a strong voice for life. She is a tireless advocate for children, with a special love for the unborn. As the founder and director of Cornerstone for Life Pregnancy Resource Center, Sue is dedicated to advocating for the unborn, beginning at conception. Her story is living proof of God’s mercy and grace.

To RSVP for the banquet, call (765) 454-5566 or email kokomo@hopeforafuture.com.

in Education 0 comments

August 28, 2014 by Hannah

When You Stop Learning, You Stop Growing

The following article is a summary of a talk Dr. John Ladd of Ladd Dental Group gave to the Kokomo Business Network on August 27, 2014.

“When you stop learning, you stop growing.” That’s Dr. John Ladd’s philosophy, a philosophy that’s moved him far beyond the typical path of dental practices to foster a culture of professional collaboration.

Fresh out of dental school, Dr. Ladd wanted to be part of a group practice so he could learn from and share experiences with his colleagues. As he recruited others to work with him, he invited them to shape the practice: “Some dentists are too perfectionistic: they know the effort they put into building their practice, and think others won’t appreciate it. But some of the new student graduates have good ideas too. You have to be more laissez faire about it.”

To build a “big, hairy, audacious goal” for his business, Dr. Ladd hired a coach, developed a strategic plan, and held quarterly meetings to teach core values to his staff. At each meeting, they would cover a new core value and recognize staff members who were living out the previous value. Dr. Ladd’s commitment to education continues today through many avenues, including a weekly book club he holds with his staff. Some of the books he recommends are The Leader Who Had No Title by Robin Sharma, Good to Great by Jim Collins, Topgrading by Brad Smart, and Mastering the Rockefeller Habits by Verne Harnish.

Dr. Ladd’s love for reading has served him well, because building and maintaining a large practice takes much more than a degree in dentistry. He’s learned to use innovative advertising techniques to help his practice stand out. When he and his wife began their dental practice together, it was a novelty to see a married couple doing business together. They took advantage of that fact and ran a newspaper ad that featured their photograph. Radio and billboards have also offered unique marketing opportunities, because they were formats that other dentists hadn’t traditionally considered.

As his practice has grown and changed, Dr. Ladd has never lost sight of his goal of providing consistent, quality care “one patient at a time; one emergency at a time.” He stays on top of developments in dental care, seeking the best ways to cut costs for his patients while providing the best level of care. For example, while root canals used to be a painful process that stretched over three appointments, they can now be completed within 15 minutes. There are even methods for generating a new nerve in a tooth to restore its function. He also digitized his X-ray imaging, to leverage patients’ resources toward treatment.

He and his staff are committed to giving back to the community. While caring for Peruvian patients along the Amazon River, Dr. Ladd realized that he didn’t have to go to another country to find people in need of dental care: there were many in his own community that needed dental attention but lacked the means to pay for it. Thus, ten years ago he began partnering with the ministry Dentistry from the Heart.

In one jam-packed day each year, Dr. Ladd, his staff, Ivy Tech dental assistant students, and other volunteers assemble to donate their time and talent to low-income patients. All told, they typically have 50-60 people working. Some patients line up at 6PM the night before in order to save a good spot.

During the event, each patient first visits one area to receive dental hygiene, and then moves to another area to receive treatment. There’s no waiting: if they need something done, it’s done right then and there. The dentists and hygienists can’t fix everything, but they can do a lot. By the time the sun goes down, over 200 people have received dental care.

Today, Dr. Ladd and his team of ten dentists and orthodontists serve patients at six different locations with Ladd Dental Group, offering services from basic dental care to orthodontics, TMJ treatment, and even dental implants. Dr. Ladd is currently working on new expansions and new collaborations. After all, “there are always new dental students graduating that need to be mentored.”

in Health 0 comments

February 27, 2013 by Hannah

Love. What’s God Got to Do With It?

What’s God got to do with love? Everything, as it turns out. Here’s Peter Heck’s take on the question, in this recent talk to young people:

Every action begins with an idea, and every idea begins with a worldview. Who’s shaping your view of life and what it means? Many TV shows portray casual sex as a way of life, and cynicism as a coping mechanism. Was this God’s design for men and women, or did something go way, way wrong?

in Humor / Sociology 0 comments