This week’s A Portage Life in the Spotlight is Terry Hufford, the Executive Director of the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce.
A 40 year resident of Portage, Terry Hufford has spent his entire adult life serving people. He served his country in the United States military, as President of the Portage Township School Board for 15 of his 23 years on the board, Chairman of Portage’s Relay for Life, a member of the United Way of Porter County Board of Directors and the Chairman of the Nativity of Our Savior Catholic Church’s annual festival. Hufford raised his four children Scott, Jennifer, Jackie and Jessica in Portage with his wife Sandy. You can say that Portage is in the Hufford’s history, three of his four children live in Portage and seven of his eight grandchildren live in Portage.
“When I was young and lived in Crown Point, I had no idea where Portage was, I had to talk my parents into the fact that I would come home one night since it was such a long trip to Portage,” Hufford said in response to what it is like to see Portage change over the years, “Portage back then was two lane Willowcreek Road and very few developments. Not very much to speak of and the way it has grown in 40 years to become the largest city in Porter County is amazing.”
The Chamber’s and Hufford’s responsibility to the city is enormous. The Chamber works to help businesses in Portage to attract customers and promote their respective industry in the city.
“The Chamber’s main role is to make sure when a business picks Portage and they come into Portage through PEDCO (Portage Economic Development) that their needs are met and they survive. The worst thing for a Chamber is to see one of their businesses to have a “For Sale” sign or “Going out of Business Sale,” Hufford added, “My goal is to offer every possibility for them to succeed and make sure that they know they are not alone in this. Certainly they have to work hard, but the Chamber should be working hard to make sure they succeed. It takes giving as well as receiving for a business to succeed in Portage.”
Hufford and the Chamber strive to make Portage the best place for the citizens of Portage and the businesses that are here or are looking to move here.
“I think Portage has to realize we have what many communities don’t have, like the lakefront. The ability to get anywhere we want to go, be it by rail, by car, airports close to us. It is a great place to live, a great place to work and from my personal experience, a great place to have you child educated,” Hufford said.
As the Chamber’s Executive Director, Hufford is aware that Portage is very attractive to businesses looking to relocate or start up in Portage.
“I guess Meijer is old news now, but I will tell you that there are some heavy weights looking into Portage,” Hufford said, “When a business is thinking about moving, they are not just thinking about one spot, they are thinking about five or six different communities which may be in five or six different states. Until it is a deal, there is no deal.”
Hufford is also a big supporter of PortageLife.com and the positive image that we try to convey to the people of Portage.
“I appreciate this opportunity; I think PortageLife does a great job. PortageLife is trying to put down some of the negativity that surrounds Portage on a daily basis,” Hufford said, “Portage is its own worst enemy. We certainly can be the strongest city in Porter County and we can certainly be the strongest city in the State of Indiana. I think that this Chamber is trying to grow, this community is trying to grow and I couldn’t be more delighted that PortageLife is helping it grow in a positive way.”
With all he does in the Portage community through the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce and his volunteer work, Terry Hufford is most definitely A Portage Life in the Spotlight.