Jessica Frye and MacKenzie Taylor – Town of Millersburg

The Small Town Big on Community Care

“When you think of a small, rural Indiana community, we fit that description perfectly,” says MacKenzie Taylor, the Clerk Treasurer for the Elkhart County town of Millersburg. “We’re talking about a town of around 900 residents; that’s only a little more than twice as many residents as the town’s 413 acres. But Millersburg has a lot of unique history, and folks here truly are neighbors to one another on a deeper level. There is a real sense of home here, a terrific school system, and people who’ve come here tend to stay for generations. I think that contributes to Millersburg’s strong sense of community, because people here know each other and care about one another.

I didn’t plan to go into government, but I’ve found that nothing compares to the friendships and relationships that you make along the way when you are actively working to help others. During the course of my day, if I can put a smile on someone’s face while doing my job or produce laughter or help someone with something, then I just feel so good about myself and everything and everyone around me. I think there are a lot of rewards for those who are involved in community work, but maybe they’re not always rewards you can see.

I’d say the person who inspired me most was my grandmother, Peggy Miller. She was a county recorder for two terms. Growing up I didn’t know what her job was but she was always very involved in the community and she always took a lot of pride and joy in the relationships she made. She treated everyone like a friend regardless of how well she knew them, and that is one of the best ways you can be when you’re involved in a leadership role.”

Don’t need a word for ‘caring’

“A lot of towns have drives, committees, and programs for volunteering,” says Jessica Frye, Millersburg’s Deputy Clerk. “We do, obviously, have some of that. But Millersburg is such a small and tight-knit community that, in some ways, I think the concept of ‘volunteering’ is sort of built into the entire makeup of the community. I’m not sure we even need a word for it, because helping each other out is sort of a given here.

Just recently there was a daycare in town that was experiencing financial hardship. Well, this being such a small town—there aren’t a lot of daycare options young families can rely on. So the community rallied and raised funds and helped them stay open. We also recently had a collaboration between local businesses, organizations, and residents that produced the town’s first-ever ‘Back to School Bash.’ This resulted in 137 free backpacks being given out to families and children in the community for the school year.

Those are just two examples, but I would definitely say that Millersburg is a place where there is a heightened sense of community care. A lot of the businesses here have been around for a long time—Millersburg Lumber has been in town for generations, Battery Tech has been part of this community for 20 years. So there’s a sense of connectedness and it feels like people are always striving to give back to the community.

My grandfather, Tom Riggs, was an inspiration to me. He was the Code Enforcement Officer in Goshen for years. He also helped with the Lincolnway Historical Trail for Elkhart County. I saw him do a lot of good work and he was really the person in my life who set the standard for community involvement.

I know the world has changed over the years, and these days it’s not always easy to find people willing to give their time to their community. But for me, personally, it’s a great feeling to be helpful to people in Elkhart County. I come across people all the time who want to help out our community in any way they can—and it’s so comforting to know that there are still people out there with more on their mind than just ‘what’s in this for me?’”