Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
For five years, Sus Amigos, Detroit Street, has helped the local Hispanic community build a healthy relationship with Kosciusko County.
The organization deals with culture barriers the Hispanic community faces and assists individuals with translations, immigration information, housing, employment and education.
Sus Amigos, now with a full-time director, first began as a white paper project within the Kosciusko Leadership Academy and since has evolved into a beneficial program for the community.
KLA will celebrate 25 years of community service in September, and Sus Amigos is only one of the many programs KLA established in hopes of benefitting Kosciusko County.
The origins of the academy stem from 1981, when the same group of people met to represent the public at government meetings and events.
"I was surprised to see the same familiar faces at every meeting I attended," Jean Northenor, KLA founder and advisor, said. "After some discussion with Matt Dalton, we decided to pursue the creation of an academy to better serve our community."
Dalton, then owner of Dalton Foundries, Northenor and Doug Grant, then president of Lake City Bank, agreed to organize a committee of public figures willing to implement new ideas into the Warsaw area.
With the help of Joe Rawlings and professors from Ball State University, the group established KLA and its first class of participants.
Since its creation, KLA continuously has graduated an average of 25 individuals per year who construct and discuss various means of improvement for the community via white paper projects. Each year, KLA awards one or more projects with a $5,000 grant. Though not all projects are awarded money for completion, each still has the potential to be set into action.
"I'm surprised and delighted that it's lasted 25 years. It delights me to see the group recognition with our members," Northenor said. "We've always encouraged community dedication and I think that the people and companies of Warsaw respect that."
Organizations such as the Education Summit, Combined Community Services, Kosciusko Youth Leadership Academy and the Kosciusko County Greenway all stemmed from innovative ideas within KLA.
"The academy is never afraid of change. They are always researching material that is pertinent to the community," Steve Foster, Warsaw Chief of Police and public information executive of KLA, said.
Other topics discussed in present and past KLA classes include a proposal for a center of Kosciusko arts and culture, a dog park, combining Warsaw and Winona Lake municipalities, downtown revitalization projects for Warsaw and more.
"While in KLA, we learned things about the community that we would not have recognized or known. By being in the academy, you want to be a positive factor to the town and benefit everyone with your efforts," Duane Huffer, Kosciusko Superior Court Judge and KLA alumnus, said.
Huffer, a graduate from KLA's first class in 1982, tackled the issue of book burning in the community and sparked public interest in what had taken place.
"I don't know if a a White Paper could stick out more than the book burning. I was so shocked and disappointed that people in the community did that," Northenor said. "Our community was branded; a magazine even labeled us as 'the city that burned books.' We had to let the public know that this was not acceptable; that we could not allow future acts like this to take place."
The 25th class will be inducted into the academy in September along with youth members into KYLA. Trish Jenks will be the academy's new president. Once the class members are decided, KLA will continue to tackle local issues and encourage rewarding activities within Kosciusko County.
