Tammy Cotton: Committed To Community Service
Tammy Cotton learned early on “the importance of community involvement and volunteering.”
She grew up in Kendallville, where her mother was involved in the community and her grandmother, “a strong Democrat and always involved in the Democratic party,” served as the Noble County clerk.
“I remember as a kid, especially on election day, hanging out at the courthouse,” said Cotton. “I remember riding with my grandmother delivering Meals on Wheels.”
Cotton, now a Tippecanoe Lake resident, carried that commitment forward through her eight-year career with the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce to her Jan. 1 appointment as pillar manager of religion and education for Chautauqua-Wawasee.
Cotton’s zeal is mimicked by the rest of her family. Her four grown children (two boys, two girls) “have all gotten plugged into the community.”
Her husband, Chris, has coached varsity football at Wawasee High School for 12 years, and the boys have followed suit. One coaches football; the other, wrestling.
“I’m pretty proud of that,” she said, highlighting “the importance of kids graduating college and coming back to the community and giving back. That is part of the vitality of a community.”
Cotton’s particular passions lie in the general areas of domestic violence and mental health, including issues like teen suicide and addictions.
Her passion is born of personal experience.
As the mother of a child diagnosed as bipolar, Cotton plodded the hard road of “knowing nothing and feeling hopeless and helpless.”
She wants to spare other parents that trauma.
“I want to make the public aware of the results of mental illness and get rid of the stigma,” she said. “People tend to label people, but it is a disease” deserving no more stigma than arthritis.
“They need to understand they are not the only ones dealing with these issues,” said Cotton. “When you are in the middle of a situation like that you think no one else understands.”
Such persons tend to isolate themselves from available resources “because of the stigma and embarrassment,” she said.
Cotton attends conferences “to learn more so I can help educate our community. I want to do whatever I can to help our community.”
She said the highlight of her chamber of commerce tenure was the establishment of the riverfront district in downtown Syracuse. “It is really a boost, a revitalization,” she said.
“It has been great to see all that has happened over the last eight years.”
Cotton believes in the “importance of sharing your story.”
“There needs to be a place where people can come and share their stories,” she said.
So last winter, she and Kelly Thompson initiated a weekly “Share Our Story” evening at The River Coffeehouse in North Webster.
Meetings run from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays and include free pizza, though the day and hours may change for the summer.
“You never know by sharing your story how much you are going to help someone else,” she said.
Cotton is now soliciting suggestions from the public as she plans the 2017 Chautauqua calendar.
“My main goal is to find programs and events under those two pillars to interest local residents and encourage their participation,” she said, citing events such as keynote speakers, authors, a health and wellness expo and a program on Amish culture.
Anyone with suggestions may call her at (574) 377-7543 or visit www.chqw.org.
Cotton is also interested in raising alpacas, and plans to do so after she retires. “They are really sweet animals,” she said.