Merrillville is honoring its outgoing elected officials. Clerk-Treasurer Kelly White Gibson and council members Richard Hardaway, Jeff Minchuk and Leonard White were all recognized during Tuesday's council meeting.
White Gibson opted not to seek a second term. Still, she felt it's important for people to get involved in the place where they live, despite the criticism that often comes with it.
"It's a service that you're doing for other people, and so you have to have a servant's heart," White Gibson said. "And sometimes, that causes you to be passionate, and sometimes, that causes you to fight."
Recent criticism has come from incoming Clerk-Treasurer Eric January. Among other things, he's promised to play a bigger role in the annual budgeting process.
Hardaway, meanwhile, served 20 years on the Merrillville Town Council, after being one of the first two African Americans elected to it. Hardaway said he's particularly proud of the Dean and Barbara White Community Center and bringing the Boys & Girls Club back to town.
"My main goal when I became councilman was to make sure that I leave Merrillville a lot better than I found it, and I think I've done that," Hardaway said.
He was narrowly unseated in the May primary, but his daughter, Keesha Hardaway, was elected onto the council.
The outgoing officials didn't leave empty-handed. Each received a table lamp, which Interim Town Manager Michael Griffin said represents their place in the "constellation" of servant-leaders.
"We're celebrating light because the opposite of dark is light, and dark often means when we're not thinking in community, we're not thinking about our neighborliness — a shaft of light is always the way that we can follow to know the best way to go," Griffin said.
Hardaway was also given a wooden chair, which Griffin said represents his durability. "This chair actually is not for you to rest on your laurels," Griffin told Hardaway. "You'll rest on something else as you sit in it, to contemplate the next steps that you're going to take."
In addition to the outgoing elected officials, Merrillville is also saying goodbye to Parks and Recreation Director Tarrance Price. Griffin said he's accepted a job that will let him be closer to his wife's family.
