‘Wanting to serve this community has been my passion’

Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges cares about St. Joseph.

It is why she is running for reelection tonight at the Republican Caucus.

“St. Joseph has been my home for the majority of my life,” she said. “My roots to this community go back many years, so wanting to serve this community has been my passion. I would like my fellow residents to know that I’m one of you and wanting what’s best for our community is my top priority as your Mayor.  I’m blessed to live in such a great community and thankful to call it my home.  I look forward to sharing a smile with each and everyone of you hopefully in the very near future.”

Fruhling-Voges said as a trustee and now mayor she has always wanted to do her part to see that the village would be a great place to call home for many generations to come.

The pandemic has changed the Mayor’s short-term focus to making sure her residents stay healthy and the village does what they can to help small businesses. She is also focused on keeping the sewer plant expansion on target and planning ahead for more stormwater improvements throughout the village.

“My list is quite extensive of things that I would like to see improved, updated and planned,” she said.

Her number one long-term goal is to someday have a community building to serve the needs of village residents.

“The best part of serving the community is being able to look around and feel proud to know that I had a small part of the teamwork to make those accomplishments possible,” she said.

Fruhling-Voges said one of the most challenging parts of her job is not having enough hours to move projects forward in a consistent, efficient and timely fashion. 

“The Mayor’s position currently takes on many administrative responsibilities that require daily attention,” she said.  “My role as mayor should be with things such as; making myself available to the residents, visiting with the youth in the community, advocating for the village to new businesses, and working with our current businesses to help them succeed.”

Fruhling-Voges said that is why she thinks now is the time for the village to hire an administrator.

“ I get so excited thinking about the potential of this great community, but the challenge is keeping things moving forward.  My team of employees and trustees do a great job, but having someone in place to pull it all together consistently will give each of us the ability to accomplish more for the Village of St. Joseph.”

Photo by Bryce Herrin