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Member Cheryl Nix Named SJ County Citizen of the Month

Geri Pawelski | Published on 12/8/2024



At its meeting on December 2, 2024, the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners named League member Cheryl Nix Citizen of the Month for the month of September, 2024. 

You can view the presentation on the County You Tube Channel here. The presentation, which includes remarks by Commissioner Derek Dieter as well as statements by acquaintances attesting to Cheryl's dedication to our community, begins at about 2:20 minutes into the recording, and Cheryl's speech accepting the award starts at about 12:40 minutes in. 

In her remarks, Cheryl shares how and why she engaged with County goverment, highlights key causes she has championed, and touches on the emerging issues upon which we'll see Cheryl focusing her energy and passion. 

While you can read Cheryl's speech below, listen to it if you can. It is a moving testatment to the power of civic engagement. Cheryl's speech: 

I want to express my gratitude to the friends who were able to be here with me today. Thank you for your kind words and support. It means so much. And it is wonderful to see my family on zoom this morning. I am so blessed.   Commissioner Dieter, President Baxmeyer and Commissioner Hazen, thank you for honoring me with this award.

I’ve lived in St. Joseph County since I was ten months old -so,  a VERY long time, but throughout my life I was oblivious  to the work of county elected officials. I could not have named a Commissioner or Councilor elected to keep this county functioning. In my defense, Fred and I were busy raising a  family while I was also busy teaching in the South Bend Schools. But that oblivion disappeared when  the pandemic hit. Our county council’s willingness to heed the advice of our health experts made it clear that local officials are critical to our safety, our security, our health and our well being. I was so grateful for the difficult and courageous decisions the council made to mitigate death and illness. Friends of mine lost loved ones to Covid. Fortunately, my family was spared that anguish. The pandemic taught me that it was time to pay attention and get involved. And so in October of 2021,  I decided to zoom into a Board of Commissioners meeting for the first time in my life. Andy Kosetielny had worked with a local law firm to redraw county districts without input from the County Council. What had always been a bipartisan project was now one-sided and, in my opinion, unfair. I remember feeling nervous, having to find out the rules of public comments, writing my notes and rehearsing so I wouldn’t exceed 3 minutes. But what I wasn’t expecting on that day, was to hear the innovative proposal by Dr. Einterz and the Health Department about their plans to hire Community Health Workers with the $3 million Covid grant from the federal government.

Slide after slide discussed the need in neighborhoods around our county and exactly how best to spend these dollars. And then the unthinkable happened, Derek, you and Deb Fleming vetoed the grant. The public pushback was fierce and the Council overrode the veto. And, I’m sure that you have come to regret that vote, especially since over the last few years  you have expressed support and appreciation for all that our Community Health Workers do. But with that decision in that meeting, I found an unexpected purpose. It became clear to me that this would not be the last time that I would attend. And so I began to take part in as many meetings as possible,  share information with friends, and speak up. I have used the opportunity during public comments to express my opposition to closing Portage Manor, stopping the Behavioral Crisis Center and abolishing the Board of Voter Registration. But my remarks have also included support for other decisions like your choice of Dr. Migliore as our Public Health Officer. More than anything, though, I have come to realize how important County Commissioners are to the well-being of our community. You have tremendous power and authority and make decisions that determine the future direction of the county. You select board members that control development, the health department, the public library system, septic and drainage systems, and our correctional facilities to name just a few. And you have a platform that can be used for speaking out against harmful policies that could endanger your constitutents.  As we look to 2025, I am concerned that refugees, DACA recipients and mixed status families  who live in St. Joseph County will be targeted by the incoming administration. These are  hard working people who contribute greatly to the fabric of our community.

I implore you to speak out against racist and hateful lies about immigrants. We have already seen despicable KKK flyers distributed in our area. This is unacceptable. I implore you to stand firmly against family separations that would remove parents from their children. Instead, let’s call for pathways to citizenship, expansion of DACA, and extending Temporary Protected Status for refugees. Hate should have no place in St. Joseph County. This is not a question of right versus left, this is a question of right versus wrong.

 In January, Derek you will assume a new role in our county and Rafael Morton will take your place. He brings very different lived experiences to his role on this Board. Mr. Morton has served on the County Council for many years and understands the importance of good leadership and government and knows all too well that EQUITY is a noble goal. President Baxmeyer and Commissioner Hazen, this will be a wonderful opportunity for you  to consider a different point of view as you make decisions for our future. You begin each meeting with the pledge of allegiance. The words “with liberty and justice for ALL” is a mission statement.  May your guiding principle be to do the most good for the most people in every decision you make.  My hope is that you work together to find common ground.

 

Derek, despite that first disagreement that started my journey with the Commissioners, you and I stood together in opposition to that redistricting plan, we spoke against book bans and you supported the reappointment of Alan Feldbaum to the library board which I greatly appreciated. Today we both oppose the development of the property at Portage Manor and agree it needs to be preserved. Our ability to find common ground is proof that it can be done. I also remember one of my first times meeting you, President Baxmeyer, you walked up to me and said, “hello, neighbor” since we live just a few miles apart. That was such a lovely thing to say.

It is good to remember that we are indeed ALL neighbors. So today, I am accepting this award in that spirit.  And just in case you were wondering, I plan to keep attending your meetings!



League friends join Cheryl Nix for presentation of the Citizen of the Month Award for the month of September, 2024.
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