Thanking Public Servants ~ Voice Of The Township
This month, the Wayne Township Trustee Office held several events to help the clients and all the citizens of the township celebrate the holidays in style. December 14th we gave away 228 hams and 100 turkeys in our annual drive-thru/walk-up Ham and Turkey Giveaway, and on December 16th we threw our Annual Holiday Skating Party where we gave hundreds of kids and their families lunch, Christmas presents and lots of fun exercise. It’s been a joyous season seeing all the happy recipients.
Also in December, Trustee Austin Knox issued two proclamations commemorating the retirement of two deserving public servants: Fort Wayne City Councilman Glynn Hines and Wayne Township Assessor Beverly Zuber.
Councilman Hines began his career in Fort Wayne civil service working with such luminaries as 1st District Councilmen John Nuckols and Archie Lunsey; he joined the City Council in 1999 finishing the remainder of the deceased Councilman Cletus Edmunds’ term and within the year went on to win the general election to serve as Fort Wayne’s 6th District Councilman for the next ten years. In 2019 he went on to win an at-large seat on the council in a city-wide election.
Mr. Hines’s accomplishments on the council included his instrumental role in the development of the Public Safety Academy-Walmart Plaza in southeast Fort Wayne and his attention to the food desert problem in Southeast Fort Wayne which resulted in the establishment of the new Pontiac Street Food Market. Among his many other projects, Mr. Hines sponsored the creation of the Fort Wayne Public Art Commission which brings public art into the neighborhoods.
Along with his service in elected office, Mr. Hines’s work on the Citilink Public Transportation Board resulted in the placing of a “Rosa Parks” seat on every Citilink bus in Fort Wayne. He worked on the Fort Wayne Commission for the Social Status of African-American Males which hosts the Annual Black Males Health Issue, the Fatherhood Back-to-School Initiative and the Summer Music Celebration at McMillen Park. And was also featured as one of the Faces of the Fort on a mural located at 1514 St. Joseph Boulevard. The Faces of the Fort mural project highlights those who have made contributions to the advancement of civil rights, social justice and immigrant quality of life in Fort Wayne.
Beverly Zuber, who has served as Wayne Township Assessor for seventeen years, will be retiring from that office in January 2024.
Ms. Zuber, who has been elected by the people of Wayne Township five times since 2006, has been a champion for the property owners and all of the citizens of the township, working to keep local government available and accessible for everyone. She has walked all the streets of the township during her five campaigns for election and, in 2008, she walked to inform and educate the voters on the ballot referendum that sought to eliminate the office of township assessor. Out of close to one thousand township assessor offices in the state of Indiana only thirteen survived the ballot question. Wayne Township Allen County was one of them, as the voters elected to keep their assessor, thanks to Bev’s work explaining and demonstrating the importance of keeping the best form of assessment for a complicated property ownership landscape like what exists in Wayne Township.
Ms. Zuber, who has always believed in the importance of township government as the government closest to the people, her office to work with thousands of Wayne Township property owners as well as with the Allen County Assessor Office, with whom she held joint landlord educational events and other community functions benefiting all the citizens of the county. She tirelessly worked to encourage citizens to be involved in her office’s assessment of their properties, believing that only through such involvement can properties be best and most accurately assessed. Her letter to property owners expressing that belief can be found on the front page of the Wayne Township Assessor’s website.
Both Beverly Zuber and Glynn Hines deserve our appreciation for their years of service to the citizens of Wayne Township, the City of Fort Wayne and all of Allen County.
As we wind down the year the Wayne Township Trustee Office wishes everyone peace, joy and all the best during this festive holiday season.
- Honoring Service & Commitment: Voice Of The Township - November 8, 2024
- Austin Knox - November 7, 2024
- Halloween, Help & Hope – Voice Of The Township - October 25, 2024