Toni Reece: Hi there. I’m Toni Reece, and welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living magazine. Today I have Lisa Haggerty with me. Welcome to the Project.
Lisa Haggerty: Thank you for inviting me.
Toni: Absolutely. All right Lisa, take a moment and tell us a little bit about yourself.
Lisa: Well, I was born and raised in Reading, so I have deep roots here. I’ve always loved Reading. I’ve spent time away from Reading, how kids go through that, “I have to get away.” While I was away, I sort of had an epiphany that this is really where I wanted to be. Family is important to me, and I missed being close to my family. I came back, and being part of this community, it’s all ingrained in me, and I feel it’s part of who I am.
Toni: Okay. Let’s go into the Project. What does inspiration mean to you?
Lisa: Inspiration is something that makes me want to do better. It makes me want to extend myself. It’s something that might make someone else want to follow my lead, if I find that inspirational path. It’s important. I think you need to have inspiration in your life, or you may just sit in the back seat forever and maybe not meet people or take risks or meet your full potential.
Toni: Is it a feeling for you? Do you know when you’re inspired?
Lisa: Yes. I know I’m inspired. In the last year, I had a tragedy which many people are faced with. My husband passed away, and he was a true inspiration to me. Even before I knew him, we went to high school together. He was older than I was, and he was always out there, putting himself out there and doing things, and he inspired me. I never would have thought I would end up marrying him a decade later, but he was inspirational because you could see his passion and his willingness to give and his kind spirit.
Toni: And that motivated you?
Lisa: That motivated me. Before I knew him, it really intrigued me that someone could be like that, and it did motivate me to want to do better, be better, and put myself out there and take the risks that you might need to do things that inspire you and to inspire other people.
Toni: So, how do you take that when you were inspired originally—and it’s a wonderful example—but using your husband as that example of what he did for you even before you knew him well—how have you taken that definition and put that into practice here in Berks County?
Lisa: Well, one thing that I did that really surprised me is I am very politically motivated, and one year, it was a presidential election, and I got a call out of the blue. “Would you be willing to work for the presidential candidate? We have people coming in from all over the country to get the vote out.” I thought, “You know what? I need to do this. I can't just talk the talk. I need to walk the walk.” I went into the headquarters and I got an assignment, and I was going door to door with people I had never met telling people where to go, what to do, how to get there, and offering to give rides and things like that. That’s one thing.
Over the years, I’ve tried to volunteer when I can. I always wanted to be part of my children’s lives growing up, and if meant going into their schools, teaching—I went to Catholic school—teaching a religion class because they had to take CCD at night or prep, but I’ve always tried to do what I was telling them to do. I tried to give them an example. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable. Sometimes it’s really uncomfortable to put your opinions and wear your heart on your sleeve and stay true to yourself, but I’ve had to do that, and I’m a better person for it.
Toni: It’s been worth it, hasn’t it?
Lisa: It has. It really has. I feel like there’s a lot more I can do. Over the years, I was always a very outgoing person and I found through some of the things that had happened in my personal life, I started to retreat a little and not put myself out there as much. It didn’t feel like me, but I wasn’t ready to be there, and now I feel like I’m getting the wind back in my sails and it’s time to get out there again and lead the life I’m meant to lead, and be more active. Get back to being active in my community and doing what I can to help.
Toni: Who in Berks County inspires you?
Lisa: Well, the person that inspired me the most is no longer with me. I guess I still haven't found the next person to inspire me. I’m looking. I see a lot of really wonderful leaders in the community and I see a lot of people that are passionate about putting Reading back in order. I don’t know if that’s the right way to say it, but to find its way back to the wonderful place it was, I think there are some things that need to happen; but I’m not sure who inspires me. I mean, my kids inspire me. I’m always inspired by what they do, considering some of the hardships we’ve had to encounter and their positive spin and how they pushed themselves ahead. I guess I’m still looking.
Toni: I love that. I love that answer. I do. So, what do you want your legacy to be?
Lisa: Maybe my children, that I’ve taught them well and that they are doing things to help other people, to put other people before them, to know that to find the importance of love and family and to extend whatever love and family they have to others to help other people be the best people they can be. I guess that’s how I define myself at this point in life.
Toni: Of what you do currently?
Lisa: Yeah. Well, I work and I promote the city, the county, and I enjoy doing that very much, but I think honestly that I just want my legacy to be that I taught my children well.
Toni: Wow. That’s an amazing legacy that you’re living right now. This community is anxiously awaiting your return.
Lisa: Thank you.
Toni: Okay. Thank you so much for showing up for the Project.
Lisa: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
